Green Artha: When Profit Meets Prakriti - Indian Knowledge Systems and Climate Finance

This paper has argued that the future of climate finance depends not only on the volume and design of capital flows but also on the values that direct them. Drawing on Indian Knowledge Systems, it proposed Green Artha as an approach that situates the pursuit of prosperity within ecological responsibility, restraint, trusteeship and community stewardship. The literature shows that India’s intellectual and institutional heritage offers substantive resources, from the Arthashastra’s integrated view of fiscal and resource governance to the commons institutions that sustained water and forests for centuries. The survey of 250 respondents indicates that these ideas resonate strongly among practitioners and scholars: three-quarters see relevance, community institutions are the most favoured model, and perceived relevance is the strongest predictor of willingness to adopt. The evidence also counsels realism. Respondents highlight the lack of metrics, limited awareness, weak regulatory recognition and the danger of tokenism. Green Artha will succeed only if it moves from rhetoric to rigour: if it is expressed as operational principles, tested through pilots, measured through credible indicators, governed with communities as partners, and examined critically for equity. If this is done, India can contribute to the global climate finance debate something that it is well placed to offer, namely a tested conversation between ancient ideas of balance and modern instruments of capital. In an era when financial innovation has often outpaced ethical reflection, this may prove to be among the most valuable contributions of all.

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