For the G20 countries with fast-depleting biodiverse species (such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Türkiye), achieving the 30x30 goal (protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030) is challenging.
This policy brief, published by T20 India, draws on experience and lessons from G20 and other countries in achieving Target 6.1 of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) — it envisages ways to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.
Data-driven technologies are enabling rapid changes in agricultural food production systems. They have the potential to transform farming methods and bring about sustainable resource management, increased levels of productivity, sustainability, and efficiency.
Clean and affordable public transportation can lower carbon emissions, improve urban air quality, and enable economic development. India’s G20 presidency can leverage the country’s National Electric Bus Programme to serve as a model that can be replicated across emerging market and developing economies.
Universal access to affordable clean energy continues to be a challenge across the globe. Women’s and marginalised groups’ access to clean energy services and green technologies remains constrained by intersectional social factors and gender-blind policies.
In countries of the Global South, 2.4 billion people cook with solid fuels, resulting in 3.2 million premature deaths and economic losses of US$2.4 trillion annually. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is considered to be a scalable transition cooking solution until renewable options become market-ready.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause 41 million preventable deaths each year, approximately six times the number of people who have died from COVID-19 so far. The estimated economic loss resulting from the five most common NCDs is US$2 trillion annually, more than the nominal GDP of most countries in the G20.
It has long been clear that delivering on the SDGs and global climate goals at the necessary scale requires a large step-up in financing from private sources. Yet, despite many promising ideas, success has been modest so far.
In 2022, G20 leaders acknowledged the need to rapidly transform and diversify energy systems while implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change. The expansion of renewable electricity generation can help address these goals but will require substantial investment.
In the wake of the energy crisis triggered by the Russian war on Ukraine, G20 countries—and the rest of the world—have become exposed to the risks of energy insecurity. To secure the supply and stability of electricity, existing power systems must be redesigned to be forward-looking and fit for net-zero.
