Two-day HT Environment Conclave commences today
The HT Environment Conclave, on Wednesday and Thursday, is being organised in the backdrop of investors increasingly giving significant importance to ESG as climate crisis looms large over businesses.
The two-day Hindustan Times Environment Conclave will begin on Wednesday with environment minister Bhupender Yadav’s address spelling out government’s road map to sustainable development. The theme of this year’s Conclave is “environmental, social and governance”, also known as ESG.
Yadav’s address will be followed by sessions on circular economy, energy transition, and net-zero emissions, among others, by environment and industry experts.
The HT Environment Conclave, on Wednesday and Thursday, is being organised in the backdrop of investors increasingly giving significant importance to ESG as climate crisis looms large over businesses. The conclave also comes at a time when India is gradually recovering from the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing for a transition to a low-carbon economy this decade.
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At the Glasgow climate conference in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India’s non-fossil energy capacity will reach 500 GW by 2030, meeting 50% of the country’s energy requirements.
He also announced that India will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by a billion tonnes by 2030, cut down the carbon intensity of the economy by 45% over 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Net-zero means completely neutralizing the greenhouse gases produced by human activity by reducing and absorbing emissions.
The conclave will attempt to capture the opportunities and challenges of this transition to a low-carbon economy.
On Wednesday, Yadav’s keynote address will be followed by a session on ‘Circular Economy: How to effectively and efficiently work towards reducing wastage’ by Swati Singh Sambyal, waste management specialist at UN Habitat. Sambyal will stress on lifestyle changes that one could make to reduce consumption and wastage.
Her session will be followed by a personal account of Arun Krishnamurthy, founder, Environmentalist Foundation of India, who will narrate his story of quitting a corporate job to save natural spaces in different parts of the country.
Day 1 of the conclave will also feature sessions by industry leaders like Priya Agarwal Hebbar, director, Vedanta Resources, who will speak on ESG in industry; and Rajeev Kumar Jain, chief operating officer (refrigerant business), Gujarat Fluorochemicals, who will discuss carbon emissions in the developing world.
A fireside chat with Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will kick-start Day 2 of the HT Environment Conclave on Thursday.
It will be followed by a session by Nivit Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution unit, Centre for Science and Environment, who will explain how industries can reduce their carbon and environmental footprints. AK Saxena, senior fellow and senior director, electricity and fuels division, The Energy and Resources Institute, will describe how India can achieve its net-zero emissions goal by 2070.
It will be followed by a joint session on sustainable infrastructure for industry by George Menezes, chief operating officer, Godrej Electricals and Electronics, and KS Venkatgiri, executive director, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.
The last speaker, Pragya Kapoor, actor, producer, environmental activist and founder of Ek Saath — The Earth Foundation, will focus on the role of youth in environmental movements.