Message in the CII Study on Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee
Director General
Confederation of Indian Industry
Indian Industry is at a critical moment, facing dual challenges of mitigating climate change and adapting to its inevitable impacts. While India’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 is a significant milestone, the urgency of prioritizing adaptation measures to build industry-wide resilience is equally critical. As a nation that is significantly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability, including extreme events such as heatwaves, floods, droughts & cyclones, prioritizing integration of climate concerns (both mitigation and adaptation measures), into the country’s policy initiatives as well as development planning and priorities, will be essential to achieve the nation’s goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
In recognition of this imperative, CII has been working on several fronts and is dedicated to spearheading climate action initiatives, driving policy advocacy, and assisting the industry in its transition towards a more sustainable and green economy. Through our Centres of Excellence (CoEs) on Green Business, Water, Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Development and Competitiveness for SMEs, among others, we have been working closely and proactively with industry to drive forward business-led climate action.
CII has facilitated the green buildings movement in India over the last two decades resulting in more than 14,000+ green buildings projects coming up with a registered footprint of 11.92 billion sq. ft. One key initiative has been the CII Climate Action Charter (CCAC) through which MSMEs located across various industrial clusters in India have begun measuring GHG emissions by using a free to access toolkit. In addition to measuring emissions, we have also been conducting awareness building and knowledge sharing sessions for these MSMEs at the cluster level on assessing climate risk.
On the climate policy front, through the CII Mission Net Zero, we have been working towards developing a strategy and action plan which will ensure an efficient, expedited, and inclusive Net Zero transition for Indian Industry. While reducing emissions is an important area, we are also keenly aware of the rising impacts of extreme-weather events such as floods and heat waves on India and industry. In recognition of this imperative, this study on “Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry” highlights our commitment to helping industry assess the vulnerabilities to physical climate risks, prioritize adaptive strategies, strengthen resilience and help in contributing towards India’s adaptation targets.
The survey conducted as part of this study has provided valuable insights into how climate risks are assessed and prioritized by specific sectors and their current realities. These insights have helped identify low-cost yet highly effective strategies that can significantly enhance adaptive capacity while showcasing not only the immense potential of risk assessments and resilience planning, but also the appetite for it within the Indian industry.
Another key insight has been that there needs to be more dialogues and collaborations between Government at both the national and subnational level and industry on building climate resilient infrastructure. Given the highly location specific nature of extreme-weather events, it is essential that stakeholders work together to develop state and district-specific resilience plans with clearly defined guidelines and roles. Through our regional and state offices, CII will help facilitate the dialogues and collaborations required to drive action on this key issue. In addition to taking forward this initiative through our offices, we also intend to leverage our CoEs and their expertise to help industry implement the framework developed as well as to identify key adaptive strategies as per their specific requirements.
Building climate resilience calls for a strategic and collaborative approach, uniting policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the financial institutions to address the multifaceted challenges of this incredibly complex challenge. By fostering innovation, enhancing awareness, co-developing solutions, and by leveraging public-private partnerships for joint initiatives, we can ensure that India is on the path towards economic prosperity while safeguarding ourselves from the vagaries of climate change.
This article was contributed by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee for the Summary Report of the CII Study - “Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry”. It was released on September 17, 2024 during the 19th Sustainability Summit. The summary report can be read here
Published on 15 October 2024
