21st Edition of TERI’s World Sustainable Development Summit 2022 held Virtually

The 21st Edition of the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2022, was held virtually from 16th to 18th February 2022. 

• The theme of the event: ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future’.
• The experts at the Summit have discussed a range of key issues from climate change, sustainable production and energy transitions to global commons and resource security.

PM Modi Addressed the Summit:

i.Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at the summit virtually. Environment ministers from nearly a dozen countries took part in the event which had delegates from ~131 countries.

ii.PM reiterated the two initiatives of LIFE (Lifestyle For Environment) and Pro Planet People (3-Ps).

iii.Energy requirements of the people of India are expected to nearly double in the next twenty years.

iv.More than 11.5 Million Hectares have been restored in India since 2015.

Note – With 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, India accounts for nearly 8 percent of the world’s species. 

Vedanta Signed MoU with TERI:

i.Vedanta has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TERI at the WSDS 2022 to promote ‘Sustainable Use of Resources for a Resilient Planet through Transformative Actions’ and improve its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. 

ii.Vedanta plans to invest around Rs 200 crore over the next 5 to 10 years on R&D (Research and Development) and sustainability initiatives to promote and build a sustainable ecosystem.

iii.Vedanta is planning to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector and has committed to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner. The company has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations.

iv.With this MoU, Vedanta and TERI will look at opportunities to work on common areas of interest until 2050. The partnership will provide a platform to promote individuals and organizations to adopt sustainable practices by creating Vedanta-TERI ESG awards and building a sustainable supply chain.

About WSDS 2022:

i.Ministerial sessions, youth plenary, women leadership plenary, corporate plenary, and thematic tracks were held under the summit.

ii.Strategy papers such as ‘Act4Earth Manifesto’ and ‘Act4Earth Strategy Paper’ were also launched in the summit. The strategy paper will guide activities under WSDS such as the COP27 (27th Conference of Parties) Compass and SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Charter. 

iii.Other Participants of the Summit:

• President of the Republic of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali and Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed and India’s Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav also have addressed the summit.
• Other key personalities who participated in the summit include Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, Egypt’s Minister of Environment Dr Yasmine Fouad, and Maldives’ Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid.

Note – The WSDS, which was instituted in 2001 is the annual flagship Track II initiative of TERI.

Recent Related News:

National Energy Conservation Day is annually observed across India on 14th December to create awareness about the importance of energy conservation and the benefits of replacing non-renewable resources with renewable energy.

About The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI):

Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Director General – Dr Vibha Dhawan