Statement by Mr. Amit Narang, Counsellor, on Agenda Item 19: ‘Sustainable Development’ at the Second Committee of the 69^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on
October 15, 2014

Mr. Chairperson,

Thank you for giving me the floor.

India associates itself with the statement made by the distinguished representative of Bolivia on behalf of G-77.

Mr. Chairperson,

Let me begin by reiterating India’s unwavering commitment to sustainable development.

We live in a world where over 1.6 billion people are still denied a life of dignity.

Food and energy security remain a distant dream for millions across continents.

At the same time, reckless consumption and fossil-fuel intensive model of development followed over the past century has left the planet on the edge of its safe operating boundaries.

In such a situation, sustainable development is a necessity, not an option.

Sustainable development is however not merely about minimizing the environmental impacts of development. The need, especially for developing countries, is to ensure that their development itself can be sustained in all its dimensions.

A holistic approach to sustainable development, with equal emphasis on its three dimensions - social, economic and environmental - must therefore underpin the global discussions. This is particularly important as we engage on a new development agenda for the coming decade.

Mr. Chairperson,

Insofar as the debate on sustainable development is concerned, we are in many ways, standing at a transformational moment in multilateralism.

The international community has deliberated on sustainable development for the better part of the past two decades, if not more.

What is new in this journey is the attempt to craft a set of Sustainable Development Goals which are expected to form the heart of the future Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The SDGs will represent the first time that the global discourse of ideas on sustainable development is being translated into actionable commitments in the form of goals and targets.

The significance of this exercise should be self-evident and cannot be over-emphasized.

In our view, the proposal of the Open Working Group on SDGs as the result of an open and inclusive intergovernmental process which also benefitted from the contributions of all stakeholders, is an excellent basis for integrating SDGs into the wider Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Our objective during the 69^th session of the General Assembly should be to focus on the best way of integrating the SDGs into the Post-2015 Development Agenda and not to re-open or re-negotiate the careful balance of the outcome of the OWG.

Mr. Chairperson,

At the heart of the global quest for sustainable development must be, first and foremost, the moral, economic and political obligation to end poverty and eradicate want and hunger.

A global commons approach to sustainability demands that developed countries, which bear the historical responsibility for climate change and have better financial and technological resources at their command take the lead in moving their economies towards sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

Their doing so would create the demand and conditions necessary for alternative and environment-friendly technologies to be become mainstream.

This would also allow the necessary ecological space for developing countries to grow and provide basic human development to their peoples.

For developing countries, eradication of poverty and hunger through rapid inclusive growth are the primary and overriding objectives.

The burden of global sustainability cannot be placed on the poor.

Mr. Chairperson,

Sustainable development is linked directly with access to and use of energy.

Energy poverty or the lack of universal access to energy is a critical impediment in developing countries, holding back the full potential of people and exacting a high social and health-related cost.

There is a clear link between a country’s per capita energy consumption and its ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Countries having an HDI of 0.9 or more have per capita energy consumption of at least 2.5 tons oil equivalent (toe) per year.

The current per capita energy consumption in India is about 0.6 toe per year which is a mere one-third of the global average. In comparison, the average per capita energy consumption in OECD countries is 4.28 tons with North America at close to 7 tons. 

In other words, with today’s technologies and living standards, the energy consumption in India would need to increase by 4 times as India’s HDI increases from the current value of 0.5 to a value of 0.9.

The key challenge for us therefore is to rapidly enhance access to affordable energy, to employ strategies that ensure that energy is used wisely and cost effectively, and that the proportion of sustainable and renewable energy is constantly increased.

In India, independent studies have revealed that as a result of several initiatives taken by the Government, an average of 791 million tons of oil equivalent energy was saved between year 2000 and 2011. This translates to an avoided electricity generation of about 10,836 MW, which, if produced from coal, would have burnt an additional 98 million tons of coal.

Mr. Chairperson,

While India is committed to follow through on its commitment to promote sustainable development for its people and do its fair share for global sustainability, it is important to ensure sustained and greater international flow of financial and technological resources to developing countries and for the global North to take the lead in rapidly moving towards sustainable consumption patterns.

We hope that through its deliberations in this session, the Second Committee will make a meaningful contribution to the global discussions on sustainable development.

I thank you.

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