Date | February 7–9, 2024 |
---|---|
Location | India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, India |
Organized by | TERI |
Website | Official site |
The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is an annual conference organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an independent research institute with multidimensional capabilities. It was instituted in 2001, as the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS). WSDS 2024, which is the 23rd edition of the Summit, focused on the umbrella theme: Leadership for Sustainable Development and Climate Justice. The 23rd edition of the Summit will take place from February 7-9, 2024 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India. WSDS brings together political leaders, decision-makers from bilateral and multilateral institutions, business leaders, high-level functionaries from the diplomatic corps, scientists and researchers, media personnel, and members of civil society on a common platform. Over the years, the Summit series has witnessed the participation of 56 Heads of State and Government, 126 Ministers, 13 Nobel Laureates, 1932 Business Leaders, 3023 Speakers, and 39,483 Delegates.
1. Sustainable Development Leadership Award (SDLA): Awarded every year since 2005 to an eminent global leader, the award felicitates their contributions in the field of sustainable development.
2. Ministerial and High-level sessions: Part of the plenary segment of WSDS, these sessions have panel discussions designed around select themes of environmental importance linked with the overall theme of the Summit. Special addresses include Ministerial Addresses, Science Leadership Addresses, and Leadership Addresses. Speakers include policymakers, business leaders, and academicians.
3. Thematic Tracks: The thematic tracks allow for discussions on finer nuances of the Summit's focus areas. These tracks engage domain experts and practitioners to provide feasible solutions to the challenges faced by the local and global communities in maintaining the balance between securing environmental sustainability and development.
4. Act4Earth: The Act4Earth initiative was launched in the valedictory session of WSDS 2022.
5. Stakeholder Dialogues: As part of the Act4Earth initiative, a series of Stakeholder Dialogues will be organised in the months of October and November 2023. The sessions will be on the topics of- Global Goal on Adaptation and Implications for Climate Justice; Minilateralism and Energy Transitions; Green and Climate-sensitive Budgeting and Internationalizing Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).
6. CEO Forum: A platform for industry captains to brainstorm ideas for conducting businesses in a sustainable manner.
7. Youth Connect: A platform to sensitize young students at the school and graduate level about issues of sustainable development and climate change by securing their participation in the Summit's discussions.
The Act4Earth Initiative was launched at WSDS 2022’s valedictory session. As part of the initiative, TERI will engage in research activities that intend to identify and analyze practices with the potential for maximum impact across various sectors and systems while being fairly implementable by government and relevant state actors. By reaching out to policymakers, experts, and key stakeholders, the initiative will solicit their input and feedback to come up with policy recommendations aimed at furthering climate action and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [1]
Since 2001, TERI has annually organized the WSDS, earlier known as the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, an international platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on all aspects of sustainable development. The event brought together various heads of state and government, [2] thought leaders, policy-makers and members of industry and academia to deliberate on myriad issues. [3]
The Summit series has emerged as the premier international event on sustainability that focuses on the global future, but with an eye on the actions in the developing world which could bend our common future.
In 2005, The Energy and Resources Institute established the Sustainable Development Leadership Award to felicitate the efforts of global leaders in the field of sustainable development. The award winners are as follows: [4]
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015, during the fourth and fifth assessment cycles. Under his leadership the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and delivered the Fifth Assessment Report, the scientific foundation of the Paris Agreement. He held the post from 2002 until his resignation in February 2015 after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment. In March 2022, he was exonerated of the sexual harassment allegations. He was succeeded by Hoesung Lee. Pachauri assumed his responsibilities as the Chief Executive of The Energy and Resources Institute in 1981 and led the institute for more than three decades and demitted office as Executive Vice Chairman of TERI in 2016. Pachauri, universally known as Patchy, was an internationally recognized voice on environmental and policy issues, and his leadership of the IPCC contributed to the issue of human-caused climate change becoming recognized as a matter of vital global concern.
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent international research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna in Austria, founded as an East-West scientific cooperation initiative during the Cold War. Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-oriented interdisciplinary research into issues too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. These include climate change, energy security, population aging, and sustainable development. The results of IIASA research and the expertise of its researchers are made available to policymakers worldwide to help them make informed and evidence-based policies.
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an environmental nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. Launched in 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. C2ES lobbies policymakers to promote their preferred policies at the state, national, and international levels.
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 96 cities around the world that represents one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on fighting the climate crisis and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban residents.
The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is a Vienna-based Quasi-International Organisation that advances markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency with a particular emphasis on the emerging markets and developing countries.
