Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Monday called for promoting sustainable consumption patterns to cut carbon footprint and resolve issues of environment.

Global South is not responsible for global environmental damage but has been caused by the developed countries who enjoyed the benefit of low cost energy, he highlighted.

The minister said that people of the world would have to focus on consuming products which are environmentally sustainable.

“We need to be conscious of the waste and carbon footprint due to our current lifestyle patterns. This is going to be a core of a better future for the world. Unless we address the consumption patterns, we are not going to resolve sustainability and environmental challenges,” Goyal said.

The minister was addressing the inaugural session of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit 2024 in New Delhi.

He highlighted that each of the partner countries have shared responsibilities towards environment and sustainability, but countries present at the summit are not responsible for the damage to the environment.

Therefore, the responsibilities towards shared supply chains and sustainability will have to be met through common but differentiated responsibility, he said.

Goyal said that while all have to work together, everybody needs to be given responsibility based on their contribution to the environmental problem.

The Union Minister said that India offers a trusted hand of friendship and partnership to countries of the Global South.

Sharing the common themes mentioned at the session, he pointed out that stability, space, satellite and sustainability were most spoken of by the officials in attendance and emphasised that the world today needs these discussions.

Goyal said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation will have an impact on the future of employment and the skills required to adapt to the changing job profiles.

He said that technology will transform lives and change the nature of livelihoods, but tradition and culture will also need to be maintained equally. Therefore, it needs to be a mix of tradition and legacy on one hand and technology on the other, he noted.

Pointing out that India is marching forward with a large pool of youth with high aspirations, he stressed that there is a need to empower them with education and skill to grapple with the challenges of tomorrow. This will lead to Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, he said.