Sustainable Development: Issues, Concerns and Roadmap Ahead

On the basis of a close and careful examination of the concept of sustainable development in a proper historical and comparative perspective, it is cogently argued that the background environmental processes need not be taken as exogenously given. There is a need for a different mindset, fostering of transformational changes, cross-sectoral decisions, macro-economic policy, the sensitization of the common man to environmental concerns and realization of the potential economic value of the eco-system for the markets and their attendant implications. Given the humungous investment requirements in renewable energy (RE), attempts must be made to identify financing issues, viz., their higher capital-intensive nature with lower organization and management (O&M) cost, exposure limit of banks to sectors, inadequate sector-specific risks awareness among financial institutions, and solar project viability apprehensions. There has to be a renewed thrust on climate change to meet the challenges of today and the expectations of tomorrow. The paper highlights the need for perspicacity and places the inextricably linked issues of renewable energy, environmental pollution, eco-friendly strategy, inter-generational equity, and climate change in perspective.