Big Sustainability Summit (4)

George Varughese, India. How do we scale up these ideas despite government? It's people's groups that can synergise to make it happen. Why is India important? There are tectonic changes happening in developing economies that need to be taken into consideration, or we'll end up in trouble together. Poverty wasn't mentioned this morning - approximately 1/4 of our country is already having trouble with extremism, terrorism etc - it's a microcosm of the world. 

Our ecosystems and challenges are on the brink. We did a project on low carbon climate resilient pathways for India. Challenges:

1. How do you steer a rapidly developing economy that is developing more and more. 

2. Integrating the poor communities to get beyong 'India Shining' for only middle class people - the global context cannot be ignored, even when govt do not know what to do

3. Population growth. By 2030, India's population will be 1.5bn. Young India wil not accept the lifestyle that their parents accepted; what is a lifestyle that 800m can live sustainably?

4. Ecosystem degradation; we are one of the 17 mega-diverse countries, with biodiversity under threat

5. Carbon - India the 4th largest consumer; if we start consuming like western consumers, the whole planet is dead. If we do it with coal, there would be no chance. How? Build a skills base. Find the money domestically. Re-set the institutional base in India

Do not ignore poverty, or it will walk all over you.

Do not pour money into the less developed countries. Put small amounts into innovation, and scale up social enterprises. Get IPR on renewables globally owned.