The World CEO Forum, the most popular feature of DSDS, this year, focused on the theme Climate Change: fast tracking business action. The Forum began with a welcome address by Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, TERI, followed by the Chief Guest, Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Power, Government of India delivering the inaugural address. The Guest of Honour, HE Ms Anne Marie Idrac, French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, also addressed the gathering. Over 150 CEOs, heads of multi / bi-lateral organizations, institutions and NGOs and government representatives, both Indian and overseas, participated at the Forum.

The panel discussions during the Forum reviewed the issues and tried to address the challenges businesses are likely to face due to climate change. Focusing on how and why green is good, business opportunities in the emerging scenario were examined during the Forum.

The dinner session commenced with Dr R K Pachauri welcoming all, followed by special remarks by Shri Jairam Ramesh. HE Ms Connie Hedegaard, Minister for Climate and Energy of Denmark, delivered the dinner address. The dinner session also included felicitation of the nine new member companies of TERI-BCSD India.

Inaugural Session
Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, TERI, welcomed HE Anne Marie Idrac, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Government of France and the Chief Guest Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, Industry, and Power, Government of India. He introduced the theme of the forum and made a brief mention of the issues, which were going to be discussed in the forum—issues concerning emission reduction by industries, impact of future regulatory policies related to mitigation, and the need to come up with a clear strategy and develop correct action plans. Based on the NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change), TERI prepared a White Paper, which was tabled at the World CEO Forum. Dr Pachauri urged the corporates to develop a strategy in line with the missions in the NAPCC. After his enlightening deliberation, a short TERI-BCSD film showcasing TERI’s initiatives towards sustainable development was screened.

HE Ms Anne Marie Idrac, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Government of France, in her address, emphasized the need to not only discuss issues related to climate change, but also act upon the prevailing issues. Her address dwelt on the fact that the current economic downturn and the financial crisis should not let the issues of environment take a backseat. She emphasized that this is the time to bring such issues to the fore and act upon them. Her address also focused on an alliance between SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and big corporates and public–private partnerships, which can come together and fight climate change in an effective manner. Her concluding remarks emphasized the need for countries to share the burden keeping in mind the equity and diversity of each nation. She also invited those present to come and see some of the technologies, services, and products on display at the French pavilion at the exhibition area.

The address delivered by Mr Jairam Ramesh, Hon’ able Minister of State for Commerce, Industry, and Power focused on the ministry’s partnership with some of the leading corporates such as Areva, Alstrom, and Lafarge, and reiterated the significant contribution of these companies towards mitigating climate change and global warming. He emphasized the need for international collaboration, which can play an important role. He also focused on the unique role that India will play in the years to come in terms of providing clean coal production technologies, since India has high-ash and low- sulphur coal. He reiterated that a joint collaboration between NTPC and TERI on photo bio reactors on natural algae will be experimented for the first time in India. He strongly felt that India is a growing nation having a rich pool of managerial skills, technology, and resources to meet the challenges of climate change. In his address to the gathering he also said that India should not buckle under international pressure to adhere to the norms but rather act proactively and address local climate change issues faced by country. In his concluding remarks, he cited several examples of receding glaciers and low production of crops such as wheat, tea, and coffee, which have become a common sight in the country in the last few decades. The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr R K Pachauri.

Panel discussion I: Tackling the global challenge
The panel discussion started with the participants voting on two questions, the answers to which epitomize the complexity involved in ensuring sustainable development. While there was an overwhelming agreement on the need to strengthen business ethics of the corporate sector to integrate shareholder interests with societal interests, the response of business community to climate concerns in the wake of current economic downturn received a mixed response.

The panelists emphasized, almost unanimously, on the importance of partnerships between governments, business, and civil society along with the opportunities for business in tackling climate change. The level of investment and demand for newer and better products and services emerging out of the need to address climate change concerns offer tremendous business opportunity. For this to fructify, governments need to come to an agreement on a legal framework that would induce investment by businesses.

