Toward A Clean And Green Planet
India firmly believes that equity and climate justice must be the basis of global climate action. — Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav at the COP28 summit
November is considered the best month to visit Dubai, when its skies are clear, the sea breeze is balmy and temperatures hover around a pleasant 25 degrees Celsius. On the last day of November 2023, the throng there was 70,000 strong from the 200 nations that took part in the United Nations Climate Conference, COP28. Metaphorically heat had been building up over a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change summit being hosted by the oil and gas rich United Arab Emirates (UAE). The irony of the beneficiaries of the fossil fuel market joining forces with climate activists and environmentalists to work toward a transition to a world fueled by green energy was not lost on most.
Yet, at the end of the summit, where deliberations continued beyond the scheduled closing on 12 December, the unimaginable happened. The COP 28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, energy minister of the UAE and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, managed to facilitate a concurrence on transition to green energy from fossil fuels. Our cover feature in this issue tells this story, from the observations of participants at the COP28 summit, expert opinion and reports by our own team of scribes.
In India both government and private sector initiates have already ensured giant strides in transitioning to green energy sources like solar, hydel and wind power. The COP28 commitments will only give new wings to these ventures. Decarbonisaton and other changes in the energy systems mandate huge financial investments, which according to some estimates would be around $ 4.3 trillion per year till 2030 and $5 trillion annually thereafter till 2050. The Loss and Damage Fund proposed at COP28 will benefit developing nations like India, but questions of funding the fund have remained unanswered.
The other cover feature in this edition of BW Businessworld, highlights the good work that Indian corporate entities and startups have been doing to align with sustainable goals. BW Sustainability World’s inaugural Sustainable World Awards were given away at the fifth edition of the Sustainable World Conclave in Mumbai to applaud the champions of sustainability in India. A discerning jury picked the most sustainable businesses, the champions of the circular economy, India’s most sustainable supply chain initiative or most green infrastructure from the myriad entries that had come in from across industry sectors.
Of course, we also bring to you all our regular columns and features that you look forward to.
Happy reading!
