Oxford-Oval-ETI Sustainability Dialogue

India is responsible for a third of global GHG emissions and highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The Indian Government promotes clean energy to tackle climate change, yet the complex energy supply system coupled with policy roadblocks hamper investments and subsequent returns in the clean energy sector for businesses. Beyond this the Government appears unwilling to take any substantial action to address climate change, citing the need to develop and to provide electricity to 400 million people short of dependable electricity.

However some major business groups in India have recognized the importance of sustainability for their bottom line and have put in place social and economic measures of sustainability independent of government regulations, suggesting that the need to develop and the sustainability agenda do not need to be in conflict. What determines how far the market will go in addressing climate change, and what are the wider social and development implications of the private sector lead sustainability practices, are key questions of our time

ETI Dynamics, Oval Observer Foundation and Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development are delighted to bring you a Sustainability Dialogue that will bring together relevant stakeholders from academia, government and private sector with the objective of exploring the shortcomings in the current policy landscape in India targeted at addressing climate change issues. The Dialogue will also explore the role of markets in developing and investing in sustainable models for utilization of clean energy and achieving greater levels of energy efficiency.