Sustainability Focuses on Preserving Nature, Financial Stability, and Social Equality
In a significant address at the 19th Sustainability Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi on 17 September 2024, Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, highlighted the importance of sustainability as a social goal encompassing the three key concerns of environment, economy, and equity.
The Minister emphasised the need to shift the debate from emission management to evaluating the cost of per capita emissions. He also stressed the importance of integrating health and essential services into resilience and recovery planning, and enhancing social resilience to ensure communities can effectively respond to and recover from climate-related events.
During the special plenary session, Shri Yadav launched the CII Report on Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry. The report developed a Physical Climate Risk Assessment Framework (PCRAF) to assess and quantify climate risks for Indian businesses and their value chains.
The report calls for strengthening extreme-weather forecasting capabilities and regularly reviewing and updating building codes and regulations. It also offers recommendations for the Government, including the development of an open-access dashboard for monitoring climate and extreme weather events, the creation of green and climate-resilient industrial parks, and an increase in funding for adaptation projects.
The Government, through its initiative Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), is engaging students in promoting sustainable living. Initiatives under LiFE focus on themes such as saving food, water, and energy, managing e-waste, adopting healthy lifestyles, and enforcing a complete ban on single-use plastics (SuP).
At the summit, companies across various sectors, including manufacturing, energy, and consumer goods, were urged to intensify their commitment to sustainable consumption behavior. Mr. Sanjiv Puri, President of CII and Chairman & Managing Director of ITC Limited, called for the development of a sophisticated AI-based risk assessment tool to help forecast extreme weather events and other climate-related risks.
The CII Sustainability Summit, since its inception in 2006, has served as a platform for discussions on global regulations, policy reforms, and sustainability practices. The report recommends further incentivizing the use of the PCRAF to enable Indian industries to play a key role in climate resilience. The summit, with its focus on tangible actions for driving sustainable change across industries and societies, is a testament to India's commitment to a sustainable future.
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