All eyes are on New Delhi. The world leaders will meet in the Indian capital city to attend the 18th G20 summit. I also will keenly observe the discussions as green growth, climate finance, lifestyle, environment, and sustainable development goals (SDGs) top the agenda of the meeting.
While there is a lot of brouhaha for the meeting and the global sustainability community is looking at us with hawk eyes, I am a tad worried. That is because the climate ministers meeting held earlier this year in Goa did not heed much results. The reason—these ministers have limited authority to take action.
On the other hand, I am hopeful. The theme of India’s G20 Presidency: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which translates to The World Is One Family, is inclusive. It includes all forms of life- humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms. Simply put, one can say it emphasizes maintaining an environmentally sustainable condition both at the individual and national level.
In the modern era, developments drive economies and cannot be sidelined. But these developments can be accelerated with transformative actions that are based on environmentally friendly actions that are cleaner and greener. For which we need the political leadership to take that focused actions that are impact-driven and not just lip service. That also means quick actions and result-oriented actions with timelines set for short, medium and long-term goals.
Returning to the agenda set for September 9 and 10, 2023, the core objective of the summit is to join hands at the G20 level for strong economic growth.
However, the agenda also includes the following
- Advancing green growth, climate finance, and quality of life
- Expediting progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which is a welcome relief.
Let us consider what India witnessed during the monsoon season this year, August recorded the highest temperatures in different parts of the country. As a sustainability and climate action warrior, I would expect the countries to come up with quick action points. And India will create a leadership model to drive the climate action agenda. I hope it is not the usual summit to another summit ball rolling event.