Category: Business community

1. Delhi meet to take forward Hagen talks

   
   

   3-Day Climate Convention Will See Release Of A White Paper On The Roadmap To Mexico

   The first major gathering of world leaders and climate change experts after the Copenhagen convention will take place in New Delhi from February 5 to 7.

   

   The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2010, while establishing India’s role as a serious world partner on the subject of climate change, will also see the release of a white paper on the roadmap to Mexico, where the 16th Conference of Parties (CoP) will be held in December 2010.

   Building on the Copenhagen Accord that ended on an unsettled note in December 2009, world leaders, CEOs and the scientist community will meet at the three-day event to take stock of the achievements of the accord, what remains to be done and the manner in which the process must be taken forward in an ambitious, inclusive and progressive manner.

   Among other things, DSDS will also witness sessions on how a “legally binding agreement” is essential for enforcing enhanced international action on climate change. At the same time, this discussion will also determine how such a document can potentially reinstate mutual trust and confidence of the stakeholder nations in the UN process and among one another.

   Aside from climate change experts and intelligentsia from across the world, DSDS will see a large turnover of world leaders and CEOs, pledging their support to the green cause. Delhi Sustainable Development Summit will be preceded by the world CEO forum, to be held on February 4, where over 100 head honchos from across the globe will discuss the role of the business sector in transforming the world economy and their stake in sustainable development.
   The event will also mark the launch of the Vision 2050 project by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

   Initiated by 29 members of the WBCSD, the vision document will enumerate the challenges and opportunities faced, along with answers to how the business sector will lead the world in the area of sustainable development.
   DSDS will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while other world leaders attending DSDS will include Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg, Greek PM George Papandreou and Quebec Premier Jean Charest, among others.

   As part of the debate on sustainable development, the issue of climate change, on which the Indian government has worked actively, will also remain a key topic. In this regard, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Rajendra Pachauri, chief of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh will also make their submissions.

   While sustainable development and climate change will be among the subjects discussed through the event, some of the other themes that will be key to DSDS 2010 are emphasising on integrating climate objectives with development policies, enhancing fund-inflow into these areas and creating better access to technology in the fields of development.

   February 5, 2010
   

   Posted in Business community.

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2. High profile and powerful

   
   

   What started as a silver jubilee celebration event of TERI, has today become an annual feature that encourages debate on some of the most crucial environmental challenges being faced by the humankind. Commemorating its 10th year in 2010, DSDS is today a prominent forum dealing with various aspects of sustainable development across the world. Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) talks about its journey so far

   How did the idea of organising Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) come about 10 years back?

   The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) was the outcome of TERI celebrating 25 years of its formal existence in 2000. On that occasion the institute was able to attract some prominent leaders and decision makers as well as thought leaders from all over the world including persons like the late Robert McNamara and Nobel Prize winners like Prof Sherwood Rowland. This was an unusual gathering which focused on the challenges of sustainable development for humanity, and the staff of TERI felt that given the growing importance of sustainability in developmental activities, an annual series of conferences should be launched in this area. Thus began the DSDS, which has now evolved and grown into the most prominent forum dealing with various aspects of sustainable development across the world.

   This is the 10th year of DSDS. So far, how has been the journey and how has it brought in the desired change. Please elaborate.

   This journey from the year 2001 to 2010 has been one that is marked with continuous innovation in the format and focus of the summit. But what is particularly heartening is the fact that people travel from all corners of the globe to come here and learn about crucial themes that affect the future of society, and of course Indian decision makers are also exposed to all that is presented and discussed at each summit. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the objectives of sustainable development have entered on the radar screen of Indian decision makers to a great extent on account of DSDS as an annual forum.

   What issues will be the focal points for DSDS this year?

   The theme for DSDS this year is ‘Beyond Copenhagen: New Pathways to Sustainable Development’. Given the impasse in global negotiations that the world is witnessing today, several crucial issues would need to be debated. These include the need for focusing on the underlying science of climate change, which must drive decisions and policies with a sense of urgency.

