Environment, Economy and Equity are the three Concerns of Sustainability - Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
Release of CII Report on Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry
New Delhi 17 September 2024: It is a matter of great pride that India, under the leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, has achieved 2 out of 3 quantitative NDC targets of the Paris Agreement, 9 years ahead of schedule, informed Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India while speaking at the 19th Sustainability Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry on 17 September 2024, at New Delhi.
Elaborating on the subject, he said that the core idea of sustainability is how to utilize resources and added that energy is the foundation of the development model being followed globally and there is no going back from this path. The Minister pointed out that for achieving dignified life for all, access to energy is basic and the debate today should not be on emission management but rather what is the cost of per capita emission; hence Sustainability is a social goal.
Sustainability covers the three concerns of environment, economy and equity, and all Government policies, schemes, programmes and initiatives have to be formulated taking a balanced approach towards these three.
Talking about the changing demographic and consumption pattern, the Minister shared that there is a need to transition to mindful consumption instead of mindless utilization. The Government has been taking ideas on LiFE from students on key themes of save food; save water; save energy; waste to worth; manage E-waste; healthy lifestyle and complete ban of SuP. These ideas will seed newer business models and innovations for start-ups.
Talking about sustainability of the economy, the Minister shared that several waste management regulations have already been shared with Industry through EPR but more work in regard to circular economy including sector-specific research; increasing the recyclables market, access for technologies and building skills is required. The Minister called upon CII to deepen their work in these emerging areas.
During the special plenary session, the Hon’ble Minister also launched the CII Report on Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry. The report includes Physical Climate Risk Assessment Framework, a necessary tool to help Indian Industry in prioritizing appropriate adaptation actions across sectors and in different regions. The report recommends actions for Government such as: open-access climate and extreme weather event dashboard; green and climate-resilient industrial parks and increasing adaptation project funding in the nation.
Mr Sanjiv Puri, President, CII and Chairman & Managing Director, ITC Limited congratulated the Minister for leading unique initiatives aimed at the adoption of sustainable practices, encouraging circular economy, inspiring pro-environment behaviour change through timely policy engagement. Sharing about CII’s research work through the report on Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry, he suggested that there is need for risk assessment through existing and past data; a sophisticated AI-based tool which can forecast, and a public utility which captures all this data and shares the forecasts. This, he suggested, should be made available to the public at large to assess and understand the risks associated with specific geographies.
Speaking about MoEFCC’s recent endeavours in driving consumer behaviour towards environment sustainability, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that India has become a significant player in sustainability, catalysed by Government’s unique, innovative and path breaking initiatives, programmes and schemes in sustainability.
The Sustainability Summit was launched by CII in 2006 to create an enabling platform for deliberations on global regulations & policy reforms and highlight exemplary practices & performances in the domains of sustainability. The 19th Sustainability Summit : Driving Change for a Sustainability Conscious World will deliberate on tangible actions in driving sustainable change.
For further information on the Summit agenda and key speakers, please visit:
https://www.sustainabledevelopment.in/summit/
For highlights of the CII Report on ‘Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry, please see below:
The study on “Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry” has developed a Physical Climate Risk Assessment Framework (PCRAF) to assess and quantify climate risks for Indian businesses and their value chains. The PCRAF is designed to help enterprises identify risks from floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones, and other phenomena caused by climate change and guide them in prioritizing appropriate adaption actions across sectors and in different regions. Although primarily focused on industry, the framework can also form the foundation for a national strategy to assess and manage climate risks.
The Summary Report highlights the role of industry in bringing in private capital, conducting in-depth site-specific studies that allow for clarity in investments, and building resilient infrastructure. Initiatives such as this framework (PCRAF) provide the necessary tools for Indian industry to play its part and should be further encouraged for uptake through appropriate incentives.
As a way forward and looking into the future, this study highlights the necessity to strengthen existing extreme-weather forecasting capabilities, constantly review and update existing regulations & guidelines for building codes, define standards for ‘extreme weather resilience’, integrate health and essential services considerations in resilience and recovery planning and enhance social resilience.