Sustainable Development and Climate Change
- 1. Sustainable Development and Climate Change CA. Divakar Vijayasarathy DVS Advisors LLP India-Singapore-London-Dubai-Malaysia-Africa www.dvsca.com
- 3. Presentation Schema Introduction ACHIEVING THE SDGs GANGA THE LIFELINE OF INDIA MAJOR COMPONENTS OF NAMAMI GANGE MISSION RESOURCE EFFICIENCY CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS FOR INDIA AIR POLLUTION MAJOR GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES DEVELOPMENT IN SUSTAINABLE FINANCE ARENA INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE (ISA) WAY FORWARD
- 4. Introduction The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by World leaders in 2015 presents a roadmap for future development trajectory to all nations. The achievement of these goals is an imperative for, not just, any particular country but the global community as a whole. In India increasing growth rate and rapid urbanization have spurred the demand for natural resources, exerting pressures on the environment and raising sustainability concerns. Hence there is tremendous need for using the resources without depleting it for the fore coming generations.
- 5. Achieving the SDGs Sustainable development requires every nation to prioritize their targets and carefully implement various schemes/programmes. Current flagship policies and programmes of Government of India such as Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), etc have substantially contributed to India’s progress in this regard. This SDG index provides an aggregate assessment of India’s progress. This index helps in informed policy formulations as it captures status of both national and state-level social, economic, and environmental parameters across a set of 62 select indicators.
- 6. Contd Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are the front runners amongst all the states with a score of 69. Tamil Nadu is also progressing very fast. Among the UTs, Chandigarh and Puducherry are the front runners with a score of 68 and 65 respectively Kerala’s good performance is attributable to the provision of good health, reducing hunger, achieving gender equality and providing quality education. Himachal Pradesh has performed well on providing clean water and sanitation along with reducing inequalities and preserving mountain ecosystem. Chandigarh, among other UTs, has performed well in providing clean water and sanitation along with affordable clean energy and quality education.
- 7. Ganga – The Lifeline of India A key policy priority of the Government towards achieving the SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) has been the cleanliness of mighty River Ganga through Namami Gange Mission. The mission was launched as a priority programme with a budget outlay of Rs.20,000 crore for the period 2015- 2020. During the period 2014-15 to 2018-19, a total amount of Rs. 6,106.25 crore has been spent on the programme indicating a substantial jump over earlier similar programmes
- 8. Major Components of Namami Gange Mission Rural Sanitation Sewerage Project Management River as Public Space Water Quality Industrial Pollution Sewerage Infrastructure Urban Sanitation Ecosystem Conservation Water Use Efficiency Clean Ganga Fund Urban River Management
- 9. Resource Efficiency Iceland and United Kingdom have focused on reducing the use of primary raw materials and impact of material extraction respectively in the stage of ‘Extraction of Raw Materials’. Around the world, several countries have introduced various policies specific to the different stages of material life cycle. This would further diminish greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an additional 15 to 20 per cent and deliver annual economic benefits of US$2 trillion globally by 2050 relative to existing trends. The International Resource Panel estimated that efficient resource policies in G7 countries could reduce the global use of natural resource by 28 per cent A resource efficient development approach essentially means a transition of the management of natural resources with a progressive minimization of waste in both consumption and production processes through various policies and measures. Resource Efficiency (RE) has emerged as one of the key strategies towards the 2030 Agenda of achieving the SDGs.
- 10. Current and Future Projections for India The consumption of key natural resources by the major countries in the year 2010 has been showcased aside. India consumed 5 billion tonnes of biomass, fossil fuels, minerals and metals in 2010 and was the third largest consumer after China (21.5 billion tonnes) and USA (6.1 billion tonnes). It is projected that India’s demand for total material will more than double by 2030 under the assumption of continued economic growth of 8 per cent till 2030 and possible slowing down to 5 per cent thereafter till 2050 and medium growth in population. India would be requiring around 6.5 billion tonnes of minerals in order to sustain the demand of growing population
- 11. Air Pollution • Air pollution is one of the biggest global environmental challenges of today. • Government is executing National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) covering 312 cities/towns in 29 states and 6 Union Territories of the country. • Under NAMP, four major air pollutants viz. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (PM10) and Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations.
- 12. Major Government Initiatives To tackle the increasing air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner, a number of initiatives have been launched. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are the standards for ambient air quality with reference to various identified pollutant notified by the CPCB under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 Objective of NAAQS 1.To indicate necessary air quality levels and appropriate margins required to ensure the protection of vegetation, health and property 2.To provide a uniform yardstick for assessment of air quality at the national level Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.
- 13. Contd… CPCB has issued a comprehensive set of directions under section 18 (1) (b) of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1986 for implementation of forty-two measures to mitigate air pollution in major cities including Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) This is to counter air pollution which include control and mitigation measures related to vehicular emissions, re-suspension of road dust and other fugitive emissions, bio-mass/municipal solid waste burning, industrial pollution, construction and demolition activities and other general steps. The Government has notified a Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi and NCR, which comprises of the graded measures for each source framed according to the AQI categories. In order to address the increasing air pollution across the country in a comprehensive manner, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has launched New car assessment Program in 2019 as a pan India time bound national level strategy.
- 14. Development in the Sustainable Finance Arena Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) can be leveraged for transfer of green and sustainable assets such as energy efficient buildings, renewable power projects, mass transportation systems, etc. to the institutional investors. Banks and financial institutions may securitize the future cash flows emanating from their existing set of assets, thereby selling such securitized debt instruments to the investors including institutional investors. SEBI has provided a regulatory environment for issuance of green bonds in May 2017, the fruits of which are reflected in the cumulative issuance of green bonds in India.
- 15. International Solar Alliance (ISA) ISA is the first treaty-based International Intergovernmental Organization launched by India and France on 30 November, 2015 in Paris and entered into force on 6 December, 2017. As on June 2019, 75 countries have signed and out of which, 52 countries have ratified the ISA Framework Agreement. The first Assembly of the ISA was convened on October 3, 2018. ISA’s motto is, “let us together make the sun brighter”. ISA has been working with various financial institutions for scaling up financing, lowering the cost of capital, and designing innovative financial instruments to accelerate the massive deployment of solar energy. A task force was constituted to design a common Risk Mitigation Mechanism to reduce risks and financial cost of solar projects. The ISA is also working with the European Investment Bank and the EU Commission to launch an off-grid fund, initially for four Asian member countries of the ISA, to rapidly scale up to Africa and Latin America.
- 16. Way Forward India has been progressing rapidly towards achieving the SDGs. India’s progress in achieving SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) has been impressive. However, there has been a wide variation in the way different states have performed. It is important that in the race towards SDGs no State is left behind. At the global level, given the myriad developmental challenges faced by the developing economies, lack of adequate resources is a major challenge in achieving the SDGs and international cooperation is essential in achieving these goals. The developing countries like India will endeavor to do the best possible within their own domestic resources, keeping in mind the sustainable development imperatives. It is time for the global community to exhibit the requisite momentum to act upon their responsibilities on establishing the enabling environment for climate action.
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