This webinar presents the findings of a new IISD report that provides an evidence-based approach to ensuring India’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are part of the country’s clean energy transition while also continuing to bring revenues to the government, create jobs, and support local communities. The presentation is followed by a panel discussion on opportunities for SOEs in the clean energy future.

SOEs—known in India as Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)—hold dominant positions in India’s energy sector, controlling coal mining, transport, power generation; natural gas exploration; and crude oil extraction, refining, and marketing. They bring sizable financial returns to the Government of India, employ millions of citizens, engage in community building, and take on activities of strategic importance. With the growing pressure from cost-competitive clean energy sources and India’s global decarbonization commitments, Indian PSUs are expected to face challenges due to their fossil-dependent business model.

IISD has undertaken a study to build an evidence-based approach to how firms can identify business risks while also illustrating the “opportunity” in transition—how SOEs can mitigate risk by helping deliver a share of India’s clean energy targets.

Organized in partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Centre for Development and Environment Policy (IIM–C CDEP), this webinar shows how this approach can be applied to three central-level PSUs that play fundamental roles in the coal-to-power value chain: Coal India Limited, the largest national coal miner; NTPC, the largest thermal power producer; and Indian Railways, the primary transporter of coal across the country.

Agenda

Introduction

Summary of Findings

Balasubramanian Viswanathan, Policy Advisor, IISD

Panel Discussion

Moderator:

Runa Sarkar, Professor, IIM Calcutta

Panellists:

• Vivek Sen, Associate Director, Climate Policy Initiative
• Valerie Kwan, Director, Asian Investor Group on Climate Change 
• Aditya Raghwa, Counsellor, CII–ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development

Q&A

Closing Remarks

Mritiunjoy Mohanty, Professor, Economics, IIM Calcutta

The T20 Summit 2022 gathered world-leading thinkers, policymakers, and experts to discuss the latest research-based policy recommendations and matters of global importance that can be adopted by the G20 leaders—leading to the official T20 Communiqué. The Summit also served as an interactive platform for peers to advance and share ideas on building a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive world.

As part of the T20 Summit, IISD joined with peers for Beyond GDP Measurement and Investing in Inclusive Wealth: Implications for Decision-making on Monday, 5 September 2022. This 90-minute panel discussion (part of Parallel Session 2) explored how moving beyond GDP-biased policymaking toward a wealth-valuing system will improve long-term decision making, including financing for the Sustainable Development Goals, touching on questions such as:

• How might it be easier to secure funding for the SDGs if creating inclusive wealth were a central objective of nations? 
• How might the climate crisis be handled differently if a stable climate were seen as an essential element of national wealth? 
• How might education be viewed if human capital were widely understood to be the more important asset a nation can have?
• How could monetary policy be used to maximize the inclusive wealth portfolio?
• What lessons can be taken from the pandemic response for the maximization of inclusive wealth?
• What can be done to reduce inequality across the inclusive wealth portfolio?

Distinguished panelists leading the beyond GDP conversation at an international level included:

• Prof. Bambang Brodjonegoro, former Minister of Finance, Indonesia
• Dr. Radhika Lal, UNDP
• Dr. Matthew Agarwala, Bennett Institute, University of Cambridge
• Prof. Dennis Snower
• Dr. David Kaczan, Senior Economist, Environment and Natural Resources, World Bank
• Mr. Rob Smith, International Institute for Sustainable Development

Canada's Prairie provinces are facing a growing gap between the water infrastructure they have, the infrastructure they need, and the available resources to bridge that gap. Its ecosystems and communities are also increasingly feeling the impacts of floods, droughts, algal blooms, and a changing climate. Yet there are solutions that can be drawn from these same ecosystems—namely, the potential for nature to help meet these infrastructure needs and provide crucial ecological and societal benefits.

On Thursday, September 15, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (CST), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) launched Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions (NIWS), a 5-year initiative to scale up natural infrastructure in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba for cleaner water and resilient communities.

