Tuesday, 23 January 2007
New Delhi, India DSDSDSDS 20072007
sustainable dialogues at the national and Inaugural international levels for translating climate change policies into visible session impacts on the lives of people.
Welcome address Dr Arcot Ramachandran Presidential address As they Smt. Sheila Dikshit Inaugural address said it... Mr A Raja Vote of thanks Dr R K Pachauri Introduction by Left: Inaugural session in progress; Right: Mr A Raja and Smt. Sheila Dikshit lighting the inaugural lamp Prof. Ralph J Begleiter Special address One planet living: G8 Gleneagles dialogue Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP Commentary Efficient markets ignore the Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs poorest of the poor—they PANEL DISCUSSION have no buying power. We Creating a global resolve Statements by heads of governments / need public policy actions to heads of states Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP HE Mr Olafur Ragnar Grimsson HE Ms Tarja Halonen save them. • HE Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik • HE Mr Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, and Special Advisor to the Secretary- • HE Ms Tarja Halonen is need to develop adequate and sustainable development and climate ‘‘General of the United Nations, USA • HE Mr Mamadou Lamine Loum appropriate coping strategies. This, it change. It was acknowledged that • HE Prof. Ruud F M Lubbers was felt, will help civilizations adapt policy and technology combine to ince its commencement in better to climate change. create markets where even the 2001, the DSDS has emerged Speakers also pointed out that reduc- deprived can participate. S as an important annual event, tion in the ecological footprints is an It also emerged during the course of inspiring leaders and mobilizing pub- important step towards sustainable de- discussion that forms of governance also lic opinion on the objectives of the velopment and should not be construed impact the sustainability of climate change policies. A democratic set-up is MDGs (Millennium Development as a reduction in the standard of life. A huge amount of resources – Goals). In the opening session of The mobilization of science and tech- best suited to further the sustainable DSDS 2007, speakers noted that nology would have an important role to development agenda, as a clear division 100 billion dollars – that have policy formulations are already begin- play in this context; a case in point of roles between legislation, regulation, been used in the Iraq war ning to stress the tenuous links being the need to bridge the divide and implementation generates mutual could have been used to between environmental concerns, eco- between the developed and the devel- trust and respect between political achieve the MDGs. nomic development, and social justice. oping countries. structure and people. The session con- Prof. Ralph J Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor Since climate change is an ongoing The panel discussion, which cluded with the opinion that regardless of Communication, University of Delaware and Distinguished Journalist in Residence, process and there are multi-dimen- followed the addresses by the speak- of the system of governance, political USA sional impacts associated with it, there ers, continued the focus on issues of leaders on the whole need to initiate SPONSORS MEDIA PARTNERS ’’ORGANIZER
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Public Relations Visit www.teriin.org/dsds Keynote As they address said it... Meeting Asia’s challenge of sustain- able development You can’t address the water Chairperson Mr S Sundar needs of the poor with taps Speaker Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs and toilets. You need to manage the ecosystem that Emphasizing that economic devel- supplies it. opment should be considered a Prof. Sachs also focused on the cur- UNFCCC that would include agree- Mr James Leape long-term objective even for the rent economic era of great conver- ing on a mid-century target of ‘‘Director General, WWF International, Switzerland poorest of the poor, Prof. Jeffrey gence where the gap between the rich 500 PPM (parts per million); rebate Sachs expressed concern over half and the poor is narrowed. The only for the poor; standards for power of the population in Tropical Asia concern was that while the Asian plants, industries, and automobiles; being below the poverty line. countries account for 60% of the avoiding deforestation; better tech- Hunger, malnutrition, non-availabil- world’s population, they make up for nologies and their judicious trans- ity of safe drinking water, and other a mere 20% of the GNP (gross na- fer; price on carbon sequestration basic needs are the major challenges tional product), which would increase projects; and a global adaptation in Asian countries. These problems up to 50% by 2050. fund for low-income countries. demand low-cost solutions like avail- He urged that all countries should Prof. Sachs identified water as the ability of schools, rural health care, join hands to solve the problem of primary challenge for the Asian Today’s business paradigm is agricultural inputs, access to water, emissions and proposed a policy countries. He proposed the setting business in society rather and safe technologies. framework for a post-Kyoto up of an IPCC-like body for water. than business and society.
