Nagesh Kumar on Manufacturing and India’s green transition: challenges, opportunities and policies

Nagesh Kumar presents at the WIDER Seminar Series on 22 May 2024.

Manufacturing and India’s green transition: challenges, opportunities and policies

Abstract

Climate action to meet the net zero goals (NZE) is a major challenge for all countries of the world. India has committed to NZE by 2070 but to ambitious sub-targets of meeting 50% of energy requirements from renewable sources and reducing the emissions intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030. Achievement of these goals will require a major transformation of India’s energy generation, transport systems, industrial processes and consumption patterns to decarbonize them. It is argued in this presentation that green industrialization is critical for achieving India’s 2030 targets. Green industries can not only become among the most dynamic segments of India’s industrialization process but also bring co-benefits in the form of reducing dependence on imported hydrocarbons and bringing down levels of pollution besides advancing the achievement of NZEs. While the government plays a critical role in driving the change through policy guidance, creating a framework, and conditions and incentivizing the movement towards a clean transition, it matters if the private sector is taking cues from the government’s direction and responding to them to achieve the targets. How far the private sector in India is moving in that direction?  The presentation will also examine the response of the leading Indian corporates in the manufacturing sector in terms of sustainability practices and net-zero strategies. 

About the presenter

Prof Nagesh Kumar is Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), a New Delhi-based public-funded policy think-tank. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre, Boston, USA. Prior to joining ISID, he served as Director at UN-ESCAP, Bangkok for 12 years. During 2002-09, Nagesh served as the Director-General of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a policy think-tank of the Indian Government. He has also served as an Economist at UNU/MERIT, Netherlands; on the Boards of the Export-Import Bank of India; ICTSD Geneva; and SACEPS Kathmandu, and as a consultant for the World Bank, ADB, ILO, and UNCTAD, among other international organizations. A PhD from the Delhi School of Economics, Nagesh received the Exim Bank’s first International Trade Research Award and GDN’s Research Medal. He has authored 18 books and over 120 peer-reviewed papers. 

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases the latest research on key topics in development economics. It provides a forum for senior and early-career researchers, both in-house and external, to present recent and ongoing work related to UNU-WIDER’s current work programme.

In addition to providing a forum for both academic debate and training, the series presents an opportunity for policymakers and others interested in development to learn about the latest research methods and findings.

The WIDER Seminar Series events take place on Wednesdays. All those interested are invited to register and attend via Zoom or in person.