   Secondly, DSDS 2010 will deal with the business case for action as well as for civil society to mobilise grassroots developments. In a democracy, in particular, it is essential for policymakers to be inspired and led by grassroots programmes and activities. A large number of ministers would be taking part in DSDS 2010 and an entire session at the ministerial level would focus on the theme of developing a distinctly different energy future for the world.

   Do you think that the presence of corporates, dignitaries and opinion makers from all across the world in this summit will give a stronger voice and recognition to key environmental issues?

   What gives DSDS its strength is the fact that all stakeholders are represented at the highest level, which would ensure that environmental issues and sustainability become a subject that all sections of society have a deep commitment to, because they all have stakes in effectively addressing climate issues and concerns. DSDS 2010 would largely look at means by which a roadmap could be developed for the world to enter into a strong agreement at the next COP to be held at the end of 2010 in Mexico City. But, more importantly, this summit would define actions that have to be taken in various sectors of the economy by all stakeholders.

   Post-Copenhagen, environment issues have caught the attention of people the world over. What does this summit plan to achieve out of DSDS-2010?

   One major objective of the summit, which has driven its design this year, is to inspire governments, businesses, and civil society to take action on their own, which in itself will bring about desirable outcomes, but at the same time help in satisfactory multilateral agreements being reached through the process of negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Coming as it does after the Copenhagen summit this high profile and powerful forum should create momentum by which the overall objectives of sustainable development and meeting the challenge of climate change will receive new momentum and intellectual power at the global level.

   

   February 5, 2010
   

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3. THEMES AT DSDS 2010

   
   

   Mainstreaming Climate Policies with Development
   With an aim to have a categorical understanding on ways to enhance the areas of convergence between climate concerns and development policies as well as means to minimize the divergence between the two, this session will provide a platform to share relevant experiences, ideas and proposals from a wide range of actors.

   Climate Challenges in Africa
   This session will discuss issues including the prioritization of challenges, needs for institutional mechanisms and nature of international support therein, adequacy of existing options and scope of improvement, the scale of resources required at the national and subnational level to assist adaptation and mitigation efforts in Africa, and to facilitate longterm cooperative action among nations within and outside Africa to address identified climate challenges.

   Discussion on White Paper on Roadmap to Mexico
   The Copenhagen outcome has introduced new debates in the international climate regime besides the existing burning issues being deliberated upon since Bali. The session will deliberate upon the new circumstances, which are expected to culminate in a white paper on the “road map to Mexico”. The paper will bring forth the elements and issues under negotiations and ways to bring back trust and confidence of various Parties in UN process.

   Enhancing Financial Flows and Technology Access
   Given the centrality of access to technology and availability of resources to climate strategy at global as well as national level, combined with an evident concentration of resources and technologies in advanced economies, the question of enhancing financial flows and technology access is unavoidable. In this context, the challenge is not only in terms of designing mechanisms to enhance technological and financial flows between countries, it also includes the issues of magnitude and sources of resource mobilization (public & private), prioritization of developmental goals (technology road maps for mitigation and adaptation in context of development concerns), absorption capacity (capacity building), accountability and transparency in investment and policy decisions (monitoring, reporting and verification), nature and extent of international cooperation and sustainability of efforts and so on. This session would deliberate on these questions.

   The Urgency of Sustainability in Business
   This session would deliberate on the need and ways to immediately deepen sustainable outlook in business, its economic feasibility, associated risks and benefits, preparedness of business community, competitive environments and cooperative strategies, related policy infrastructure etc. The session will share experiences, initiatives and ideas and deliver guidelines to develop a blue-print of a strategy to make business more sustainable without compromising on economic viability.

   Ministerial Session – Creating a New Energy Future
   Considering that most of the countries are interdependent for their energy requirements, energy sector at international level is very much a question of international cooperation. There is a need to visualize a transformation pathway for energy sector at national as well as global level. This session would deliberate on questions concerning such transformation including development, demonstration, transfer and deployment of technologies, mobilization of skills and resources, technology and investment choices, policy innovations, international cooperation, etc.

