The Policy Times Chambers of Commerce, in collaboration with Sustainovate Centre for Climate Solutions aims to act as a catalyst in the drafting of National Climate Policy to realise the dream of Carbon neutral Bharat as early as possible. With the same objective, A National Consultation on Climate Education (Virtual) was held on Thursday 25th January 2024. The consultation was attended by 1000+ industry and education leaders (EHS Heads, CSR Heads, Recyclers, universities and policymakers). Speakers at the consultation broadened the knowledge horizon of the participants with their in-depth insights and rich experiences.
The inaugural session was attended by Ved Prakash Mishra, Jai Kumar Gaurav, Sanjeev Raina, Radhika Kalia, Dhiraj Kumar, Sanjeev Raina ED, HSSE Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Radhika Kalia ChairmanPTCC Sustainability Committee, Dr. Ajay Mathur Director General International Solar Alliance, Dhiraj Kumar Singh, Vice Chairman PTCC Sustainability Committee, Jai Kumar Gaurav Senior Advisor (Climate Change and Circular Economy) GIZ GmbH India. In his introductory remarks Sanjeev Raina started his address with a new version of an old Urdu adage “Jahan hai to Jan hai” meaning if there is earth there will be live. He asserted the dire need of keeping the mother earth alive as experts are anticipated a catastrophic future for our future generation. He later highlighted the importance of awareness and role of education in achieving the goal of sustainable future.
Dr Haneef Qureshi, additional secretary at Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India appreciated the relevance of the program and told that topic of the conference is of utmost importance in the current scenario of international concern on climate change. He further added that its importance is underlined by the fact that Prime Minister of India has already given a vision of net zero by 2070. He also talked about the vision of Panchamrit which was later enunciated in COP 26 and COP 28 which subsequently became part of the nationally determined contribution. He also stressed that all sector of the economy must work towards that direction to ensure the sustainable future for our children.
Govind Jaiswal Joint Secretary, Dept of Higher Education Ministry of Education Government of India, shared his experience of a conference at World Health Organization on health concept. At the conference he asserted to the world that sustainability might be new to the world but not new to India which has been advocating the equal participation and representation of values for millenniums. He shared his life experience where his family used to give first food to the cow and last food to the dog.
Ved Prakash Mishra, director HSM Division, MoEF & CC, Government of India, talked about the crucial role of education in mitigating the climate change. He also reiterated crucial role of people’s participation apart from that of government.
Mr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of International Solar Alliance (ISA) appreciated India’s excellent performance in implementing the measures related to sustainability. He told that India is 9 years ahead of its target which bodes well for the future of this earth and needs to be followed by other nations as well.
Noted educationist and Chairman of NAAC Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe suggested that accreditation, a statutory requirement for a course to be recognized, must not be approved without the due inclusion of parameters of climate change. In addition to the noted government officials who are overseeing the affairs related to climate change and education policy, industry leaders and civil society veterans also participated in the panel discussion. Ms. Radhika Kalia, advisor of sustainability of PTCC, affirmed the critical role of education while advocating to align the curriculum with those parameters of sustainability. He energized the audience by sharing that his company has done more than 10000 activities related to creating awareness about sustainability which has so far covered more than 6 million people.
CA Priti Paras Salva, Chairperson Sustainability Reporting Standards Board, ICAI, analyzed the leading role of India in the area of sustainability. She briefed the audience about the achievement of ICAI which has included the sustainability as a subject in the course of Chartered Account.
Tushar Patnaik, National Head (EPR) sustainability Hindustan Coca-Colar Beverages Pvt Ltd. also appreciated India’s performance in the field of achieving sustainability targets. He also told the audience about the green prospects of Green Education. Rehan Khan Suri, Director, Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University) gave an impressive presentation about the prospects of a hefty economy of green jobs by 2070. He added that there should be a policy at the industry level to incentivize students to opt for green education.
Ashish Gupta, DGM (HSSE), Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited enlightened the audience with his own experience in the past where discussion on sustainability was limited to the people associated with certain industries like BPCL only. He asked the audience to advocate it passionately as it is relatively cheaper to adopt the measures related to sustainability.
Antony Nellissery, Head, Sterlite EdIndia Foundation talked about green jobs and skills gaps. He gave a data about green jobs by 2030. As per the data, there will be 3.4 million jobs related to solar and wind energy, 1.2 million jobs related to Electric Vehicle Transition, 1.8 million jobs related to service industry available in the market but industry will lack required skills.
Director of Sustainovate Climate Solution Pvt Ltd. Dr. Samiksha, introduced her company’s future plan in terms of climate education and being a consultancy to various organizations. Ms. Samiksha said that Sustainovate is a consultancy which came into being with an objective of holistic approach to cater services to climate change in terms of developing a net zero roadmap and various aspects of climate change. During her presentation, she briefed the audience how Sustainovate strives its best to empower people with the knowledge of climate change and climate education. She also talked about the services the Sustainovate is offering i.e. holistic climate education, comprehensive sustainability services, strategic guidance for NET zero aspect, Innovation in sustainability. CEO of Sustainovate Climate Solution Pvt Ltd. Ms. Nidhi Thapak also addressed the audience and shared her ideas about sustainability.
Mr. Nitin Mishra from Havells India Limited talked about climate education and gave the panel some suggestions in terms of policy drafting. He stressed on the school teachers training on climate education, nurturing of green skills and general awareness for behavioral changes for the sake of environment etc.
Mr. Sameer Joshi, Vice Chairman Governing Council Indian Plastics Institute, Mr. Dipil Kumar Vasu, SMS Director & Lead Consultant Team Tech EHS, Mr. Devesh Ghuley, Corporate Group EHS Head Everest Industries Limited, Mr. Vishal Kumar, Director Agile Advisors, Mr. K K Upadhyay, Chairperson Centre for Sustainability & CSR, BIMSTECH, Mr. Pravin Karn, Head Group CSR, Spark Minda Group, Dr Kapana Arora, Chief Technical Director, UrbanPace, Mr. Uday Narang, Founder & Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility were the other notable dignitaries who broadened the horizon of knowledge of the participants with their insights and experiences.
Secretary General of Policy Times Chambers of Commerce Mr. Akram hoque concluded the session with a vote of thanks to all the participants. Consultation witnessed quite a lively sessions and benefitted the insights of participants ranging from various professions, fields and expertise. It was a successful program in terms of the audience presence also.
