World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS)

PM Modi inaugurated TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit.

About World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS):

• The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship initiative of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• It was instituted in
• Over the years, the Summit platform has brought together thought leaders, heads of state and government, scholars, corporates, youth groups, and civil society representatives from across the world.
• The Summit series has established itself as a responsible and an effective platform for mobilizing opinion-makers to identify and advance pioneering actions to address some of the most relevant issues concerning sustainable development.
• The Twenty First Edition (2022) held in a virtual format.
• The Summit deliberations will be focus on the umbrella theme: “Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future”.

About TERI:

• 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.
• 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
• Headquartered in New Delhi, TERI has regional centres and campuses in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Guwahati, Mumbai, Panaji, and Nainital. 

Highlights of PM Speech:

• Energy:
  • Energy needs: India’s energy needs are expected to double in the next 20 years and denying people this energy would be the equivalent of denying life to millions.
  • India’s non-fossil energy capacity will reach 500GW by 2030, meeting 50% of the country’s energy requirements by then.
  • Equitable energy access to the poor has been a cornerstone of India’s environmental policy.
    • Through Ujjwala Yojana, more than 90 million households have been provided access to clean cooking fuel.
  • India’s LED bulb distribution scheme, that has been running for over seven years, and has helped save more than 220 billion units of electricity, and reduced 180 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
• Financing: Successful climate action also needs adequate financing. For this developed countries need to fulfil their commitments on finance and technology transfer.
• Conservation:
  • India is a mega-diverse country. With 2.4% of the world’s land area, it accounts for nearly 8% of the world’s species.
  • The Aravali Biodiversity Park in Gurugram was recognised an “other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) site” for effective conservation of biodiversity by IUCN.
• Combating climate crisis:
  • India will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030, over 2005 levels, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.
  • India has initiated the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) which aims to build strong infrastructure in areas prone to frequent natural disasters. 
  • On the sidelines of CoP26, India also launched an initiative called “Infrastructure for Resilient Island States” for vulnerable island nations.
• 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.