Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD)

Carbon Minus India (CMI) is an Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) initiative, committed to reduce Green House Gases (GHGs) Emission, there by saving the Earth from the Global Warming and Other adverse impact of the Climate Change. IISD is, a unique organization of its kind, aims towards sustainable development of mankind and environment protection. IISD works with the governments, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies, industries, academia, premier scientific research institutes, national laboratories and the other civil society organisations in order to drive India on a sustainable path that is inclusive and equitable. It uses research, scientific & social consultancy as tools to attain its objectives.

Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), a unique organization of its kind, aims towards sustainable development of mankind and environment protection. IISD works with the governments, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies, industries, academia, premier scientific research institutes, national laboratories and the other civil society organisations in order to drive India on a sustainable path that is inclusive and equitable. It uses research & social consultancy as tools to attain its objectives.

India cannot afford a development paradigm that does not reduce poverty. Off late India faces the problem of jobless growth – the fast economy growth rate is not being accompanied with expected reduction in poverty. Close to 260 million people remain below the poverty line, and it remains stagnated since last three decades. Being having the largest number of poor in the world, India’s poverty reduction is also a global concern.

To tackle the challenge of poverty, India must make its economic growth work for the poor to come above the infamous poverty line permanently. For the economy to work for poor, it must factor into its structure the poor’s reasons of being poor i.e. the ecology on which poor depends for survival. Agriculture and forests sustain India’s 60 percent people. So environment is not a mere elitist study but an economic need. So sustainable development is imperative.

IISD strives to put India in this path. It focuses its activities on poverty alleviation through sustainable livelihood generation, energy security to sustain the economic growth both at commercial and domestic level, mitigation and adaptation in face of climate change that is impacting on the livelihoods of the poor more than ever and to promote cleaner technology in order to promote overall primary sustainable development of society.

Broad objectives of IISD are:

• Promoting sustainable livelihoods
• Energy security
• Sustainable industrial development
• Making environment as the axis of economy
• Environmental education as core of mass conscience
• Technology for sustainable development
• Empowerment of indigenous people
• Mitigating climate change impacts
• Policy research on multilateral agreements on environment and development
• Researching environmental health issues
• Promoting sustainable urbanisation

To attain above objectives, IISD plans its institutional strategies and accompanying activities. All its activities are being clubbed into below centres based on various centre of studies:

• Centre for Ecological Studies
• Centre for Sustainable Technologies
• Centre for Development Policies

IISD besides focusing currently on research, dissemination and advocacy on its core objectives is trying to emerge as a centre for state of the art environmental education. For IISD environmental education means redefining the contemporary education system in this sector. Given our wide experiences, the IISD education plan will create global environmental leaders with applied knowledge that contributes substantial way to sustainable development of society.