Erik Solheim, Former Executive Director, UNEP, stated that sustainability is best achieved when ecology and economic growth move forward together, led not by prolonged global diplomacy but by business innovation, local action and determined youth participation. Addressing the 2nd Yuva Sustainability Conference (online), organised on 13 December 2025 under the Yuva Sustainability Internships Programme by Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability on the theme ‘Beyond COP30: Empowering Youth for Climate Action’, he presented climate change not only as a crisis but as an opportunity for transformation.
The address began with a powerful image; a massive green energy plant in India with a capacity of 6.5 gigawatts whose scale exceeded the total hydropower capacity of Nepal and matched the entire electricity grid of some African nations. In that moment, climate change appeared less as an overwhelming problem and more as a field of possibility. The project symbolised a future where lights turn on without damaging the planet.
Mr Solheim emphasised that this was only the beginning. Similar renewable energy projects are emerging across Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Solar power, wind energy and pumped storage hydropower are no longer distant ambitions; they are shaping India’s present. Notably, he observed that few comparable developments are currently taking place in the West. India, he asserted, is no longer following global trends—it is leading them.
At the core of his message was a clear shift in climate leadership. Real progress, he argued, is increasingly driven by businesses, communities and innovators rather than by slow-moving diplomatic negotiations. While international climate talks remain important, tangible results are now visible on the ground. Companies are investing in clean technologies, start-ups are designing sustainable solutions, and communities are altering the ways they produce, build and live.
He described two defining global transitions. First, leadership is shifting from politics to the economy, where markets and enterprises accelerate change. Second, momentum is moving from the Global West to the Global South. Where Europe once set the direction for green thinking, today Asia—cities such as Delhi, Beijing and Jakarta—demonstrates large-scale implementation. For students and young professionals from the Global South, this shift signals proximity to the centre of change.
A particularly resonant moment came when Mr Solheim reflected on India’s cultural relationship with nature. Sustainability, he explained, is not an imported concept but deeply embedded in Indian traditions. Rivers are revered as mothers, trees hold sacred status, and many deities symbolically merge human and animal forms. These cultural narratives reveal an enduring understanding that humanity exists within nature, not separate from it.
He further noted that in India, environmental commitment often transcends political divisions. While leaders may disagree on various policies, the imperative to protect the planet commands broad consensus. The vision is to expand the economy, reduce poverty and safeguard the environment simultaneously. Sustainability and development, in this view, are partners rather than rivals.
Extending the lens to China, he highlighted how the country added more solar capacity in a single month than many nations have installed in total. Vast wind farms and expansive solar fields illustrate that green growth at scale is achievable. Together, India and China—home to the world’s largest populations—demonstrate that renewable transformation is neither theoretical nor limited to small economies.
His message to young people was direct and empowering. Throughout history, major transformations have been led by youth. Change does not wait for experience; it begins with energy, imagination and courage. Young people were encouraged to adopt sustainable lifestyles, support renewable technologies, promote environmental awareness and use digital platforms responsibly to amplify positive climate stories.
Rather than waiting for governments or multilateral agreements, the youth were urged to act through entrepreneurship, innovation and community engagement. By aligning economic growth with environmental responsibility, they can contribute to poverty reduction while protecting ecosystems. Drawing inspiration from India’s cultural respect for nature, young people were called upon to integrate values of ecology, prosperity and peace into everyday life.
The address left a sense of renewed belief: belief that the Global South can lead responsibly, that sustainability represents opportunity rather than sacrifice, and that youth are not peripheral to change but central to it. The future is not distant or abstract, it is already unfolding through collective action rooted in hope and renewable possibility.
The writer is a MSc Chemistry student at SCS Autonomous College, Puri Odisha.