Blog Posts: sustainable development goals

A slightly modified version of this piece appeared on Times blog on May 11.

Social distancing, isolation and locking down of cities and oneself is the norm in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this, inequality in cities has been laid bare, exposing the startling vulnerability of the urban poor. The current economic slowdown is being...

India has been under a complete lockdown since March 24 to arrest the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Six weeks into this unprecedented lockdown, there have been 49,501 recorded cases of COVID-19 and 1,697 deaths (as of May 6). This crisis, apart from being a human tragedy, is also expected to hit the economy hard.

A closer look into the current scenario, however, reveals that we are facing three converging crises: the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, its immediate impact on the economy and the ever-present threat from climate change. What remains to be seen is how the pandemic and its...

In March, the World Bank granted India US$8 million to design and pilot a carbon market. The funding announcement followed a meeting in New Delhi where 30 governments comprising the Bank’s carbon market group, the Partnership for Market Readiness, discussed their climate change mitigation actions.

India’s...

With the world’s second largest population, India faces crucial economic and development decisions over the coming decades, with significant implications for people and the environment. The trajectory adopted by India to provide equitable economic development and sustainable livelihood opportunities for its 1.25 billion citizens is critical. Amidst the challenges to achieve its economic, social, environmental and political objectives, 2015 is an opportune time for India, with its new political leadership being focused on growing the economy in increasingly sustainable ways. WRI India aims...