   Mobilizing Civil Society
   Climate change talks are garnering increased public attention with civil society being at forefront. This session aims at initiating discussions on mobilizing the vital role of civil society in deepening public understanding of the challenge and suggesting the possible directions for the design and development of climate change regime, thereby highlighting how effective civil society participation could facilitate an informed decision making process.

   Mobilizing Knowledge and Knowledge Institution
   This session aims to conceptualize a blue print for policy on knowledge generation and strategy for knowledge institutions in new contexts. The deliberations during the session will span over a range of issues including knowledge management through synthesis, sharing, and improvement of knowledge in the field of climate change, development of knowledge networks, consortiums, North-South and South-South collaborations, sharing of best practices, state-academia-industry linkages etc.

   Building on the Copenhagen Accord
   The outcome of CoP15 resulted in the Copenhagen Accord that has drawn mixed reactions. The very legality of Copenhagen Accord has been debated. It is therefore pertinent to take stock of what has been achieved by the Accord and what still remains to be done to ensure that the process can be taken forward in a manner that is ambitious, inclusive and progressive. The session will deliberate on the shape of future negotiating process, importance of being proactive in identifying the unseen blockades towards Mexico and means to incorporate such factors to ensure that the intensity of negotiations is maintained.

   Lifestyles session
   The session focuses on the challenges like increased consumerism, lifestyle choices that conflict with sustainable development requirements, and so on. The session also aims to stimulate discussions on the role of youth icons, social campaigns, media, art, culture etc. in bringing about a pragmatic shift in people’s perception.

   Why do we need a legally binding agreement?
   The outcome at Copenhagen identified the need for a legally binding agreement to steer ahead the climate regime. The session focuses on two elements of this necessity: one, how a “legally binding agreement” is essential for enforcing enhanced international action on climate change; and, two, relatedly, how a “legally binding agreement” can potentially reinstate mutual trust and confidence of all stakeholders not only in the UN process but also amongst each other. Importantly, the session aims to generate insights to efforts that can lead to a “legally binding agreement”.

   February 5, 2010
   

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4. Govt fully behind Pachauri: Ramesh

   
   

   Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said the Indian government fully backed R K Pachauri, the beleaguered chairman of UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Even as he took potshots at the weakness of the global climate science panel over the recent controversial revelations, Ramesh said the government supported Pachauri’s continuation as IPCC head.

   Ramesh, at the same time, announced that a scientist from India would now accompany Pachauri in his meetings of the bureau of the IPCC — the smaller set of 38 representatives that carry on the work on behalf of the 130-member country body. Subodh Kumar Sharma, advisor to the ministry and a long-standing participant in the climate science talks, is expected to represent India in the IPCC bureau meetings.

   Ramesh said, “The Indian government is backing Pachauri to the hilt. Let there be no doubt on that. There is no wavering in the support of the Indian government. The PM and others in the government are supporting him as chairman of IPCC.” India provides financial help to the scientific panel to run Pachauri’s IPCC support office in India. It provides an annual grant for support staff and other functions of the office, which Ramesh justified with precedents of earlier chairmen of the scientific panel being financially backed by governments as well as the World Bank.

   But the tenuous relations between Pachauri and the government again

   

   Minister of new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah with actor Shilpa Shetty at the inauguration of International Climate Change Exhibition, organized by TERI in New Delhi

   came to the fore with sources indicating that the latter was not likely to participate in a closed door meeting of a select group of international negotiators that TERI will host as part of its Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. The idea of a closeddoor meet of official negotiators from rich countries and others, to be also attended by the UN climate convention’s exectuive secretary Evo De Boer, has not gone down well with the government. Environment ministry officials refused to comment while TERI officials remained unavailable.

