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India needs a green taxonomy, effective carbon markets and a dedicated green financing institution to accelerate investments required for its sustainability transition, Jayant Sinha, Chairman of the CII India Sustainability Taskforce and former Union Minister of State for Finance and Civil Aviation, has said.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the launch of the CII-IIMA report on the India Sustainability Taskforce, Sinha said the task force has identified a set of measures that require a "whole of government, whole of society" approach. "We need to be able to have a green taxonomy which will enable us to figure out where the investments have to go in," Sinha said. He said India also needs carbon markets that can establish a price for carbon and help accelerate investments in sustainable projects. "We have to have carbon markets that enable a price for carbon and that can accelerate further investments," he said. Sinha also called for a dedicated green financing institution capable of providing investment support for such projects. "We need a green financing institution that is able to provide investment support for making these green investments," he said. The task force has also proposed broader sustainability reporting standards, including their eventual extension to micro, small and medium enterprises, Sinha said. He stressed that India's sustainability transition would require coordinated action across regulators and ministries, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Commerce. On concerns that sustainability goals could slow India's development, Sinha rejected the idea of a trade-off between economic growth and the green transition. "It is a fallacy to think that there is actually a trade-off between competitiveness and sustainability, between growth and sustainability. There is no trade-off," he said. He argued that sustainable investment could instead support faster economic growth and job creation. "If you pursue sustainable investments, you will grow faster, you will create more jobs and you'll have a better greener future," Sinha said. Summing up the economic case for India's transition, he said, "Net zero is net positive for India." "Competitiveness and sustainability go hand in hand," he added. (ANI)
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