Leaders from around the world are gathering at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) next week in New Delhi. To be inaugurated by the Vice President of India, Mr. M Venkaiah Naidu and hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), WSDS is a flagship event focused on developing countries. NRDC and our senior delegation are honored to be part of the discussions to work towards local solutions to climate challenges.
As extreme weather events around the world increase in intensity and frequency, recent reports also show that the past five years have been the hottest ever in recorded history. The urgency to act on climate change has never been more dire. The sobering report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in October 2018 underscores the urgency to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and save hundreds of millions of people from the devastating impacts of climate change.
India, the third largest emitter, and one of the largest economies in the world, is key to the success of the unprecedented effort to fight climate change. At the Paris climate talks in 2015, India had made an ambitious climate pledge including reducing its emissions intensity by 33 to 35 percent below 2005 levels and achieving 40 percent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
Three years later, despite facing huge pressures of economic and social development, India has made strong progress on its climate targets. India is one of the top three nations leading global renewable energy growth and aims to install 175 GW of renewable energy (including 100 GW solar and 60 GW wind) by 2022. As of November 2018, India is about halfway there, with renewables capacity reaching 71.5 GW, representing nearly 20 percent of India’s total installed capacity.
So, while there is great progress to celebrate, a lot remains to be done. Fittingly, the theme of this year’s WSDS gathering is “Attaining the 2030 Agenda: Delivering on our Promise.” During the past 17 years, WSDS has become a focal point for global leaders and practitioners to discuss and deliberate on climatic issues of universal importance, with a unique focus on developing and emerging economies, a critical component to accelerating global climate action.
NRDC Leadership at WSDS 2019
To advance global solutions focused on developing economies, NRDC is honored to partner with TERI for WSDS 2019. This year, several NRDC experts will be speaking at WSDS on key issues, presenting solutions and strategies from NRDC’s decades of experience in the United States and around the world.
- Special Session: “In Conversation with Rhea Suh” with Rhea Suh, President, NRDC in conversation with Suman Bery, Non-Resident Fellow, Bruegel
- Panel Discussion: “Global Mobility Paradigm” with Roland Hwang, Managing Director, Climate and Clean Energy
- Panel Discussion: “Sustainable Buildings in India: Energy Efficiency, Resource Efficiency, Green Cooling and Green Design” with Anjali Jaiswal, Senior Director, International Program
- Panel Discussion: “Disruptions and Transformation: Innovations in the Cooling Sector” with Jake Schmidt, Managing Director, International Program
- Plenary: “Moving towards Cleaner Oceans” with Annie Notthoff, Senior Western Advocacy Director
NRDC looks forward to the Summit and working with partners around the world, sharing our deep and broad approach toward climate change on a large scale, benefiting all communities.