Mr Herman Mulder Senior Advisor to the UN Global Compact and WBCSD Session 1 MDGs: the distance hunger. It was argued that poverty yet to be traversed reduction could not be achieved if development continued to shirk sus- Chairperson Dr Prodipto Ghosh Dr Prodipto Ghosh Mr Ashok Alexander Dr James Baker Mr James Leap tainable pathways. The world required A report on CEO Forum 2007: perspective and understanding on sus- Business and society—partnering for a tainable development. The role of the sustainable future media in bringing about this perspec- Mr Björn Stigson tive was stressed. ’’ Speakers • Mr Ashok Alexander Critical issues relating to water • Dr James Baker were also a dominating topic of the • Mr James Leape discussion, especially since more than • Mr Herman Mulder one-third of the MDGs can be • Mr Hideaki Oda • Mr Michael P Schulhof achieved by solving the water and sanitation problem. To tackle the water challenges of the day, it was The session began with a report on suggested that businesses, govern- the CEO Forum 2007, the curtain Mr Herman Mulder Mr Hideaki Oda Mr Michael P Schulhof Mr Björn Stigson ments, and the civil society work in raiser event to DSDS 2007. While tandem at all levels. presenting the report, Mr Björn upon many aspects of the MDGs, dis- The possibilities to overcome the dis- Other subjects that were discussed Stigson, co-chair of the Forum, noted cussing on the prospects of meeting ease can be broadened, if it is fought include the urgent need to move that the overriding sentiment that these on time. One such aspect is the with classic management principles towards sustainable energy choices, emerged from CEO Forum 2007 was race to effectively combat and contain upheld, keeping affected communities greater support for R&D to monitor that ‘business and society’ was yester- the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is much central to social and economic activi- the planet’s changing climate, and the day’s paradigm. Today, it has changed more complex in India than in other ties. importance of global networking to to ‘business in society’. regions of the world, because of the Speakers also focused on MDG 1: form a consensus on sustainable Speakers at the session touched stigma associated with the disease. eradicating extreme poverty and development.
Keynote Speakers were of Speakers were also keen to argue the opinion that that business support for sustainable the energy and development strategies must be, in address power sectors need turn, aided by a policy environment to accelerate R&D that encourages innovation and facili- Turning challenge to bring cleaner tates corporate involvement in tackling into opportunity: technologies into development challenges. Likewise, the the production civil society too must form partner- the business role process. Technolo- ships with businesses to advance the in sustainable gies, such as sustainable development agenda. biofuels, and car- The session concluded with the development bon capture and consensus that the corporate sector needs to look at sustainable develop- Chairperson storage that have Mr Anil Razdan shown promise ment challenges not as a component Speaker need to be sup- of corporate social responsibility prac- Mr John A Manzoni ported by business. tices, but as a business opportunity. sustainable development. Businesses While costs of such new technologies Like in all business opportunities, first The highlight of the session was an can make, and in many cases have remain high, it is hoped that their in- movers will hold the advantage in the analysis of the inherent strengths of already made, significant contribu- creased use would have the positive coming business model in which the corporate sector that could be tions to sustainable development, but effect of decreasing the incremental social and environmental sustainability effectively harnessed to achieve there still remains untapped potential. cost of deploying them. are integral to the bottom line. change and sustainable development. Session 2 With climate change dialogue often As they Climate change and sustainable marked by disagreements and expec- tations, countries could partner each said it... development other and foster global cooperation to old solutions, governments and arrive at common solutions to a threat Chairperson corporations have an opportunity to that does not distinguish between the Mr Roger Harrabin Setting the theme develop and try new alternative modes rich and the poor. Speakers called for Mr Yvo de Boer of low-carbon energy technologies. commitment at the highest political Speakers Technologies such as carbon capture level to achieve global cooperation. • Mr Howard Bamsey and storage can likewise be tapped for Developing countries must be • Ms Preety Bhandari We have a notion that if • Dr Klaus S Lackner this purpose. To access financial provided an appropriate incentive • Prof. Akio Morishima resources and technologies to think structure to encourage participation politicians fail, the scientists • Dr Pal Prestrud beyond conventional energy, speakers in climate change mitigation. can bail us out. • Dr Camilla Toulmin cited opportunities presented by Broadly, speakers identified inte- Mr Roger Harrabin, Senior Environment international arrangements such as grating action on mitigation and Analyst, BBC, UK the CDM (clean development mecha- adaptation into the policy-planning Discussions in the session revolved nism). Similarly, recent efforts like the process as the focus for long-term, ‘‘ around the vexing issue of climate Asia–Pacific Partnership also offer country-level strategies to deal effec- change, which is posing a hurdle to prospects, especially to the private sec- tively with climate change. Interna- sustainable development. Climate tor, to play a key role in climate change tionally, buttressing long-term coop- change reflects a threat that can no mitigation. erative programmes that seek to longer be ignored or understated. With Discussions