17 years - of Commitment, Development, and Moving Ahead

Honestly and sincerely, I cannot seem to calm down. When Team India lifted the ICC T20 World Cup last night, from that moment I have been smiling nonstop and playing highlights in my brain like nothing else.

It has been 13 years since India won an international cricket championship and 17 years since we won it in that format - and while nothing that I post today would do justice to the emotions I have been feeling along with countless other cricket fans, I thought of chartering India’s path towards sustainability and otherwise, from 2007 till today.

There might be some sudden cricket references here and there, please bear with me.

Like the ICC 2007 T20 World Cup, we had an ecological win too that year. Jyotsana Sitling, India’s first female tribal forester, and an IFS officer revived the Valley of Flowers National Park in India - today it is one of our most cherished treks, but the region was in absolute shambles and from 2002 to 2007, the transformation won the site a World Heritage Status from UNESCO. And to Jyotsna, she was the winner of the 2007 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar prize.

Back in 2007, we ranked 5th in our contribution to global GHG emissions, behind the US, China, all of the EU and Russia. We were assessing the drivers behind climate change and trying to work towards identifying risks and opportunities to tackle climate change and related implications. We had just initiated the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which promoted sustainable development with a focus on eight national missions, including solar energy, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture.?

Today, after 17 years, we have over 70 Gigawatt of solar capacity installed which contributes to 15% of our total renewable energy capacity, which is around 25% as a whole of the renewable energy mix.?

When we talk about enhanced energy efficiency, we have saved over 150 billion Kilo-watt hours of energy with PAT schemes constantly monitoring our energy consumption. With green building certifications becoming more common and enhanced regulation for any built-up region, this has fuelled even further.

Sustainable agriculture has also found an increased footing through better technology to power the farming sector, and an uprising of organic farming. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayee Yojana and the Soil Health Card have also supported this.

Back in 2007, the world was just starting to understand the dire effects of climate change, and action as well as litigation was limited. Today from the COP to the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement, the world has been up and running, and developing countries have been noticed. From being the 5th largest emitter of GHG emissions we have spearheaded to become the 5th largest economy with a focus on sustainable development and targeted Net Zero Goals.

In 2007, we participated in global climate discussions emphasising upon the fact how developed countries should take the lead in reducing emissions, and in COP26 the loss and damage fund was deliberated upon.

In 17 years, we have definitely come a long way. Today, we still adhere to the NAPCC but with an increased focus on implementation and expansion. Apart from a 2070 Net Zero target we have adhered to the Sustainable Development Goals at all fronts and launched multiple missions. Penetration into renewable energy has been done through the 500 GW energy capacity target by 2030, with a focus on solar and wind, but also through power purchase agreements and sustainability-linked financial instruments. With a focus on electric vehicles and building an infrastructure around the same, with a target of 30% EVs in the automotive market by 2030. We aim to, and are working towards reducing emission intensity levels by 35% as compared to 2005. With our net zero target, we have also installed over 175 GW of renewable energy, with a focus on solar PVs.

Over the past two decades, we have also signed multiple agreements, committing to climate action and overall sustainable development, including the Paris Agreement, the Kigali Amendment, the International Solar Alliance, COP26 commitments and beyond, the Global Methane Pledge, Convention on Biological Diversity and the Glasgow Climate Pact.?

From a country which focused on economic development with sustainable development on the side, we have transitioned into a nation which is trying to take it all in its stride, and capitalise on all that we can.

The point of this article is to not list down India’s commitments and journey, but to rather demonstrate that we all are on a journey, always. As an ardent cricket fan, the World Cup T20 win yesterday was absolutely glorious, but this is also a testament - to all the times one can come so close multiple times and still ‘fail’, how everything today is a result of everything done before and how turning all risks into opportunities is only in our hands. Times were different then and times are different now, while one era cannot be compared with another, it is our hands and heads to change with time and in the right direction.

And, what lies ahead? As our Men in Blue march towards a newer era with younger faces and a cycle coming around altogether, as a country too, we have our own goals to achieve. While we have committed to all the SDGs, we are far from many in reality. Thought is number one, but Action has to be number two and now is the time to act. Towards our 2030 roadmap, towards our 2050 roadmap, towards our 2070 goal, but essentially, to work towards it every single day. And it is up to us to be conscious citizens of this country and do all that we can, essentially, what is it without a good partnership anyways?

I also wrote an article on Cricket and Climate a couple of months ago, which you can read here:?

And a few good reads, here: The new-age Third Umpire - of Cricket and Climate Goals (linkedin.com)

climate_change_2008.pdf (rajyasabha.nic.in)

Government of India: Union Budget and Economic Survey (https://www.indiabudget.gov.in)

Microsoft PowerPoint - Subodh K Sharma (moef.gov.in)

pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1723952

Annual-Report-English-2023-24.pdf (moef.gov.in)

Where does India stand on the Sustainable Development Goals? | 4 | Pro (taylorfrancis.com)

What India can teach the world about sustainability | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)