Tackling the urgent, complex, global energy-climate challenge requires an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team. The Andlinger Center is spearheading this international initiative, together with expert teams at Princeton University, the University of Queensland, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, Tsinghua University, and Carnegie Mellon University. The next phases will expand the program to include European, ASEAN, and African countries. This collaboration combines academic rigor with real-world perspective by leveraging partnerships with think tanks, NGOs, and the business sector. In doing so, Rapid Switch provides a strategic framework for understanding what prevents significant progress, with the ultimate goal of providing the foundations for, and implementation of, integrated and effective regional decarbonization strategies worldwide.