also focused on the role strengthen the protections on the a slew of scientific evidence pointing of governments in bringing about global environment must be given a out that the adverse impacts of climate international consensus on climate priority. If we all lived like people in change are not far away but are sub-Saharan Africa, we would already manifesting themselves, the Ms Preety Bhandari issue has become too urgent to be use only half the planet. postponed further. Speakers were Dr Camilla Toulmin, Director, International Institute for Environment and Development, unanimous in this assessment, and UK elaborated on the grave consequences of climate change that are being ob- served currently. The rapid melting of snow, the rise in sea levels, and incon- Mr Roger Harrabin Mr Yvo de Boer sistent weather patterns are directly impacting human productive activity in agriculture and allied sectors. The global scale of climate change poses huge challenges to every country in the world, especially those in the de- There are three issues that veloping world, hence impeding the link energy and sustainable achievement of the MDGs. development: energy Speakers suggested a dual approach to tackle climate change, with empha- sustainability, energy equity, sis on strategies for mitigation and and climate change. adaptation. For instance, development Mr John A Manzoni, Group Managing Director, BP Plc, UK aspirations often reflect increase in energy consumption. Yet, instead of Dr Pal Prestrud Dr Camilla Toulmin
Dinner Launch of the India session Council for Sustainable Development’’ Chairperson Mr A Raja The ICSD (India Guest of honour Council for Sustain- HE Mr Ahmed Abdullah able Development) is Speaker a newly formed plat- Mr Achim Steiner form that seeks to perform an advisory Mr Achim Steiner, in the dinner function as a non- address, pointed out two separate governmental entity Mr Achim Steiner worlds in India today: the traditional and contribute analy- India steeped in natural riches and her- sis and guidance to itage but lacking in economic power and Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia usher in sustainable the new emerging nation that is globally ordinary Indians. Returning to his Guest of Honour of development in India. recognized as a powerhouse in science, contention that India is now a source the session, HE Mr The ICSD was launched at the sidelines of technology, and innovation. He said that of hope for the world, he also said that Ahmed Abdullah, Min- DSDS 2007 by Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the key to a sustainable future for India India today has the potential to shape ister of Environment, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman of the Planning lies in bridging the gap between these the future through subtle changes in Energy and Water, Commission, Government of India. Dr R K ‘two Indias’. He expressed confidence development trajectories that reflect Republic of Maldives, Pachauri, Director-General, TERI and the that India would be able to harness the the desire to restore a balance between said that Maldives has co-chair of the ICSD, introduced assembled enormous potential of its poorer com- human progress and the planet’s taken inspiration from delegates to the members of the body, and gave munities and emerge as the ‘hope of the health. India could take a leading role India’s example in sus- a broad overview of the ICSD. Prof. Jeffrey world’ for sustainable development. in tackling climate change, which tainable development. D Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute and co- A revolution of sorts is occurring requires all the nations of the world He said that urgent chair of the ICSD, spoke about the need for in India, Mr Steiner said, and it is to take collective decisions grounded international efforts India to plan for its environmental challenges leading to positive outcomes for the in united thought. Mr Steiner con- are needed to save vul- in terms of decades, and not centuries, and nation’s environment. Through televi- cluded by hoping that the year 2007 nerable countries like expressed confidence that the ICSD would be sion, magazines, and the Internet, the would be a year of increased momen- the Maldives. The able to make a contribution in this regard. concept of environment conservation tum in India on issues of sustainable world must engage in For more information on the ICSD, please and sustainable development is now development. peace, not war, for sus- visit
SPECIAL EVENT cover therisks remains theneedto nology, there promote cleantech- to mechanismsthat change. Inaddition gating climate step forward inmiti- out, leadingtoabig phased be gradually technology would able, inefficient come widelyavail- be- technologies trum, ascleaner ogy-transfer spec- gies. At theotherendoftechnol- refinementofcleantechnolo- further out, would encourageadoptionand and labelling. These, itwas pointed role ofinitiatives suchasstandards technology, highlightedthe speakers ment Fund). funds liketheGEF(GlobalEnviron- antee funds, andalsomultilateral as venture capitalistfunds, guar- risk funding optionswere discussed, such same. Onthefinancingfront, various rights’ fortheeffectiveness ofthe ‘financing’ and ‘intellectual property change, thespecialevent focusedon inmitigating climate key instrument Highlighting technologytransferasa change mitigation Technology transferforclimate To implementnewandpromising result intechnicalinnovation. why’, thecognitive processesthat totransferthe important ‘know- along withthe ‘know-how’, itisalso nology transfer. Inotherwords, tech- in theCDMifitistofacilitate that knowledge transferisimperative and transfer, concurred speakers nities. and easilyabsorbedbylocalcommu- products that arelocallyadaptable noted thepressingneedtodesign lenges atthelocallevel, speakers was citedasapossiblemechanism. on line. Here, guaranteefund therisk suchtechnologies inbringing involved Coming toknowledge creation To addressclimatechangechal-