Speakers included:

• Richard Florizone, President and CEO, IISD
• The Honourable Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament
• Dimple Roy, Director, Water Management, IISD
• A panel of high-level experts to be announced closer to the date.

The event looked at water needs on the Prairies, the widening infrastructure gap, and the unique benefits that natural infrastructure can bring. Speakers also described how to ensure that the case for more natural infrastructure is backed by evidence, adopted, financed, and built into policy, and how local municipalities can take part in this work. The event was held on Zoom, and the recording is available for viewing on IISD's YouTube Events channel and below.

Megaregional treaties that include investment chapters—like the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership—have been increasingly common in recent years. But what happens to the pre-existing bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between parties once they enter into a megaregional agreement?  

How such “intra-regional BITs” are dealt with is a crucial and overlooked question, with important implications for investment governance coherence and the impact of investment treaty reforms. Different regional blocs have dealt with this question in various ways. Some regions are terminating their intra-regional BITs and replacing them with newer megaregional agreements; others explicitly allow for co-existence between intra-regional BITs and newer agreements; while others remain silent. This webinar aimed to draw lessons from different economic blocs exploring how they deal with existing investment treaties once newer mega-regional or multilateral treaties come into force. 

Our speakers examined these different approaches to their design and process and detail the specific policy and legal implications raised, including examining: What are the specificities and contexts which lead to or can explain the approaches taken? Which approaches are likely to be the most practical and efficient way to address coherence and consistency in international investment governance? What are some criteria governments may want to consider when drafting termination provisions to address intra-BITs? What role can political institutions have in this process?  

This webinar is part one of a two-part series aimed at supporting countries as they consider options for enhancing coherence and consistency in investment standards. This required addressing both intra-BITs, that is, bilateral investment agreements between them and extra-BITs, that is, bilateral investment agreements between them and countries outside their regional grouping. This first webinar focuses on the former, addressing intra-regional BITs. 

This event was originally scheduled for September 15 but was rescheduled. 

Moderator

• Nyaguthii Maina, Associate, IISD

Speakers

• Jaroslav Kudrna, Head of the International Arbitration and Investment Protection Unit, Ministry of Finance, Czech Republic
• Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director, Directorate of Trade in Services, Investment, IPR, and Digital Trade, AfCFTA Secretariat
• Suzy Nikièma, Lead, Sustainable Investment, IISD
• Vanessa Rivas Plata, President, Special Commission Representing Peru in International Investment Disputes
• Yuanita Ruchyat, Senior Officer, Investment, Services and Investment Division, Market Integration Directorate, ASEAN Economic Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat 
• Stefanie Schacherer, Assistant Professor of Law, Singapore Management University

Decarbonization of the transport sector will be fundamental to reduce the impacts of global climate change and to achieve India’s ambitious climate targets. The Government of India aims for electric vehicles (EVs) to account for at least 30% of all new automotive sales by 2030. While the target will bring enormous advantages in terms of abating carbon emissions and enhancing India’s energy security, a new report estimates that substantially more foreign direct investment is required in EVs and batteries to achieve the EV transition ambitions.

This webinar will present the findings of a new report, Investor Perspectives on Accelerating Growth in the Indian EV Ecosystem, by Invest India, Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Speakers will consider pathways to achieving 30% vehicle electrification in India by 2030, including how to bridge India's EV investment gap.

Agenda

Welcome Address

Deepak Bagla, CEO, Invest India

Keynote Address

Sudhendu Sinha, Advisor, NITI Aayog

Presentation of Report Findings

• Tom Moerenhout, Associate, IISD
• Abhishek Bansal, Investment Specialist for Auto/EV, Invest India
• Dev Ashish, Sector Head for EVs & Batteries, Invest India

Panel Discussions

Moderators:

• Ashok Thakur, Chief Editor, ETN
• Siddharth Goel, Senior Policy Advisor, IISD

Speakers:

