Context: Recently, Prime Minister of India virtually inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit on February 10, 2021. The theme of the summit is ‘Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all’.The event was attended by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar and other dignitaries from around the world. The 20th edition of the World Sustainable Summit, a flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), was held online from February 10-12. Prime Minister Modi at the inauguration highlighted that such global platforms are significant for our present and for the future. While highlighting the health of the planet, the Prime Minister mentioned that there have already been many discussions on the health of the people but now it’s high time to discuss the health of the planet.

About the Event

• The theme of the 2021 Summit was ‘Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all’.
• TERI is a non-profit research institute, established in 1974. It conducts research work in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development for India and the Global South.

Key Points
India’s Stand at the Event
1) Emphasis on Climate Justice

• “Climate justice” is a term, and more than that a movement that acknowledges climate change can have differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on underprivileged populations.
• As per India, ‘climate justice’ is inspired by a vision of trusteeship - where growth comes with greater compassion to the poorest. It also means giving the developing countries enough space to grow.

2) Reassurance to Climate Mitigation Efforts

• India reassured commitments to its targets under the Paris deal to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33 to 35 percent from 2005 levels.
• India’s steady progress on its commitment to Land Degradation Neutrality and setting up of 450 gigawatts of Renewable Energy generating capacity till 2030 was also highlighted.
• Initiatives of India under International Solar Alliance were also discussed.

3) Commitment to Enhancing Disaster Resilience

• To enhance India’s disaster management capabilities, commitments to Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) were assured.
• CDRI: A multi-stakeholder global partnership of country governments, UN agencies, multilateral banks, private sector and knowledge institutions that aims to build resilience into infrastructure systems to ensure sustainable development.

4) India's Efforts Towards Sustainable Development

• In March 2019, India achieved nearly 100% electrification through sustainable technologies and innovative models.
• Through the Ujala Programme, 367 million LED bulbs were distributed which reduced over 38 million tonnes carbon dioxide per year.
• Through the PM Ujjwala Yojna, more than 80 million households below the poverty line have access to clean cooking fuel. India is working to increase the share of natural gas in India's energy basket from 6% to 15%.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission has connected over 34 million households with tap connections in 18 months.
• Through conservation efforts, the population of lions, tigers, leopards and Gangetic river dolphins has gone up.

About World Sustainable Development Summit

• The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• It was earlier known as Delhi Sustainable Development Summit.

Objective

• It has been conceptualized as a single platform to accelerate action towards sustainable development and climate change.
• It aims to bring together global leaders and thinkers in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors on a common platform.

Sustainable Development

• "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This most widely accepted definition of Sustainable Development was given by the Brundtland Commission in its report ‘Our Common Future’ (1987).

Climate Change

• It is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates.
• Climate data records provide evidence of climate change key indicators, such as global land and ocean temperature increases; rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods and precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes, to name but a few.