First International Workshop on Energy Transition for Sustainable Development" has been successfully hosted by TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS) on 10th and 11th January 2024. In continuation, The Second international workshop on “Energy Transition for Sustainable Development” has been hosted by TERI SAS on 10th and 11th July 2025 as part of the joint project “The Doctoral school in Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEED)” among KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Linnaeus University and Lund University from Sweden, Kathmandu University in Nepal, Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS) in Bolivia and TERI School of Advanced Studies from India funded by Swedish Research Council.

The imperative for sustainable energy transition is underscored by the pressing issues of climate change and environmental degradation. The international workshop on Energy Transition for Sustainable Development seeks to cultivate a collaborative space where knowledge and experiences in the field of sustainable energy can be shared. The 2nd SEED Workshop brings together experts, PhD researchers, academic partners, and other stakeholders to share experiences, learnings, and ideas for the future of sustainable energy solutions. The workshop highlights the achievements of the SEED project, with a special focus on building research skills, encouraging innovation, and supporting future sustainable energy researchers.

The two day workshop have hosted twelve speakers including six SEED mobility research scholars. The workshop started with a warm welcome by the SEED National Coordinator Prof. Naqui Anwer. In his address Dr. Anwer highlighted the activities during SEED and emphasized upon how SEED helped in developing capacities of PhD researchers to work in multidisciplinary research for complex developmental challenges and solving them with holistic and innovative system solutions. Keynote address has been delivered by Mr. Nikhil Pathak (Head - Collaborations, Sustainability, Technical Services & QA at Tata Power DDL). Mr. Pathak has discussed about efforts made by utilities towards net-zero and possible impacts of using SF6 in switch gears and also suggested the remedial actions to decarbonize utility sector with trajectories up to 2045. Dr Sapan Thapar (Associate Professor - Department of Sustainable Engineering at TERI SAS) delivered a talk on Energy & Carbon Markets and explained the possible contribution of carbon markets in reducing global GHG emissions along with the modus operandi of evolving carbon markets in India. Dr. Brijesh Mainali (Associate Professor - Department of Built Environment and Energy Technology, Faculty of Technology, Linnaeus University, Sweden) delivered a talk on Empowering a Just Transition focussed on wholistic approach of adapting to just transition and its complexities due to growing geopolitics. Dr. Dilip Khatiwada (Associate Professor - Unit of Energy Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden) delivered a talk on Sustainability Education with Lifecycle Thinking approach presenting the CLEW (Climate, Land, Energy & water) framework. The talk also highlighted SDG linkages through case studies on circularity & waste management. Dr. Krushna Mahapatra (Professor - Department of Built Environment and Energy Technology, Faculty of Technology, Linnaeus University, Sweden) delivered a talk on Energy and Sustainability Research highlighting need of involvement of SMEs in collaborative R&D activities. He also presented ongoing research on decarbonization of district heating system, smart renovation of houses and circularity in construction industry among others. Dr Kavita (Assistant Professor - Department of Policy & Management Studies, TERI SAS) delivered a talk on Legal and Policy Framework of Energy towards transition. She articulated the talk through a story telling to show the importance of policy and legal framework for energy transition for equity and fair transitions yet protect social needs. The workshop come to an end with concluding remarks by Prof. Suman Kumar Dhar (Vice Chancellor, TERI SAS). Prof. Dhar has emphasized the need for collaborating activities especially the cross boundary collaboration which provides a platforms for knowledge sharing, exchange of traditions and understanding working cultures besides strengthening research activities.

The workshop was having an overwhelming participation from faculty, students and research scholars from TERI SAS as well as contributions from research scholars & faculty from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Linnaeus University from Sweden and Kathmandu University from Nepal. My sincere gratitude to Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Deputy Registrar (Finance), Deputy Registrar (Administration), Dean (Academic), Dean (Research & Partnership) and faculty of DoSE for their support to make the workshop successful. My genuine appreciation to SEED mobility research scholars - Dr Himanshu Arora, Dr Chhabishwar Patel, Ms. Anita Yadav, Mr. Divyansh Sharma, Ms. Tejasi Shah and Mr. Souryadeep Basak for their contributions. I would like to extend my thanks to the admin colleagues Mr. Sushil Kumar, Ms. Doris Justina and Mr. Akhilesh Roy for their untiring efforts for a truly thriving workshop.

Glimpses of the celebration of International Yoga Day 2025 at TERI SAS, emphasising the benefits of a healthy and a fit mind and body.