Indo-German Expert Group Holds Major Dialogue On Green And Inclusive Economy

  Development partnerships are necessary  for adopting technology innovation, access to finance and equity  which in turn are needed  to implement sustainable development goals, agree experts

Emerging countries like India need a major financial push to boost adoption of green technologies that are key to sustainable and clean development, and the government needs to bring private sector and financiers on board to achieve this goal, experts from India and Germany agreed at a bilateral conference on Green & Inclusive Economy today.

The conference on ‘Green and Inclusive Economy – a Contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ is focusing on the issue of green and inclusive development which doesn’t leave out marginalized communities, and does not cause further damage to our planet. The adoption of the the Sustainable Development Goals as well as growing concern over climate change has given a renewed impetus to the idea of sustainable and inclusive development.

Experts agreed that civil society, public sector, private sector, governments of developed and developing countries should come together to achieve the goal of sustainable development.

“India and Germany share many common concerns for economic growth and are working together to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. India needs inclusive growth that also achieves employment generation and poverty alleviation. India and Germany have been sharing dialogues for a green and inclusive economy for a long time and GIZ has been working with India for nearly 60 years. Together, we hope to achieve the unattainable and are highly committed to our cause” said Ms Tanja Feldmann, Country Manager, India, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Innovation towards technologies that are financially viable, transformation pathways and effective policy and fiscal instruments are the way forward if we want to achieve sustainable development for all. The Indo- German Expert Group on Green and Inclusive Economy aims to advocate efforts and policies that synchronize growth with inclusive development.

“The world today is moving towards a greener and sustainable economy but the major obstacle towards achieving sustainable development is lack of adequate of finance to support green technologies. The international business and financial community needs to be taken into confidence and taken on board. Global savings last year amounted to nearly 7.5 trillion dollars and a green and inclusive economy will require approximately 4 trillion dollars. It’s necessary to have standing conference on global finance allocation,” said Mr. Rathin Roy, Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

Countries like India need to pay attention to the best practices that have already been adopted by governments across the globe to achieve green and clean development. The setting up of sustainable cities needs a working together of the government and entrepreneurs who can offer new solutions.

Professor Dirk Messner, Director, German Development Institute gave his views via a video message. He emphasised that both India and Germany need to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and effective collaboration between the two countries can aid the implementation of SDGs.

The conference provides a forum to discuss the ideas developed within the Indo-German Expert Group on Green and Inclusive Economy over the past years with Indian policy-makers and representatives of the private sector as well as civil society. The conference provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss ideas, challenges and possibilities on how to implement strategies on Green and Inclusive Economy.

Some of the major issues which the conference is focusing include:
· Sustainable cities and communities

· Industry, innovation and architecture

· Protecting life in oceans and land

Other speakers at the conference included Mr. Suneel Pandey, Senior Fellow and Director, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Mr. Ambuj D. Sagar, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Mr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Mr. D. Raghunandan, Delhi Science Forum & Director, Center for Technology & Development, Mr. Appukuttan Damodaran, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Ms. Anandi Iyer, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung, Ms. Kirsten Jorgensen, Freie Universität Berlin and Mr. Jagan Shah, National Institute of Urban Affairs.