Sustainable and Secure Future

Ninety-one per cent of Indian companies raised their sustainability investments in 2023, and 85% of businesses worldwide increased their sustainability efforts.

Urbanisation is reshaping human settlements at an unprecedented pace, creating a complex interplay of identities, cultural practices, resources, and values within urban spaces. As India progresses towards becoming a developed nation, it is vital to ensure that every citizen enjoys a dignified life amidst this transformation. Currently, Indian

Achieving low energy demand in buildings is crucial in climate change mitigation. In the Global South, however, reducing the energy demand blanketly is not advisable due to critical gaps in access to the basic services supporting Decent Living Standards (DLS). Current energy demand scenarios mostly overlook achievement of DLS. Furthermore, model limitations in representing distributional aspects hinder modelling future energy demands to meet DLS.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2 February every year and underscores the need to save and restore wetlands and raise awareness about their crucial role. Wetlands are some of the planet’s most powerful yet underappreciated ecosystems. These ecosystems where water saturates the land, including mangroves, peat lands, marshes, swamps, and coral reefs, provide a wealth of benefits. They act as habitats for diverse plants and animals, protect shores from waves, reduce the impacts of floods, and even support local livelihoods.

Approximately 4.86% of India’s land area is covered by wetlands – ecosystems that are often referred to as the “Earth’s kidneys” because they are crucial for maintaining an ecological balance. However, many of India’s wetlands are under threat due to urbanisation, domestic and industrial pollution, and unscientific land-use practices. Urban wetlands in major cities are particularly at a high risk due to rapid urbanisation and unchecked discharges from nearby dumpsites or sewage.

India’s ambitious national goals under the Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes focus on continuous economic growth and alleviating equity and poverty issues. Energy, being the most important element driving economic growth, faces challenges like increasing demand, climate change, and pollution. The PAT mechanism under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency aims to improve energy efficiency in industrial sectors. It involves setting energy-saving targets, implementing measures, and trading Energy Saving Certificates (ESC erts).

The United Nations’ efforts to address critical environmental challenges hit multiple roadblocks this year, with four key summits — in Colombia on biodiversity, Azerbaijan on climate, Saudi Arabia on land degradation, and South Korea on plastics — failing to deliver meaningful outcomes.

The bioeconomy sector is gaining significant momentum globally. The World Bioeconomy Forum values the sector at approximately $4 trillion with the potential to grow to $30 trillion by 2050. Several economies worldwide increasingly invest in bio-based innovations to address their energy, food security, health, and climate mitigation and adaptation issues. India is one of the front runners in its global bioeconomy growth, with a projected bioeconomy worth $300 billion by 2030.

The textile and apparel industry, although a major contributor to global trade, is now becoming one of the most polluting industries worldwide. The rise of fast fashion, characterised by high consumption of low-cost, low-quality clothing, has aggravated the sector’s environmental footprint. Globally, around 92 million tonnes of textile waste end up in landfills annually, resulting in the leaching of harmful materials and leaking of valuable resources from the value chain. Alarmingly, only 12%–15% of this waste goes to recycling facilities, of which only 1% is recycled into new clothing.

At the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29), India voiced its disappointment at the climate finance announcement of $300 billion annually under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), and rightly so. This goal was