Kerala to See First Carbon Neutral Event at ICGE-II

KOZHIKODE:
Conforming to the global sustainable development agenda in letter and spirit, the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE) organized by the Gender Park in Kozhikode on February 11, 12 and 13 will be the state’s first fully Carbon Neutral event.

The Gender Park, under the state’s Department of Women and Child Development, is organising the second edition of ICGE in association with UN Women. Speakers and participants across the world will take part in the event at the Gender Park campus in Kozhikode abiding by the Covid-19 safety protocol. The department has decided to bring Sustainability as the core theme of the entire event, at a time when climate change is disrupting the economies and lives across continents.

India, especially Kerala, has seen the worst changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, extreme weather events and greenhouse gas emissions, which recorded the highest levels in history and calls for urgent collective action to achieve sustainable development.

It is imperative to maintain the maximum temperature at less than 35 degree C and minimum between 23 and 24 degree C in Kerala, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“The department of Women and Child Development has taken massive steps to ensure that the conference fully adheres to sustainability as its core theme. The event will be evaluated and verified as the First Carbon Neutral Event in Kerala to enhance the awareness and capacity building activities in line with State Action Plans for Climate Change (SAPCC),” said Dr P T M Sunish, CEO, Gender Park.

The mandates of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement implementation of climate actions by the governments through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) are also taken into serious consideration.

For this purpose, The Gender Park has taken on board Vydyuthi Energy Services (VES), a Kerala-based energy and carbon consulting startup, which recently got recognized by the UN Women for becoming one of the first startups from Kerala supporting gender equality. The startup’s commitment towards having more than 50% of its team members as women have paved its way to this recognition.

Carbon neutrality of ICGE II will be achieved following the PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality Standard that set out the requirements for conducting and demonstrating carbon neutrality – allowing the event to improve environmental credentials with accuracy and transparency.

The Gender Park also aims to become the First Carbon Neutral Campus in the state in the coming years where the VES will be supporting the department in creating and achieving the neutrality targets. The park aims to become a role model in supporting the state in its journey towards creating a #CarbonNeutralKerala.

Kerala has always been the successful forerunner in tourism, information technology, healthcare, education, agriculture and manufacturing. Similarly, The Gender Park, being the country’s first such initiative, would open doors for creating gender equality and their engrossment in creating a sustainable ecosystem.

The high-profile conclave, which has ‘Gender in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Business: The Mediating Role of Empowerment’ will be attended by policymakers, academics, professionals and domain experts from across the globe. The event will also brainstorm the crucial linkages between entrepreneurship, economic growth and poverty alleviation, which are in tune with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).