Context: Twenty First Edition of the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), will be held from 16th to 18th February 2022 in a virtual format.

About the Event

• It is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• This year i.e. 2022 marks the twenty first edition of this summit.
• The theme for this year's Summit is 'Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future'.
• The Summit will discuss a wide range of issues including climate change, sustainable production, energy transitions, global commons and resource security.

Special features at the Summit will include:-

• ministerial sessions 
• youth plenary 
• women leadership plenary 
• corporate plenary 
• thematic tracks

The Summit will also see the launch of 'Act4Earth Manifesto' and 'Act4Earth Strategy Paper'.
India’s Stand at the Summit
Equitable Energy Access

• India has fulfilled its commitments by ensuring that equitable energy access to the poor remains a cornerstone of its environmental policy.
• These included initiatives such as 90 million households getting access to clean cooking fuel under the Ujjwala Yojana scheme.
• And farmers being encouraged to set up solar panels under the PM-KUSUM scheme where farmers could use and sell surplus power to the grid, which would promote sustainability and equity.

Reducing Emissions

• Discussed the LED bulbs distribution scheme (UJALA) that has been running for over seven years that had reportedly saved close to 220 billion units of electricity and prevented 180 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
• The National Hydrogen Mission aims to tap into ‘green hydrogen’ and it was up to the academic and research institutes such as TERI to come up with scalable solutions.

Ramsar Sites

• Mentioned international recognition for India’s efforts by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and India now having 49 Ramsar sites (wetlands) spread over more than 1 million hectares.
• India is a megadiverse country. With 2.4% of the world's land area, India accounts for nearly 8% of the world's species.

Restoration of Degraded Land

• Restoring degraded land has been one of the main focus areas since 2015 and more than 11.5 million hectares have been restored.
• India is on track to achieve the national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality under the Bonn Challenge.

India firmly believes in fulfilling all its commitments made under the UNFCCC. India also raised itsambitions during CoP-26 at Glasgow.

• For example, India announced that it will reach carbon neutrality by 2070 by 2030.

Coordinated Actions

• Sustainability requires coordinated action for the global commons. India’s efforts have recognised this inter-dependence.
• Through the International Solar Alliance, India’s aim is ''One Sun, One World, One Grid''.
• The world must work towards ensuring availability of clean energy from a world-wide grid everywhere at all times. This is the ''whole of the world'' approach that India's values stand for.
• It also urged countries to act on the basis of globally agreed rules taking into account the principles of equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (acting on climate change based on national circumstances).
• The Paris Agreement goals cannot be reached unless equity is implemented by all countries staying within their fair share of the global carbon budget.

Infrastructure for Resilient Island States

• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (C.D.R.I.), aims to build strong infrastructure in areas prone to frequent natural disasters.
• On the side-lines of CoP-26, India also launched an initiative called ''Infrastructure for Resilient Island States''.
• The Island Developing States are the most vulnerable and hence need urgent protection.

Launched LIFE - LIfestyle For Environment Initiative:

• LIFE is about making lifestyle choices to improve our planet. LIFE will be a coalition of like-minded people across the world who will promote sustainable lifestyles.
• They will be called 3Ps - Pro Planet People. This global movement is the Coalition for LIFE.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

• It is an independent, multi-dimensional organization with expertise in research, policy, consultancy and implementation.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.

TERI's work across sectors is focused on

• Promoting efficient use of resources 
• Increasing access and uptake of sustainable inputs and practices 
• Reducing negative impact on environment and climate.