Keeping up with the United Nations – Shombi Sharp

The most populous country in the world, India is home to one-sixth of humanity, yet covers less than three per cent of the earth’s land surface. The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing, with real GDP projected to grow between 6.5–7 per cent in 2024-25. Though India’s gross domestic product and per capita income have been increasing for many decades, resource consumption and supply gaps are also steadily increasing coupled with environmental challenges, which potentially threatens the sustainability of India’s long-term development aspirations.

Despite many challenges – from meeting the employment needs of a young, growing population, to extensive climate impact exposure, from health, food and energy security needs to fiscal constraints – India has set its eyes on an ambitious transition towards green economic growth, and sustainable employment opportunities in the environmental conservation and renewable energy sectors. India’s climate commitments made under the UNFCCC include ambitious targets, such as 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. As emphasised by the Prime Minister of India during the recent 78th Independence Day, India is also focusing on skilling, infrastructure growth, and innovation, aiming to position itself as both self-reliant and a global leader across various sectors, including green economy sectors. India’s large-scale government interventions for poverty reduction, human centric and digitally enabled safety nets, huge strides in financial inclusion, near-saturation of basic services, and an expansive commitment and impressive delivery of renewable energy infrastructure are further advancing achievements of SDGs at the national and local level as evidenced by the latest SDG India Index 2023-24.

India has shifted from focusing on select initiatives to embracing large-scale, integrated economy-wide approaches, including circular economy and sustainable consumption and production efforts. And with the largest youth generation in history, India has more young minds to tap for solutions than any country ever. This, together with vibrant technology and digital innovation sectors, will be important as India seeks to meet enormous development and energy consumption needs in the coming decades, including mass urbanization. Though India’s per-capita energy consumption and climate emissions, both historical and current, remain relatively low today, rapid transition in India’s energy mix away from fossil fuels will be important to help ensure that this doesn’t reverse in the years ahead.

India joined PAGE in 2018. Through the collective effort of five UN agencies, PAGE in India aims to catalyse action and enhance cooperation on initiatives at macroeconomic level, along with government’s concerted effort to advance transition towards green economic growth, across sectors.

PAGE interventions in the country are designed to be complementary and reinforcing, seeking to help achieve India’s vision of green economic growth and sustainable development. They are informed by the priorities identified in the national stocktaking study on Inclusive Green Economy (IGE) conducted during the PAGE inception phase in India. The overall support of PAGE in India aims to enable policy reframing, and enhancing knowledge and learning on green economy, in areas with high economic impact, and for scaling up potential.

Some of the specific areas of PAGE Interventions in the country are geared towards green manufacturing in textile sector, green rural development, green jobs, and enabling mechanisms for sector wise transition. Some important examples of PAGE’s success in the country include initiatives such as Sustainable Public Procurement, Ecolabelling, and strengthening institutional capacities for mainstreaming Inclusive Green Economy (IGE) principles in urban policy making.

India fully recognizes the need for green and sustainable economic growth and is taking proactive measures in this regard, including ensuring these priorities featured in the New Delhi Leader’s Declaration agreed under India’s G20 Presidency. A new Circular Economy Cell (CE Cell) was constituted in NITI Aayog, the Government’s premiere public policy Think Tank in September 2022, dedicated to drive Circular Economy growth across ten sectoral Circular Economy action plans across stakeholder Line Ministries. To supplement these efforts, PAGE has supported drafting a Framework and Guidance for the Establishment of Centre/s of Excellence on Circularity in India.

India is a member of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE) and has made promoting the circular economy agenda globally a key part of its foreign policy. In October 2022, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, launched the global Mission LiFE (Lifestyles for Environment) to promote behavioural approaches to creating sustainable consumption and production and circular economy. With similar intent, India also led negotiations of the 2023 G20 High Level Principles on LiFEstyles for Sustainable Development under its G20 Presidency and sponsored the sixth United Nations Environmental Assembly’s resolution on ‘Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles’ in 2024.