By Aparna Susarla and Namir Nava

Monday, 26 November

In today’s Inaugural Plenary, within the framework of Environmental Education (EE) in India, the Secretary of Higher Education, Mr. A.P. Agarwal, gave some important reflections about the role of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). He made a time line of some of the concepts that had changed in the world, since the Stockholm Conference in 1972 to the present. He pointed out that we have moved from the concept of “Environmental Education” to “Education for Sustainable Development.” In his address, he said, “This paradigm shift implies that education for sustainable development is a continuing and never ending process.”

According to him, Environmental Education, however, still remains one of the most important core elements of the Government’s Environment Policy and he emphasized the importance of inculcating it in the learning processes at schools as well as in society at large. He emphasized that “Education is the only answer that can enable all citizens in any country to participate in an informed way in discussions relating to development and the establishment of national priorities.”

“We can and must build for the future, but it cannot be at the expense of the world’s natural resources.”

Mr. A.P. Agarwal
Secretary of Higher Education

Finally, A.P. Agarwal urged the countries with high per capita carbon emissions to contain their emissions and make the necessary sacrifices that this entails. He insisted that they ought to contribute hugely in this direction.

Furthermore, Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Nobel Prize Winner, presented some realistic and concerning statistics of climate change related to our lives as well as some of the consequences for biodiversity, loss of agricultural productivity, and decrease in fresh water, among many others. He talked about the costs of mitigating climate change by stabilizing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and addressed some of the policies and measures to arrest this global problem: effective carbon pricing, use of appropriate energy, changes in lifestyle, and, in the context of education, he stated that youth should be empowered as they are the driving force to bring out the change in their lives and encourage others to adopt eco-friendly lifestyles.

“Youth are a powerful agent of change”

Dr. R.K. Pachauri
Nobel Prize Winner