Topic of the day:-“SDGs are crucial”
It turns out that the most sensible way to deal with these complex challenges is to deepen and expand India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The synergies of meeting SDGs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a changing climate can only be fully realised if transformative and cross-scale changes are conceived, deliberated upon and tested widely. Further, “scaling up” may not be the correct way to think about what is needed; rather, replication with context-relevant modifications through local and institutional innovation may be more appropriate for a country of India’s size and ecological diversity.
The 1.5° C report calls for societal transformation on a global scale that “reflect[s] the links, synergies and trade-offs between mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development.” Recent events, however, show that we cannot trade off forests, urban water bodies, riverine ecosystems, waste management or groundwater as these come back to bite us as floods, landslides, droughts and infectious disease.
India, nevertheless, has a large number of successful examples of transformative innovation around energy production and access, land, livelihoods and climate resilience. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency showed how government ‘nudges’ are made effective through appliance labelling and large-scale procurement of efficient devices. In the building and cement industry, innovation around housing and new materials, including natural fibre composites, could make far-reaching changes in infrastructure through low-carbon modular technologies.
India expects to reach its ambitious solar target of 100 GW capacity by 2022 primarily through large centralised solar power plants, but these require significant amounts of land, water and evacuation infrastructure and support from mega-corporations. Instead, as some States have shown, renewable-based microgrids can become an important feature of electricity policy. Jharkhand, which has 249 remote villages powered by solar microgrids, is now considering their use even in villages that are already grid connected.
In the near future, entrepreneurs could make use of rapidly lowering storage costs to build decentralised, neighbourhood-scale micro-utilities, managed by locally owned enterprises and cooperatives. With modern power electronics and innovations in hybrid waste to energy, water recycling and community gardens could be integrated as standalone modules that are connected to larger grids.
Sustainable approaches to land are evident in cases such as forest conservation in Mendha-Lekha village in Maharashtra and community delivery of public services in Nagaland. These and several other instances are documented in initiatives such as Vikalp Sangam. Similarly, in a recent comment in Nature, Harini Nagendra points out that India has for long had strongly rooted cultural movements about living sustainably with land and its ecology that provide practical models.
Some research groups have recognised that agro-ecology methods are best suited for increasing crop yield, raising profits, trapping soil carbon, reducing dependence on fertilisers and pesticides. Successful models are already effective on small scales in many States. Andhra Pradesh is attempting to replicate widely one such approach, Zero Budget Natural Farming, to all its farmers by 2024 with an expected savings of 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This is with 6 million farmers across 8 million hectares. If similar methods were used for the entire country, the savings would be substantial.
In transport and urbanisation, the challenge is to create isotropic communities in the areas of the peri-urban, the rapidly expanding hinterland, which would have to be designed around not cars but walking, cycling and sustainable neighbourhood vehicles. Work and industry would also have to focus on the small and medium scale of about 300 employees and modest capital investments, which reduce the risk of speculation and jobless growth.
Energy and livelihood gains from such alternative visions could be far more significant than conventional ways of replacing fossil-fuelled infrastructure with renewables. But they also involve a lot of learning-by-doing, living laboratories and innovation, practice, patience and support from government and academia.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) faecal
Meaning : waste matter remaining after food has been digested, discharged from the bowels; excrement.
Tamil Meaning : கழிவு
Synonyms : ordure , stool
Antonyms : luminousness
Example : “discharge of fecal matter”
2) sludge
Meaning : thick, soft, wet mud or a similar viscous mixture of liquid and solid components, especially the product of an industrial or refining process.
Tamil Meaning : கசடு
Synonyms : muck
Antonyms : hygiene
Example : “the dumping of sewage sludge”
3) expelled
Meaning : officially make (someone) leave a school or other organization.(v)
Tamil Meaning : வெளியேற்ற
Synonyms : ejected , exiled
Antonyms : unpunished
Example : “she was expelled from school”(v)
4) graver
Meaning : a burin or other engraving tool.(n)
Tamil Meaning : பயங்கரமான
Synonyms : carver, engraver
Example : an engraver.(n)
5) activism
Meaning : the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.
Tamil Meaning : ஈடுபாடு
Synonyms : advocacy activity
Antonyms : inaction
Example : “growing activism on the abortion issue”
6) relies
Meaning : depend on with full trust or confidence.
Synonyms : depends believes
Antonyms : distrusts
Example : “I know I can rely on your discretion”
7) outlay
Meaning : an amount of money spent on something.
Tamil Meaning : செலவீடு
Synonyms : expenditure , disbursement
Antonyms : wages
Example : “a modest outlay on local advertising”
8) revealing
Meaning : making interesting or significant information known, especially of a personal nature.
Tamil Meaning : வெளிப்படுத்த
Synonyms : disclose expose
Antonyms : hide
Example : “a revealing radio interview”
9) untenable
Meaning : (especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.(adj)
Synonyms : invalid
Antonyms : arguable
Example : “this argument is clearly untenable”(adj)
10) egalitarian
Meaning : believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.(adj), a person who advocates or supports the principle of equality for all people.(n)
Tamil Meaning : சமத்துவ
Synonyms : equal
Antonyms : elitist
Example : “a fairer, more egalitarian society”
