Indian billionaire Gautam Adani says clean energy must be affordable

Billionaire Gautam Adani said India’s energy transition must be affordable and reliable for ordinary citizens or it will fail, after meeting Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in the Indian capital.

The forum’s eighth edition runs in New Delhi from Oct. 13 to 15, the first time it has been held in India. Bloomberg addressed it on Tuesday and spoke of India’s momentum in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and green infrastructure.

He also marks 30 years of work in the country this year. The two men met at a New Delhi hotel, and Adani gave his account in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.

“Decarbonisation cannot be an ideological decree that prices out ordinary citizens, shuts down factories or stalls the Global South,” he wrote, according to ANI. Emerging economies need baseload power, industrial capacity and digital access without delay, he said, while mature markets stress the pace of decarbonisation.

Both men agree, he wrote, that clean energy and affordability must move together, and that reliable data, accountable institutions and effective governance matter as much.

They also discussed the redevelopment of Dharavi, the Mumbai district, which Adani said should be judged by climate-resilient homes, sanitation, power and protected livelihoods rather than the amount of real estate built.

His group is the project’s lead developer, a role to be confirmed before publication. He listed four requirements for nation-building: patient capital, physical execution, transparent governance and capable local leadership.

Bloomberg replied on X: “It was a pleasure meeting @gautam_adani and discussing his vision for India’s future growth and energy transition.” Adani had written that he was “delighted” to meet Bloomberg and that “Mike’s vision and commitment to climate action continue to inspire.” Neither post announced a deal, partnership or investment.

The meeting says something about where Adani now stands. His group has spent three years closing out the fallout from short-seller Hindenburg Research’s January 2023 report. It settled a $275 million sanctions case with the U.S. Treasury in May, saw the Justice Department drop criminal charges, and settled India’s market regulator’s shareholding probe on Sept. 28. Forbes’ India list put him back at No. 1 on Oct. 1, at $112.7 billion. Being received by Bloomberg, whose company publishes the index that ranks his fortune daily, at a forum Bloomberg hosts, shows how far his standing has been rebuilt.

His message fits his business. The group is planning to invest $100 billion in AI infrastructure and runs airports, ports and power, with thermal generation and coal interests alongside its renewables arm, so a call for affordability and baseload power is also a position on the pace of the transition. Bloomberg Philanthropies has funded campaigns to retire coal plants, which makes the shared “climate action” language in Adani’s post notable, though neither side said where they differ.

The Global South framing has an African edge. Adani’s ambitions on the continent have been less settled: Kenya cancelled a proposed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport concession and a power transmission agreement after his 2024 U.S. indictment, a case since dropped. His four requirements, particularly “transparent governance,” read as a list of what he says partners in emerging markets should expect from him, and what they should expect to be asked.