   At the same time, Ramesh, who had minced no words in criticising Pachauri and the conclusions of IPCC on the rate of melting of Himalayan glaciers, was relatively easy on both on Thursday during his interaction with the media. Even while warning against ‘climate evangelism’ he backed the IPCC, calling it a respected institution.

   February 5, 2010
   

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5. ‘India has access to only 4% of water reserves’

   
   

   New Delhi: Water may not be the point of entry into the debate on climate change but that it is at the heart of the issue was widely accepted at the World CEO Forum held during the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2010.

   Acknowledging the subject as an important part of climate change, water resources minister P K Bansal said, “The reducing per capita availability of water and the poor maintenance of existing facilities are just some of the concerns we are faced with in the Indian region.”

   Launching the Regional Knowledge Hub for Water and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia at The Energy and Research Institute (TERI), Bansal emphasised the centrality of water to economic growth and life. Voicing concern about depleting water reserves and emphasising the urgency of efficiency in water management, Bansal added that while India fed 17% of the world’s population, it had access to only 4% of the world’s water reserves.

   While Bansal took up cause of water management in India and its neighbouring regions, other issues discussed at the CEO forum ranged from creating a vision document for sustainable development and pushing the agenda of building a green economy. On Friday, the climate change debate will continue, with PM Manmohan Singh and heads of states from countries across the world gathering at DSDS to discuss strategies in this regard.

   On February 6, a parallel, in-camera session will be held between the heads of state.

   February 5, 2010
   

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6. The Lack of Helping Hands and the escalating Environment problem

   
   

   The world is a strange place. And with every passing year, it becomes stranger as man becomes embroiled in the battle between ‘Environment’ and ‘Economics’. Every human being on Earth now faces a choice between the two in his everyday life. If he goes for CFL or a light bulb? If he uses CNG or uses gasoline? If he uses the internet for communication than wasting paper?

   Pollution is an integral part of Chemical Engineering – both in theory and principle. A specialization ‘Environmental Engineering’ prepares future citizens to take the challenges of pollution head on and devise solutions for a cleaner and safer Earth. Yet, it is difficult to find students who actually take up the field. If Climate Change and Global Warming stimulate so much of anger and motivation to do something in so many people, why don’t we actually have technical personnel who can actually do something about it? Seats go empty and there are no takers. Beyond protests and activism, we need people who actually are well-versed with the technology responsible for the problem and provide answers to facilitate change. Children growing up learning slogans of ‘Go Green’ and seeing events like Chemozale promoting the cause can go a step forward by actually being the spearheads of solutions.

   In addition, there is the fight between Economics and Environment on a global scale. The recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark is proof how politics and economy related the problem really is. 192 countries and yet all that comes out is a “meaningful agreement” with no legal bindings for emission reductions. Plus, there is the question of retarding growth among developing countries at the cost of capping emissions in spite of the fact that their role in contributing to climate change is no where near what the developed countries have emitted. There is the concept of Common but Differentiated Responsibility (CDR) but everyone seems to be avoiding responsibility these days.

   If we don’t have more hands to find alternatives (and save money), we can’t progress or save the Earth. It is the responsibility of the citizen, of the student, of the businessman, of the Government and of the world. As an academician, I feel a bit worried at the lack of trained personnel India really has. India has only 700 Ph.D.s in Science and Technology. Imagine how few are involved with the Environment! Even if we have an Indian who heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Dr. R. K. Pachauri), how many Indian scientists and consultants are working at grass root level and with small/big enterprises to find solutions for waste energy? Or excess carbon dioxide releases? Or even air/water/soil pollution?

   And how many more are needed? The answers to these problems are not simple. But the need for Human Resource that is educated and technically sound is monumental.

   I’d like a world where between the battle of Economics and the Environment, Environment wins and Economics preserved. Is it difficult? Yes. Impossible? No.

   February 3, 2010
   

   Posted in Business community, Youth Community.

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7. Chemozale 2010 – An International Techno – Management Summit

   
   

   Continued…

   February 2, 2010
   

   Posted in Business community, Youth Community.

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