Three heads of state and government including the PM Modi, Ministers for Environment from about a dozen countries, representatives from the United Nations, heads of inter-governmental organizations, and delegates from 131 countries will be a part of the deliberations on planetary resilience at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)’s latest edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) starting today.
The three-day Summit, TERI’s annual flagship event, is the only independently convened event of such scale in the developing world that brings together world leaders, thinkers, scientists, industry and government representatives and other stakeholders on a single platform to work towards long-term solutions for the planet’s health.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address today. Keynote addresses will be given by Dr. Irfaan Ali, Hon’ble President of the Republic of Guyana, Luis Abinader, Hon’ble President of the Dominican Republic and Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations. Bhupender Yadav, Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change will make the opening address.
Hosted as it is on the back of extreme weather events across the globe in recent years, the virtually held WSDS 2022 will focus on planetary well-being. Curated on the theme ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future’ experts will deliberate on a range of pressing issues ranging from climate change, sustainable production, energy transitions, global commons and resource security.
A high-profile ministerial session on sustainable consumption and production in developed countries will be attended by John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, United States, as well as Ministers of Environment from France, Canada, Norway, Finland, France, Spain and Germany. Other key speakers at the Summit that ends on February 18 include Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt, Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister, Maldives, and President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, and Mr. Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission.
Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, says, “The World Sustainable Summit 2022 will deliberate on planetary resilience, a theme of particular significance especially in the wake of the extreme weather events the world has been witnessing lately. The WSDS is the most important event on TERI’s calendar; it is our conscious effort at creating a platform where stakeholders from across the world sit together to deliberate on solutions that are based on sustainability and green growth. TERI is a pioneer in these areas and WSDS 2022 will play a crucial part in accentuating our role in providing technological, policy as well as knowledge solutions as India works towards realizing the commitments made at COP26.”
The Sustainable Development Leadership Award introduced in 2005 to felicitate global leaders for their contributions to sustainable development and environment protection will be announced during the inaugural event on February 16.