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"Sustainability will save mankind from the worst of nature’s furies": Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Information & Broadcasting and Heavy Industries
Sep 09, 2020

Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Information & Broadcasting and Heavy Industries,  expressed that only sustainability will save mankind from the worst of nature’s furies. He was addressing an exclusive session on ‘Action Agenda for Sustainable and Self-Reliant India’ on 9th September at Confederation of Indian Industry’s 15th Sustainability Summit.

He said that it is important to achieve a green earth and blue skies,  post Covid-19 despite the odds and that it is possible to do so, alongside industrial activity. He stated that India has only 2.5 % of world’s land, 4% of freshwater resources and around 20% of world population but still has 8% of the world’s biodiversity because in the Indian culture, flora and fauna are part of life. 

He highlighted, “India is walking the talk on climate change. Our work on Ujjwala, E Vehicles, BS-VI Engines, Biofuels, Clean air, and Disaster resilience pave the way for a sustainable and resilient India. Targeting 35% emission reduction, we have reached 21% and in 10 years, we will achieve the required 220 GW renewable power targets, of which a total of 87 GW including solar and wind has been achieved”, he said. He further elaborated that our energy mix in the installed capacity now includes 37% of renewable energy sources. 

On the PM’s clarion call of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Mr Javadekar said, “It means more proactive engagement with the world, less imports and more exports. Innovation and research become the most important development tools for self-reliance. Atmanirbhar is not cutting away from the world, it is more about engaging with the world. Innovation and research become the key”.

Highlighting the importance of compassionate capitalism for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, Mr. Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, Advisory Council, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Limited, said that sustainability strategies are integral to the business and when we bring this to core of corporate strategy and create business models that synergistically pursue creation of economic, environmental and social capitals, we unleash powerful forces of innovation and strengthen competitive advantage. 

Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, emphasised on the role of inclusive recovery for a self-reliant and sustainable India. He said that, ’The economic recovery path should consider investing in interventions that can ‘reduce risks’ from pandemics in the future rather than just aiming at creating higher growth.” 

The Sustainability Summit is the annual flagship event of Confederation of Indian Industry in sustainability, launched in 2006 to raise the bar of dialogue, practice and performance of sustainable business. The ‘15th Sustainability Summit – Action Agenda for the Next Decade’ is designed to focus on shaping up of the coming decade, incorporating learning from Covid-19 and reflecting how the drivers of innovation, technology and systems thinking can help us build a more sustainable next decade.

https://www.sustainabledevelopment.in/summit/

About CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development 
A pioneering effort by CII, CESD  is on a mission to catalyse innovative ideas and solutions, in India, and globally, to enable business, and its stakeholders, in sustainable value creation. It’s knowledge, action and recognition activities enable companies to be future ready, improve footprints profiles, and advocate policymakers and legislators to improve standards of sustainable business through domestic and global policy interventions. 
 
CESD leverages its role of all-inclusive ecosystem player, partnering industry, government, and civil society. It has been a pioneer of environment management systems, biodiversity mapping, sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, and social & natural capital valuation in India, thus upgrading business in India to sustainable competitiveness. 

9 September 2020

New Delhi

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