Soaring temperatures, wildfires, droughts, floods and denudations, the climate catastrophe unfolding is pressing and its face uglier than expected. While the world has committed to sustainable development goals (SDGs), "Out of the 169 targets of the sustainable development goals, only 14 per cent are on track," said Dr Shailly Kedia, senior fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI).
In line to stoke global dialogue and steer the conversation towards a sustainable future, the New Delhi-based non-profit research institute that focuses on environment, energy, and sustainable development, is back with its annual flagship World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), which is set to take place in New Delhi from March 5 to 7. It's the 24th edition of the summit, with this year focusing on the theme of Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions, TERI's director-general Dr Vibha Dhawan announced on Monday.
TERI has been holding the WSDS since 2001 with participation from world leaders, ministers, Nobel laureates, and business leaders, among others.
Among the key participants this year, are Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chair Jim Skea, Vice President (South Asia) of World Bank Martin Raiser, actor-producer Dia Mirza, among others, announced WSDS curator Kedia.
Speaking on the theme, Dhawan said, "Partnerships are the cornerstone of transformative climate action. We can provide global solutions. But we can't do everything alone, hence, need partnerships with developed nations." The summit is taking place at a crucial time with US President Donald Trump pulling the country out of the Paris Agreement, and Europe weakened with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
While Ajay Shankar, a distinguished fellow at TERI, highlighted how India is working well in the climate space, Kedia put the spotlight on how globally, the world is far away from achieving sustainable development goals. "With the world off-track on key sustainability goals, WSDS 2025 will serve as a catalyst for collaboration, bringing together diverse voices to co-create actionable pathways for a resilient planet," Shankar added.
The experts further highlighted how WSDS 2025 will also shape discourse in the lead-up to COP30 and eventually to COP33. Notably, India is in a bid to host COP 33 in the country in 2028.