Energy Carta is a non-profit organization founded in Singapore by a team of young adults.
The World Cities Summit is an international conference series on public governance and the sustainable development of cities.
The TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI) is a higher education institute in New Delhi, India which specializes in the field of sustainable development. It was established in 1998 by The Energy and Resources Institute. In 1999, the TERI School of Advanced Studies was granted the 'Deemed to be University' status by the Indian University Grants Commission.
Alhaji Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella is a Sierra Leonean agricultural economist, politician, and the former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. He was also the chief executive officer of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. Yumkella is a former Chairman of UN-Energy and a two-term former Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) is a youth organization in India that aims to raise the voice of Indian youth on the global platform, as South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions affected by climate change and environmental issues. Further, IYCN is motivated by global need in the Indian context to adopt mitigation and adaptation policy measure to combat climate change. It is part of the International Youth Climate Movement, which has the same acronym of IYCM.
The Centre for Research on Energy Security (CeRES) is an Indian research center housed at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) focusing on Indian relations to energy and consequences on itself and the world, diplomatically, economically and socially. The center was created on 31 May 2005. The CeRES team is based in the India Habitat Centre office of TERI in New Delhi, India.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a research institute in New Delhi that specializes in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development. Established in 1974, it was formerly known as the Tata Energy Research Institute. As the scope of its activities widened, it was renamed The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003.
The B4E Business for the Environment Summit is an international platform for dialogue and partnership for the environment.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative is a partnership between the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the global financial sector to catalyse action across the financial system to align economies with sustainable development. As the UN partner for the finance sector, they convene financial institutions on a voluntary basis to work together with them, and each other, to find practical solutions to overcome the many sustainability challenges facing the world today. UNEP FI does this by providing practical guidance and tools which support institutions in the finance sector to find ways to reshape their businesses and commit to targets for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, protecting nature, promoting a circular economy and supporting financial inclusion to address inequality. The solutions developed effectively form a blueprint for others in the finance sector to tackle similar challenges and evolve their businesses along a sustainable pathway. The creation and adoption of such a blueprint also informs policy makers concerned with sustainability issues about what would constitute appropriate regulation for the finance sector at large. Founded in 1992, UNEP FI was the first organisation to pioneer engagement with the finance sector around sustainability. The Finance Initiative was responsible for incubating the Principles for Responsible Investment and for the development and implementation of UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking and Principles for Sustainable Insurance as well as the UN-convened net-zero alliances. Today, UNEP FI provides sustainability leadership to more than 400 financial institutions, with assets of well over $80 trillion headquartered around the world.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an independent think tank founded in 1990 working to shape and inform international policy on sustainable development governance. The institute has three offices in Canada - Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto, and one office in Geneva, Switzerland. It has over 150 staff and associates working in over 30 countries.
The World Resources Forum (WRF) is a non-profit organisation for sharing knowledge about the economic, political, social and environmental implications of global resource use. WRF promotes resource productivity among researchers, policymakers, business, NGOs and the public. In addition to organizing international and regional conferences, the WRF Secretariat coordinates multistakeholder dialogue projects, amongst others the Sustainable Recycling Initiative (SRI) as well as the H2020 projects Towards a World Forum on Raw Materials (FORAM), and CEWASTE. The WRF contributes to other EC-projects and projects with the German development organisation GiZ, UNEP and UNIDO.
The Tomorrow's India Global Summit is an annual Global Business, Knowledge and Cultural Event. Tomorrow's India is an important wing of the Global Social (India) Foundation. It is an initiative working towards the elevation of talent across a number fields such as Education, Literature, Leadership, Music, Arts and Culture. Words of courage, stories of inspiration and actions of change is the aim of Tomorrow's India, which is presented in thematic pattern with the help of dialogues, discussions and debates with the pioneers in the field across the globe. The Summit is the brainchild of H P Singh, chairman and managing director of Satin Creditcare Network Limited.
Sandrine Dixson-Declève is an international climate change, sustainable development, sustainable finance and complex systems thought leader. She is currently the Co-president of the Club of Rome, together with Mamphela Ramphele, the first women to lead the organization in its history.
Sustainable Development Goals and Lebanon explains major contributions launched in Lebanon towards the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs and the 2030 agenda.
Shared Value Africa Initiative (SVAI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and implementing the concept of shared value in Africa. SVAI aims to drive sustainable economic development on the African continent by fostering collaboration between businesses, governments, and civil society organizations.