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India Lays Out Its Position on Rio+20 |
| Source: |
southasia.oneworld.net |
| Source Date: |
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
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| Country: |
India |
| Created: |
Mar 27, 2012 |
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The 7th National Convention of Global Compact Network India saw India's environment minister reiterate a contentious stand on sustainable development by suggesting a different version of thought for developing countries like India which face challenges of their own. Calling ‘sustainable development’ and ‘equity’ blockbuster words of today, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan, reinforced India’s version of sustainable development at the 7th National Convention of Global Compact Network India which was flagged off in New Delhi on March 21.
This alluded to the often contested schism between the global North and South over matters of environment and carbon emissions. Natarajan emphasised the need to view India’s stand on sustainable development as one of livelihood sustainability as opposed to the concept of lifestyle sustainability which other developed nations face. Keeping this in context, she elaborated on the need for India to look at matters of sustainability from the perspective of its poorest citizens who are affected the most by such decisions. To the audience which comprised of corporate and government officials, she advocated a three-pronged approach – economic growth, social development and environment protection—extending the concept of CSR to CSER or Corporate Social and Environment Responsibility. In a large way, the inaugural session of the ‘Corporate Perspective towards Sustainable Development: Rio+20 and Beyond’ set down the path for India’s agenda at the Rio+20. The session had a fine balance of representation, with the public sector being represented by the heads of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and the Oil and Gas Cooperation (ONGC); the UN, by the resident Coordinator of UNDP India Patrice Coeur-Bizot, and the government being represented by Jayanthi Natarajan.
Keeping in with the theme of the Rio+20 which will be held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the session talked about the importance of sustainable development and the role of CSR in it. More than anything the need to propel active engagement on this front was grappled with. S Vasudeva, chairman of ONGC proposed a two-way solution for organisations to comply with environmental norms. He suggested ‘a creation of equitable regulatory frameworks with hefty penalties to ensure a level playing field for a sustainable progress’ and the tangible incentives and benefits to the ‘environment-friendly’ companies.Patrice Coeur-Bizot suggested extensive ‘support for CSR activities for sustainable development, to make societies better places to live in.’ The convention hopes to gear up for Rio+20 and address core issues regarding the problems of adhering to universal norms of sustainable development and the measures that would ensure more consciousness and participation by governments as well as corporate organisations. As Natarajan aptly rounded up the gist of the convention by saying,‘The planet is not something we have inherited from our fore fathers, but something we have borrowed from our future generations.’
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India Lays Out Its Position on Rio+20 The 7th National Convention of Global Compact Network India saw India's environment minister reiterate a contentious stand on sustainable development by suggesting a different version of thought for developing countries like India which face challenges of their own
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