• Sudhendu Sinha, Advisor, NITI Aayog
• Pooja Kulkarni, I.A.S Managing Director & CEO, Guidance, Tamil Nadu Industries Department
• Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Telangana
• Rahul Walawalkar, MD & President, Customized Energy Solutions India; President, India Energy Storage Alliance
• N. Mohan, Deputy General Manager, Head - EV Charging, Infrastructure Convergence Energy Services Limited
• Nishant Arya, Vice Chairman, JBM Group

Q&A Session

This Global Conference on Climate and the SDGs side event, hosted by IISD and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), focuses on synergistic government actions to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This virtual event first showcases the Energy Policy Tracker, which tracks government response measures in the energy sector since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenters reveal the evolution of government public commitments over time as well as country-specific challenges and opportunities linked to the energy transition. They also consider which policy instruments governments can use to both increase climate action (SDG 13) and offset rising inequality (SDG 10).

The event then zooms in on Japan's efforts to synergize the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by encouraging local municipalities to promote renewable energy and a circular economy.

Finally, viewers hear about the importance of fossil fuel subsidy reform for the climate, the evolution of fossil fuel subsidies over time, and steps governments can take towards reforming fossil fuel subsidies. Experts highlight the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker database and the importance of reporting, measuring, and monitoring fossil fuel subsidies, including a presentation on the progress of government reporting on SDG indicator 12.c.1 (Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies per unit of GDP). The methodology behind SDG indicator 12.c.1 was developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in close collaboration with IISD and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Agenda

Welcome and Introduction

Nanda Kumar Janardhanan, Research Manager – Climate and Energy and Regional Coordinator – South Asia, IGES

Trends From the Energy Policy Tracker in Relation to SDG 10 and 13

Joachim Roth, Policy Analyst, IISD

Case study—Japan: Efforts at the municipal level to promote renewable energy and circular economy

Satoshi Kojima, Program Director (Kansai Research Centre) and Senior Policy Researcher (Climate and Energy), IGES

Reporting, Monitoring, and Evaluating Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Lourdes Sanchez, Senior Policy Advisor and Lead, Indonesia, IISD

SDG Indicator 12.c.1

Claire Potdevin, Fiscal Policy Expert, UNEP

The Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS), in collaboration with IISD, CUTS International Geneva, and the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, held a virtual session on "Greening Aid for Trade: Priorities and pathways for a just transition to sustainable trade” from 17:30 to 19:00 CEST on Thursday, July 28, 2022 during the 2022 Aid for Trade Global Review (July 27-29 2022) in Geneva. 

As governments and stakeholders work to promote the massive economic transformations that sustainability requires, trade and trade policy have a critical role to play. Amidst growing pressure for increased action on urgent global crises of biodiversity, climate, and pollution, there are also calls to “green” the global economy and trade. To support developing countries in a just transition to more sustainable trade, Aid for Trade has a key role to play in ensuring that trade serves all three dimensions of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental.

The importance of trade-related capacity building and technical assistance on matters of sustainability, including its environmental dimensions, is a recurring theme of discussions in the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Environment and its Committee on Trade and Development. In the Ministerial outcome document from the recent 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, members highlighted the importance of providing relevant support to developing country members, especially LDCs, to achieve sustainable development, including through technological innovations. In December 2021, the importance of Aid for Trade was also highlighted in Ministerial Statements on Trade and Environmental Sustainability (cosponsored by 74 WTO members) and on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (cosponsored by 72 WTO members). 

As WTO Members and stakeholders review progress to date and prepare the Aid for Trade (A4T) work program for 2022 onward, focused attention on how best to strengthen A4T and cooperation on environmental issues as a key pillar of sustainable trade will be critical to advancing a green, resilient and inclusive global economy.

