The 21st Edition of the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)—the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS)—will be held from 16th to 18th February 2022 in a virtual format. The Summit deliberations will focus on the umbrella theme: Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future.

The onslaught of extreme weather events around the world have brought to the forefront how human well-being and the health of our planet are inextricably linked. Just and equitable implementation of climate and environmental policies need to go hand in hand with broader sustainable development objectives. The present state of planetary health along with pandemic driven socio-economic crises call for a revisit on questions related to global ambition and measures for sustainable development. Responses to the pandemic should be viewed from the perspective of planetary resilience, and must be right for humans as well as for Planet Earth.

The COP26 held in Glasgow also saw renewed momentum such as the call for an ambitious global goal on adaptation, loss & damage, climate finance, and energy transitions. Ensuring a sustainable and equitable future requires due consideration to socioeconomic dimensions of policies and implementation measures. Alongside environmental stewardship, responses need to consider distributional implications of aspects such as trade-offs in terms of resources available for poverty eradication measures, health and education to fulfil the sustainable development goals.

It is with this background, TERI is bringing together leading representatives from international organizations, government, business & industries, research & academia, civil society and youth to deliberate on the modus operandi required for equitable responses to enhance planetary resilience. The Summit deliberations will examine topics such as climate change, sustainable consumption and production, energy & resource security, resilience, and the global commons.

Special features at the Summit will include ministerial sessions, youth plenary, women leadership plenary, corporate plenary and thematic tracks. The Summit will also see the launch of ‘Act4Earth Manifesto’ and ‘Act4Earth Strategy Paper’. The strategy paper will also serve the function of guiding activities under WSDS such as the COP27 Compass and SDG Charter. By playing a constructivist role, the Summit will seek to reinforce commitment at all levels to enhance ambition and action to create a more sustainable and equitable world for present and future generations.