The Sustainable Industry Summit- Bridging the North South Divide

About the Program

The Global North and Global South must seek common ground on building sustainable industry ecosystem to save humankind from existential environmental threats. To obtain gainful insight on this critical issue, GDF and its partners are bringing together government decision makers, eminent environmentalists, academics, industry leaders, and social media influencers to New Delhi, India for the “Sustainable Industry Summit: Bridging the north- South Divide”.

The Summit on March 18,2023, will explore equitable solutions for the Northern and Southern hemispheres to cooperate in achieving greater sustainability initiatives. It will focus on commercial entities striking a balance between profit and environmental responsibility. It will examine the promotion of innovation in technology – notably Artificial Intelligence (AI) – in pursuit of sustainability. The Summit will seek to define principles for sustainable development that are acceptable to a Global South lagging behind in economic growth and the industrially advanced North.

It will discuss educating younger generations on a societal inclusive approach to environmental sustainability through both traditional teaching and modern social media. It will examine the lacuna in legal systems to ensure protection of the environment. There will be also discussion on raising the awareness of elected representatives in legislatures to planetary threats. Beyond rules and regulations is a growing awareness of the rights of individuals on environment issues, based on social justice and inclusivity. Upholding these rights will be discussed.

Program Details

1000 hrs to 1100 hrs

Welcome Remarks: Mr. Moses Manoharan, Chairman, Global Dialogue Forum

Inaugural Address: Enhancing the North-South Global Engagement on Environment: HE Ambassador Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark to India

Special Address: Adapting Global Sustainability Values to domestic Industry: Mr. Jayakumar G, Group President and Managing Director, Valeo India

Keynote Address: Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance, of 121 nations, promoting solar energy and reducing fossil fuel dependence

Note of Thanks: Ms Nisha Ramdas, Managing Editor, Global Dialogue Review foreign affairs journal.

SESSION I (1100 to 1230 hrs) Global Solutions to Protect both the Environment and Economic Growth in the Global South

With environmental disasters emerging with alarming frequency across the world, the worst hit are the poorest of the poor. They are mainly in the Developing World and emerging economies. To expect them to bear the burden of environmental curbs is unjust and impractical. They believe their resources are better served in alleviating illiteracy, disease and poverty.

Chairperson: Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India’s premier environmental institution.

Speaker:  Tan Sri Datuk Ong Tee Keat, Chairman, Centre for New Inclusive Asia (CNIA).  Malaysia’s former Minister for Transport and Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat (Lower House) of Parliament

Speaker: Professor Rashed Uz Zaman, Department of International Relations University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Speaker: Dr. Veena Jha, former India Coordinator of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and was with the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development.

SESSION II (1230 to 1330 hrs) Innovation and Incentivising Investment in Green Technology to Sustain Industry   

As the climate crisis intensifies, innovation in technology is crucial in protecting the environment. Green innovations, when applied to industry, must balance ecological concerns with profitability in order to be widely acceptable. The risks posed by climate change demand greater investment in industrial sustainability. Globally, there has been an unprecedented surge in sustainable investment. In the last two years alone, the value in major financial markets of sustainable investment has grown by 15 percent, according to a report by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA). India has a high potential for growth in sustainable investing. This capital could also play a critical part in bridging funding gaps in pollution and waste management.

Chairperson: Mr. Pierrick Fillon- Ashida, First Counsellor, Head of Research and Innovation Section, delegation of the European Union to India, New Delhi

Speaker: Dr. Prashant Goswami, Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application, was Lead Author, Assessment Report 5, Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. He has been a visiting professor at École Normale Supérieure, Paris.

Speaker: Mr. Aniket Ghanashyam, Manager, Waste to Wealth Mission, at Invest India overseen by Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

Speaker: Mr Rakesh Diwan, Senior General Manager with The Muthoot Group Corporate Office in New Delhi

LUNCH – 1330 hrs to 1430 hrs 

SESSION III (1430 to 1530 hrs) Amidst Conflicts from the Ukraine to the South China Sea, Can Diplomacy Isolate and Promote Environmental Sustainability

Skilful diplomacy can unite the world’s elite, industrialised nations with the much poorer rest to reach  a negotiated way forward in tackling emissions and other divisive environmental issues. These issues have led to the formation of new

groups such as the V20 – comprising the most vulnerable countries of the world – to lay out proposals on how their “counterparts” should pay for their historical part in climate change.

Special Address: Dr. Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Development Alternatives and Trustee, Club of Rome –India.

Chairperson: Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh, former Deputy Director- General World Trade Organisation (WTO) he has been Senior associate, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

Speaker: Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri IFS (Retd.), former Indian Ambassador to Nepal

Speaker: Dr. Laura Yereksheva, Professor at al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Speaker: Lt. General Arun Kumar Sahni, UYSM, SM, VSM (Retd.), former General Officer Commanding in Chief, South Western Command

SESSION IV (1530 to 1700 hrs) Updating Legislation, Framing Laws to Support Environmental Security

According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), both developed countries and the emerging economies with large emissions will have to dramatically cut back on their emission growth. There is need to review current climate change policy development and potential legislative strategies. For example, India not only lacks specific legislation on climate change, there is also no prescribed oversight mechanism to ensure implementation of the policies (or State Action Plans on Climate Change) that the states propose to the central government.

Chairperson:  Dr. Prodipto Ghosh IAS (Retd) is a former Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change; and former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India

Speaker: Ms. Fereshte Sethna, Senior Partner, DMD Advocates, Mumbai

Speaker: Dr. Ningthoujam Koiremba Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi.

Our Keynote Speakers

Ambassador Freddy Svane

Ambassador of Denmark to India

Dr. Ajay Mathur

Director General, International Solar Alliance

Mr. Jayakumar G

Group President and Managing Director, Valeo India