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Sustainable Development and 06

Climate Change

CHAPTER

In 2020-21, India progressed further on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). India’s overall score on the NITI Aayog SDG India Index & Dashboard 2020-
21 improved to 66 from 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018-19. The number of Front Runners
(scoring 65-99) increased to 22 states and UTs in 2020-21 from 10 in 2019-20. Kerala
and Chandigarh were the top state and UT respectively on SDG performance in 2020-21.
In North East India, 64 districts were Front Runners and 39 districts were Performers in
the NITI Aayog North-Eastern Region District SDG Index 2021-22.

India has the tenth largest forest area in the world. In 2020, India ranked third globally in
increasing its forest area during 2010 to 2020. The forests covered 24 per cent of India’s
total geographical, accounting for two per cent of the world’s total forest area in 2020.
India’s forest cover has increased by more than three per cent during 2011 to 2021. This
is mainly attributed to increase in very dense forest, which grew by 20 per cent during the
period.

In August 2021, the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 was notified
which is aimed at phasing-out single use plastic by 2022. The draft regulation on the
Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging has been notified. The regulation
seeks to strengthen the circular economy of plastic packaging waste, promote development
of new alternatives to plastics and sustainable plastic packaging.

The chapter discusses ground water resource management and the findings indicate that
states/UTs need to manage its ground water resources carefully, including recharge, and
to stem over-exploitation. The compliance status of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs)
located in the Ganga main stem and its tributaries improved from 39 per cent in 2017 to
81 per cent in 2020. The consequent reduction in effluent discharge has been from 349.13
milllions of liters per day (MLD) in 2017 to 280.20 MLD in 2020.

India had announced its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the
Paris Agreement in 2015. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, as a part of the national
statement delivered at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow in
November 2021, announced ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030 to enable further
reduction in emissions. The need to start the one-word movement ‘LIFE’ which means
Lifestyle For Environment urging mindful and deliberate utilization instead of mindless
and destructive consumption was underlined.