New Delhi: On Wednesday, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav termed India's green transition in the role of education as the "real catalyst" for sustainable development and youth empowerment.
He was speaking at the opening of the 7th International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE), held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
The Mobius Foundation hosted the conference with collaboration from UNESCO, UNEP, CEE, IUCN and other global partners. The international conference brought together national policymakers, educators, researchers in education, and sustainability practitioners from over 20 nations around the world.
The 2025 edition of the conference looked at "Green Skills and Youth Leadership for a Green Economy" to prepare the workforce of India's massive youth population around the increasing demand in green jobs.
In his opening keynote, Yadav highlighted India's transition from a fossil-fuel economy towards renewables as important to the progress of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
"India is taking tremendous strides to shift from fossil fuel dependence to renewable energy sources. Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement will require collective effort. Platforms like ICSE serve as catalysts in this journey," he said.
He also commended the Mobius Foundation's Gyan Kanya Shakti Program in rural India that promoted girl-child education, as well as Project Aakar, centring population stabilisation, which has made a difference in over 1.5 crore lives.
"Inclusivity is the cornerstone of sustainable development in the green economy. These initiatives are commendable and essential for building a resilient, equitable future," he added.
Why Sustainability Education Matters
Dr Ram Boojh, a leading voice in sustainability education who also served as an environmental expert at UNESCO, provided historical context for the global education movement. He traced the roots back to the 1972 Stockholm Conference, which initiated environmental governance mechanisms, and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014)that placed sustainability at the heart of global learning systems.
"Sustainability is about balancing three pillars: environment, social, and economic. Many people still think of it narrowly as an environmental issue," Boojh told ETV Bharat. "Unless we integrate sustainability into curricula and pedagogy, from early childhood to higher education, we cannot hope to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Boojh emphasised that SDG 4.7, which explicitly calls for education for sustainable development, provides a global mandate to include sustainability principles across formal and informal education systems.
Learning by Doing: Green Jobs as Practical Education
This year's ICSE theme put green jobs at the centre of discussions. Boojh argued that education must be "experiential" and "outdoor-focused" rather than limited to textbooks.
"Children should learn mathematics by counting leaves and measuring water wastage; they should learn science by observing the sky, clouds, and biodiversity around them. This kind of learning develops life skills and a sense of responsibility," he said.
He pointed to models such as rainwater harvesting projects and waste-reduction programmes at residential universities as examples of hands-on sustainability education.
Highlighting the urgency, Books cited data that one in five jobs worldwide will be a 'green job' by 2030, and this could rise to two in five by 2040. India alone aims to create 50 million green jobs by 2030 across renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, mobility, and nature-based solutions.
"We may ultimately see 500 million green jobs by 2070 if India achieves net-zero targets. Farming itself is the largest green job sector, and with the growth of natural farming and climate-smart agriculture, rural youth have massive opportunities," he said.
R&D and Industry's Sustainability Push
Dr Shailza, senior scientist at CSIR, stressed that research and development (R&D) must also embed sustainability at its core.