 "V Anantha Nageswaran, Nageswaran, Anantha")
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday said that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should take precedence over climate commitments, arguing that the targets were framed before the Paris Agreement and remain more practical for developing nations.
Speaking at the Bengal Chamber AGM and Indo-Pacific Economic Conclave, he said: “It is appropriate that both temporarily and logically SDG goals take precedence over climate goals.”
The United Nations Development Programme states that the SDGs are 17 interconnected goals that set out as a path for sustainable development for nations and recognise that “development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
Economic aspirations and climate goals
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However, he also cautioned that India’s climate goals must not undercut its economic aspirations. India has been “a standout performance among the G20 countries in mitigation”, but achieving sustainability goals requires acknowledging difficult choices, he said.
“For a country aspiring to become a developed economy by 2047, energy transition and dealing with climate change must not consign not just India but also other developing countries in the Indo-Pacific and Africa to a state of permanent underdevelopment,” he said.
Nageswaran suggested that India should focus on a broader approach to energy transition, urging it should look beyond solar, thermal and hydro power plants for energy production and pointed out that the Union Budget 2025 has announced opening up nuclear energy generation to private players.
Balancing energy transition
He also warned that retiring thermal power plants could create stranded assets and have implications for the soundness of the banking system, triggering a chain reaction of undercapitalised banks.
“It is appealing to say development and energy transition are not mutually exclusive. History tells us there are times when they are mutually exclusive and we need to make choices both in terms of sequence and in terms of priorities,” he added.
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