Given the scale of challenge, where over one trillion dollar investment per year is envisaged till 2050, it makes economic sense for businesses to be proactive, with special focus on buildings, transportation, and industry. A large part of climate-friendly business activity has to come in the form of energy-efficient practices and technology deployment. Another critical challenge to sustainable development is the issue of water availability, quality, and access. Since it has a serious economic and social consequence, it augurs well for businesses to also look into water efficiency in the same vein as energy efficiency.

Panel Discussion II: Partnerships - the answer for tomorrow
The session began with the chair, Mr Nitin Desai, mentioning that the need of the hour was a new industrial revolution that could possibly seek solutions for a better future. The point was re-emphasized by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs who categorically stated that such a change needs to be on a considerably higher scale to make a dent in the current scenario. They mentioned that globalization today was losing its sheen and is being replaced by nationalism. The speakers stressed on the need for having the right kind of policies in the advent of the economic crisis looming today. They emphasized that the existing policies are more protectionist in nature and not addressing the global concerns holistically. This was highlighted as a worrisome issue and a solution was arrived at. The emphasis was on forging ‘global cooperative partnerships’

In the changing climate regime, efforts have already been made by different countries to manage the repercussions of climate change. However, during the discussion, a need to erect an architectural design to exchange ideas and resolve the over-arching issue of climate change was stressed. There was a special mention of Copenhagen as a place offering such an opportunity. Financial mechanisms that could strengthen cooperation amongst various countries were reiterated as critical factors.

Building partnerships for climate resilience was further considered an important aspect by the panel. The panel also emphasized the need for a new level of cooperation in building such partnerships. In a scenario where access to clean energy fuels was a concern, the need to accelerate transition to cleaner energy options was reiterated by the panel. A need was also felt to forge partnerships that focus on development and diffusion of cleaner energy products. Further, close association between technology developers, entrepreneurs, regulators, and policy-makers was pointed out as a necessary factor to ensure that clean solutions reach those who require them.

The panel discussion came to an end with a plan for the future in terms of partnerships amongst key stakeholders to bring about change. It was reiterated that solutions for a better tomorrow emanate from global cooperation and globalization needs to be given an upper hand over nationalist views.

Panel Discussion III: Fast tracking business action
This session focused on how businesses contribute in tackling climate change. Dr J J Irani, the chair, began the session with a thought on how the business community cannot stand aside on issues of societal significance such as climate change. He also stressed on the fact that governments cannot achieve environmental goals without the support of business.

Speaking on the idea of sustainability in business, the panelists emphasized on the need for a responsible understanding of issues related to climate change. They also stressed the need for building a model of sustainable business to strike equilibrium between economy, ecology, and the society. The panelists emphasized on the need for the business community to reach out to the society to find such equilibrium. The role of the management in ensuring that their actions reflect their good intensions was also discussed. It was stressed that inculcating a sense of direct connection with the environmental cause in employees and in product design is the most challenging and important task for leadership.

The importance of appropriate investment and enhanced R&D through public private partnerships in developing affordable technologies and meeting the bottom-of-the-pyramid needs of the country came out as one of the key programmatic requirement to enable business to take up a greater responsibility. The role of the government apart from taking up joint activities with the private sector was also stressed. It was emphasized that the role of the government is of utmost importance in giving a direction to business practices through designing suitable regulations. Government regulations to provide a good incentive for enhancing green investments, was highlighted as the need of the hour. However, it was also emphasized that the governments need to be careful in introducing new regulations so that there is an optimal alignment between incentives provided and the scale of desired activity.

Similarly, it was also felt that while responding to regulations, the business community needs to explore the scale at which regulations can create good business opportunity. On the issue of what corporations can do without the government, it was stressed that sharing knowledge and experience, and mutual learning are some of the most responsible business practices. The attitude of the business community and the way it perceives situations were other critical points that the panelists emphasized upon. Most of the panelists were of the opinion that the necessary expertise and capacity exists, but what is needed is a drastic change in the mindset of the people and the business community. In the concluding remarks, the role of recognition, price incentives, and the media in changing the mindsets was discussed.