WSDS 2025 Thematic Track - Catalyzing Business Investment for India’s Climate and Development Goals
India is at a critical juncture in its economic and environmental journey. As one of the fastest-growing major economies, India has committed to ambitious climate goals, including achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The country is also focused on expanding its green infrastructure, electrifying transportation, and fostering clean energy innovation. These initiatives require significant investment, presenting a compelling opportunity for global investors seeking to participate in the transition to a sustainable economy.
Achieving its net-zero target by 2070 necessitates a radical, economy-wide transition to low-carbon practices, particularly in high-emitting, energy-intensive sectors. Significant technological and financial needs make India's hard-to-abate sectors particularly challenging to decarbonize. These sectors require substantial capital investments to overhaul their operations. Additionally, sectoral development is needed in terms of innovation, demonstrating viable low-carbon technologies, and developing markets to ensure the commercial feasibility and competitiveness of low-carbon products.
Leading market players from Indian Industry have come together to sign an ‘Industry Charter for Near Zero Emissions Ambition by 2050’ instituted by TERI. Since its inception, the Industry Charter has emerged as an important step for the Indian industry to voluntarily commit themself to decarbonisation measures. The existing Charter Signatories unanimously expressed their intent to make their companies exemplars of low or zero carbon technology solutions within their sectors and gradually bring more heavy industry sectors into the fold of the Charter.
The We Mean Business Coalition and TERI acknowledges that non-state actors, particularly businesses, play a vital role by understanding the opportunities of low-carbon economy and challenges on one hand, and by mobilizing resources and offering know-how and solutions, on the other. As part of its flagship platform, the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), TERI in partnership with the We Mean Business Coalition, is organizing a roundtable discussion on Catalyzing Business Investment for India’s Climate and Development Goals. The roundtable discussion bring together Indian business leaders to delve into sector-specific transition barriers and role of innovative business models and policy pathways for 2035 to unlock private sector investments.