"ABOUT THE CLUB OF ROME"

Established in 2011, the Indian National Association for the Club of Rome (CoR-India) is a non-profit organisation, which aims "to act as a catalyst for change through the identification and analysis of the crucial problems facing India and the communication of such problems to the most important public and private decision makers as well as to the general public." The broad goal of the national chapter, CoR-India, is to provide an interactive platform for policy makers, social scientists, domain experts, corporate and industries to debate and design realistic agendas for government, business sector and citizen organisations, that will ensure balance and harmony between the pressures of development and sustainability. The broad concerns and contours for implementation have been summarized in two seminal publications “Aiming for India 2047” and “2052 – What the world will be like in 40 years' time”.

Vision:

• Serve as a forum for exchange of the latest thinking on the numerous problematiques confronting nations and people today, and to explore strategic, scientific and systemic resolutiques for these within the broad framework provided by the nexus, among the key dimensions of today's trilemma: Economics, Ecology and Value Systems.

Indian National Association for the Club of Rome is a chapter of International Club of Rome. This was established as a platform for Indian thought leaders to analyse the global situation from an Indian perspective and drive suitable recommendations for an applicability agenda.

This platform while serving as a forum for innovative thinking within the country, also actively engages, shares and collaborates with partners overseas, both East and West. Its focus in particular is on developing systemic linkages necessary for promoting sustainable innovation in the fields of job creation, effective management of land, water, forest, waste, energy, biodiversity- all biotic and abiotic resources and research into effective models for creating environmentally sound policies and facilitating equitable economic development.

Its engagement with Affiliate Chapters across the world provides a global networking opportunity for leaders of India and abroad. It also synergies worldwide best practices for sustainable and resource efficient development. To achieve holistic capabilities, it has established working linkages with organizations that are actively executing projects in different parts of India.

The Club of Rome pursues its objectives through scientific analysis, debate, communications, networking and, sometimes, advocacy. Its work is independent and peer reviewed through its wide membership.

Significant work done in India

In conjunction with all stakeholders, conferences on specific subjects have been organised in India. The findings/ recommendations have impacted the policy makers and others:

• 2011 - Economics, Ecology and Values: Where the World and India Meet Inspired by Nature
• 2012 - SMART Cities for India's future
• 2013 - Business for Environment (B4E)
• 2014 - Securing Food for All
• 2015 - Securing Water for All
• 2016 - Securing the Forests, Land and Soils for All
• 2017 - Towards a Resource Resilient India
• 2018 - Resource Efficiency and Jobs: Opportunities for Business and Policy

Reports of the Club of Rome help decision makers and the public, better understand major global issues. They often make specific policy proposals and seek to foster a greater sense of civic responsibility. They are intended to start a discussion among business leaders, politicians, those who lead international agencies, as well as those attending universities and schools and in the media.

 

Dealing with Unprecedented Crises and Designing Effective Solutions

The Problematique

Already within the first decade of the new Millennium, humankind finds itself confronted by an explosion of crises. Some of them diminish human wellbeing, others threaten our institutions, social systems and perhaps even our civilizations and still others endanger the very processes of nature that support life on Earth.

More than a billion people in our world live in extreme poverty and another two billion people are also more or less outside the global economy - the poverty crisis. They, and others need hundreds of millions of jobs that are not being created - the unemployment crisis. The growth of human populations and the decline of land productivity are leading rapidly to a food security crisis. The breakdown of our financial systems is causing a global economic crisis. And the changes in climate, the accelerating extinction of species and the rapid depletion of our natural resources are leading to a massive environmental crisis.

Many of these seemingly separate crises are, in fact, driven by the same sets of root causes: narrow and short-term economic goals, reinforced by gross undervaluation of natural capital, driven by individualistic values that assume that the resource base is infinite and the capacity of nature to absorb wastes is unlimited. Furthermore, governance systems are not adequate.

 

What Sets the Club of Rome Apart

What distinguishes the Club of Rome from all the other excellent initiatives around the world to tackle the crises challenging us today is its insistence on dealing with emerging issues, the importance of which others have not yet fully recognized or appreciated, putting them in a new frame of thinking and looking at them from a perspective of fairness, resource impact and overall sustainability.

It is also distinguished by its insistence on considering real facts, going into the root, fundamental causes, identifying solutions that will work and packaging these in a manner that policymakers will find it easy to understand.

Its members are independent thought leaders, representing different perspectives based on a long-term vision, a holistic understanding of the relationship between people, society, resources and technology and dedicated to a better world for future generations.

In short, the Club's value proposition:

• Its focus - strategic, scientific and systemic; and
• Its approach - independent, inclusive and open-ended