Speakers:

• H.E. Chad Blackman, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Barbados to the United Nations Office and other international organizations at Geneva
• H.E. Simon Manley, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
• H.E. Usha Chandnee Dwarka-Canabady, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Mauritius to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva (tbc)
• H.E. Muhammad Mujtaba Piracha, Ambassador and Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the WTO
• Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director, Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS)
• Steven Stone, Deputy Director, Economy Division, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Yasmin Ismail, Programme Officer, CUTS International Geneva

Moderators: 

• Alice Tipping, Lead, Sustainable Trade and Fisheries Subsidies IISD
• Rashid Kaukab, Executive Director, CUTS International Geneva

The SDG Lab, Cepei, and IISD, in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), held a panel discussion and Q&A session after the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) closes, answering: 

• How did the HLPF go?
• What challenges were identified and what themes emerged for moving forward with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
• Where does the 2030 Agenda go from here?

This team of experts provided a brief snapshot of the HLPF’s proceedings and challenges in the coming year. 

Agenda

• Welcome | Eleonora Bonaccorsi, SDG Lab, IISD 
• HLPF 2022—How Did it Go? | Lynn Wagner, IISD
• Review of the Voluntary National Reviews—Main Themes and Challenges | Javier Surasky, CEPEI
• Voluntary Local Review and SDG Localization | Fernando Ortiz Moya, IGES 
• Q&A from Participants | Audience
• Wrap-Up and Where Do We Go Next? | Eleonora Bonaccorsi, SDG Lab, IISD 

After more than two decades of negotiations, on June 17, 2022, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded an agreement to tackle the harmful fisheries subsidies that encourage unsustainable fishing in the world’s ocean. The deal, which was completed in overtime at the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference, establishes new binding multilateral rules on fisheries subsidies. It represents both the first set of global disciplines on governments’ financial support to their fishing sector and the first WTO agreement with an environmental objective at its core.

But what exactly was agreed and what was left out? This webinar shed light on the key rules and subsidy prohibitions that this new treaty establishes and discuss their significance from an ocean conservation perspective. It also explored how agreed rules could be improved through—already planned—future negotiations and explain what the implementation of these new disciplines will require countries to do in practice.

Agenda

15:00–15:05: Opening remarks

• Alice Tipping, Lead, Sustainable Trade, IISD

15:05–15:45: Expert perspectives

• Tristan Irschlinger, Policy Advisor, Fisheries Subsidies, IISD
• Isabel Jarrett, Manager, Ending Harmful Fisheries Subsidies, The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Rashid Sumaila, University Killam Professor, University of British Columbia
• John Pearce, Principal Consultant, MRAG

15:45–16:00: Questions and answers

The recent Lighting the Path report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pathways to limit warming to 1.5°C and presents recommendations for governments and financial institutions to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The report provides an in-depth scenario analysis that concludes that, in order to limit warming to 1.5°C, oil and gas production and consumption must decrease by 30% by 2030. Meanwhile, the pathways highlighted in the report show that wind and solar energy should grow by nearly 20% annually until 2030. The findings also emphasize a need to reorient capital flows toward clean energy to bridge the projected annual investment gap of USD 450 billion for wind and solar infrastructure by the end of this decade.

This webinar invites participants to take a closer look at key findings from the analysis as well as the policy implications. The event explores how different policy options could impact the ability of countries to meet Paris targets without exceeding the levels of carbon dioxide removal and sequestration technologies that the IPCC has identified as feasible and sustainable.

First, the lead author presents the key findings of the report, providing a closer look at the methodology and rationale behind the numbers. He highlights Paris-aligned timelines for oil and gas phase-out and breaks down renewable energy needs to deliver an energy transition consistent with IPCC 1.5° C pathways, from deployment to investment. This is followed by an expert panel discussion providing insights on the implications of these findings for the development of Paris-aligned net-zero strategies for policy-makers and financial institutions.

Agenda

Opening Remarks

Moderator: María Alegre, Programme Manager, International Energy, European Climate Foundation

Presentation of Lighting the Path Report Findings

Olivier Bois von Kursk, Policy Analyst, International Institute for Sustainable Development

Panel Discussion

• Catherine Abreu, Founder & Executive Director, Destination Zero
• Lucie Pinson, Founder & Executive Director, Reclaim Finance

Q&A Session