.It's time for India to assert itself as a climate leader. With more than 1.3 billion people, India has both the opportunity and responsibility to steer the world away from fossil fuels by setting ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions. The recently held Maharashtra State Summit, as part of Season 2 of Sustainability100+, an initiative by Network18 and AB InBev India, showcased this new paradigm as the state's top political and business leaders converged to discuss the challenges of meeting net-zero emission targets in one of the country's most urban and industrialized states.
Progressive By Nature
Leading the conversation was the Honourable CM of Maharashtra, Shri Eknath Shinde. In his opening address, Mr. Shinde deftly articulated a comprehensive vision of change and the many steps the state has taken to reduce emissions, including the launch of Mumbai Climate Action. Through his address, the Chief Minister was clear about his government's priorities. “The priority areas for intervention for SDGs remain poverty, hunger, gender equality and sustainable cities. If the benefits of progress don't the reach the last individual, it cannot be called inclusive and comprehensive.” Uday Samant, Minister of Industry, Government of Maharashtra, echoed the bold sentiments of Mr. Shinde . Mr. Samant promised to uphold Maharashtra's pro-business credentials, asserting that “Whether it's schemes, incentives, single-window clearance, or a new multi-modal logistics park, Maharashtra has always supported businesses”. At the same time, “there is a concurrent move towards more eco-friendly business”, the Minister said.
The Urban Question
But could eco-friendly businesses help India's cities meet their net-zero carbon goals? A panel of experts explored the topic at the Maharashtra State Summit hosted by Anand Narasimhan, featuring luminaries like Dr Sanjay Kolte, CEO of Pune Smart City PSCDCL; Shloka Nath, Head of Sustainability & Head of Policy and Advocacy at Tata Trusts; Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner & Lead – Sustainability Practice at McKinsey; Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder & MD of Hiranandani Group; Gyanesh Chaudhary, Vice Chairman and MD of Vikram Solar; and Ashish Palta, Vice President of Sales at AB InBev India.
Shloka Nath set the stage for the discussion right at the outset. “The low-carbon transition brings a lot of economic and social core benefits that this country requires.” Inarguable as that maybe, questions remain about how to achieve it. % of what India will be in the next 25-30 years is yet to be built”, Rajat Gupta noted, before asking his co-panellists whether this future investment can be done in the ‘right way'. The veteran in the mix, Dr Hiranandani, believed the sustainable transformation of our cities is already a work in progress. “It's happening at three levels – policy, implementation and at the private sector level”, he explained. It's obviously been a huge boost to innovators like Gyanesh Chaudhary, who lauded the rise in India's renewable energy capacity from 10 MW to 59 GW. “When we started our journey 17 years, there was nothing happening in renewable energy in India.”
The Road Ahead
Arun Chawla, Director-General at FICCI, ended the State Summit with an optimistic view on how business and government can work together to achieve sustainable development. In his address, he emphasized the importance of aligning priorities to attract big investment and garner big market share. He believes that successful alignment of these priorities could help Indian businesses “attract big investment and garner big market share” by bringing cost efficiency to climate action initiatives. Arun Chawla is also a jury member for the upcoming Sustainability100+ Awards.
The State Summit was another milestone in a campaign that has brought together India's political and business leadership to take a closer at the country's sustainability challenges, and propose pathbreaking solutions. For viewers, it was another eye-opening presentation, which gave them a perspective on how they can contribute positively to climate action – as individuals, as communities, and as a nation.
For more information on the Sustainability100+ Season 2, visit:-https://www.sustainability100plus.com/
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