Is India on track to meet its sustainability goals by 2030?
India ranks 109th in the Sustainable Development Report 2024, despite progress in poverty reduction, child mortality, electricity access, and disease battles since 2015.
The country must adopt a comprehensive approach to achieve sustainability goals by 2030. This can be obtained by focusing on renewable energy transition, sustainable agriculture, waste management, green infrastructure investment, women empowerment, and public awareness campaigns.
However, a strong partnership between the government, academia, and policymakers is crucial for India to achieve its sustainability goals by 2030.
The government sets sustainability targets, creates regulations, allocates funding, monitors progress, coordinates efforts, and facilitates collaboration between academia and industry. Public awareness campaigns engage citizens in a greener future.
This collaboration involves research and development, capacity building, technology transfer, evidence-based policy design, cost-benefit analysis, and stakeholder engagement. Experts are of the view that by combining technological advancements, social behavior changes, and economic incentives, India can develop tailored solutions and optimize resource allocation.
Examples of potential collaborations include developing renewable energy technologies, implementing pilot projects, and establishing a knowledge-sharing platform for policymakers. This collaboration ensures a comprehensive approach to addressing environmental and social challenges.
These examples echo the passionate plea for collaboration by distinguished panelists at WriteCanvas’ maiden round table last week titled: Sustainable India @ 2030.
| Key highlights from WriteCanvas Round Table |
| Sustainable India @2030 focused on ESG compliance as a common goal, considering India’s role as the third largest emitter and the impact of global climate change events. |
| The government’s intent is clear, but the challenges include incentivizing data collection and behavior changes. |
| Rating agencies play a crucial role in addressing data duplication and ensuring transparency. Regulations are starting to take effect, and disclosure is an outcome of policies. |
| The 2070 target is a large target, and the country has to start now. The International Aviation and International Shipping sectors were left out of the Paris Agreement, and they fall under the purview of the IMO. |
India was the first country to collect data on fuel consumption, and the EU has started ETS. Consumer-driven approaches are also being considered, with some ships using A-rated ships.
It’s a fact that India is making progress towards achieving its 2030 sustainability goals, which are part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These goals include gender equality, sustainable agriculture, climate change reduction, quality education, clean water and sanitation, sustainable consumption and production, reduced inequality, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation, and infrastructure development, and sustainable cities and communities.
However, further action is needed in areas such as gender equality, quality education, healthcare improvements, and addressing regional disparities.
It’s easy to play the blame game and finger point flaws. It’s a difficult task to come together and foster an environment of community, commitment, and innovation to ensure that India does achieve her sustainability goal set for 2030.
