Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Resources & Sustainable Development

India and Paris Agreement: Past, present and future

Five years since the Paris Agreement, we are at an inflection point. The current policies of the countries have put the planet on a path to a 3.2°C temperature increase this century. Very soon, we will exhaust the carbon budget for 1.5°C. This will have devastating consequences on communities, economies and ecosystems in the developing countries like India. It is in India's interest that the global emissions are reduced significantly. For this, India will have to take a leadership role in climate negotiations. The energy transition taking place in the country provides space for India to be a leader in climate actions.

By Chandra Bhushan

Anthropocene assaults on biodiversity, painting a dismal picture of the future of life, including human life. Illustration by Abhishek Chauhan. All rights reserved.

Nourishing community in pandemic times

The corona pandemic makes us understand that the earth is a commons, and that our lives are shared. This insight is not a rational concept, but springs from an emotional need. Individuals accept hardships by restricting their contacts in order to protect community. The understanding that we need to protect others has been able to override economic certainties within days. Humans chose to put reciprocity first. Reciprocity – mutual care – is neither an abstract concept nor an economic policy, but the experience of a sharing relationship and ultimately of keeping the community of life intact. This community of life englobes humans, but also other-than-human beings. Only if we understand that the metabolic process through which we participate in life is an act of nourishing a community shared with other beings, can we move away from treating others – human and non-human beings – as objects. By Andreas Weber

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Energy Atlas: Figures and facts about renewables in Europe

The European Energy Atlas 2018 is published at a time when the EU Member States are discussing their energy and climate strategy until 2013. It thereby not only provides a compass on the differing energy discussions in Europe but also reveals how a Europeanization of the energy transition will be the more efficient and cost-effective option for all Europeans.

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India’s energy transition: Potential and prospects

The book captures India’s potential for a large scale energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It analyses whether the ambitious renewable energy targets that India has set upon itself are possible and also provides ideas and recommendations that will help realize energy access for all in the country.

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Democracy & Society

Not about rights and equity

The National Education Policy 2020, quietly approved without a parliamentary debate amidst the traumatic COVID-19 pandemic, does not address the urgent concerns of millions of students. Its thrust on ‘consolidation’ and centralisation is detrimental to equity and inclusion, and goes against the constitutional federal structure where states make their policies. The policy contradicts the mandate of the Right to Education Act and denies quality ‘inputs’ to those who need them most. Reconfiguring the school structure for early diversion into minimalist vocational courses, it promotes ‘multiple pathways’ including Open Schooling even at primary stage. Newer hierarchies of ‘skills’ versus ‘knowledge’ are forged within a deeply segregated and stratified system. Moreover, disregarding diverse socio-economic realities of disadvantage and deprivation, and without a commitment to girls’ transformative agency, it threatens to push them out into instrumental trajectories of learning and life.

By Anita Rampal

A farmer ploughs his field with oxen in Kadmati Village, Brahampur, West Bengal, India.

Rural economy no sidekick to urban India

Distress migration of youth from rural India to cities due to lack of livelihood opportunities and rising climate impacts is deeply worrying for Indian economy. Although the present government announced several measures such as rural housing, toilets and better road network for rural development, they have failed to yield overall progress in rural sector. Besides, impetus to budget allocations for rural livelihood mission and employment guarantee schemes has not shown promising results. Constant downslide in the rate of economic growth, business investments and employment indicate an inherent flaw in the country’s development framework. The rural infrastructure calls for a redesign so that it boosts rural economy through integrated planning of fostering small businesses, job creation, expanding irrigation network, agriculture and allied sectors. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic further exposes the dangers of lopsided development where a major part of the country lives under the shadow of shining urban India that has taken an unsustainable path to prosper. India needs a deeper analysis of what is going wrong and where.

By Jyoti Awasthi

Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum

Perspectives Asia: Two Sides of the Medals

This issue of Perspectives Asia examines the intersections of sports and politics. We look at how, through sports, identities are shaped, myths and heroes are born, and unconventional truths are buried.

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Digital India through a gender lens

This policy discussion paper seeks to present a critical overview of Digital India, evaluating the extent to which the outcome areas of the program address gender-transformative change. It also offers suggestions for building an enabling environment to expand opportunities and strategic life choices for women, and contributing to gender equality, as economic, social and political arenas are fundamentally redefined by digital technologies. This paper draws upon a detailed policy study titled ‘Digital India through a Gender Lens’, undertaken by the authors in 2017-18, with support from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.

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India International

C20: deepening civic engagement towards Indian presidency of G20

The Pandemic and post pandemic phase will be testing for the G20. With India holding the G20 in 2022, it will be for the Indian leadership to deliver on the aspirations of a range of stakeholders invested in development initiatives. Indian Civil Society will be mobilizing itself to interact with the Government of India to submit recommendations through Civil 20, a unique platform and one of the many engagement groups of the G20. It is for India to rise to the occasion and provide the wherewithal for Civil Society to flourish. Heinrich Boell Stiftung’s partner organization VANI has published three reports highlighting the role and urging for a stronger engagement of Civil Society as part of debates around G20.

By Shalini Yog Shah

Financing sustainable development: Civil society perspective on asian infrastructure investment bank

The study takes a civil society perspective to the workings of the Asian Infrastructure Bank. The frameworks, policies and modalities are analyzed to understand the role of civil society in interfacing with the Bank. This is a noteworthy endeavor in the direction of ensuring accountability and accountability standards in Multilateral Development Banks.

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Tech and COVID-19

Biodiversity

Global Energy Transition

About Us

Past Events

The Heinrich Böll Stiftung/ Heinrich Boell Foundation is a German foundation and part of the Green political movement that has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism.

We are a green think-tank and an international policy network, our main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, self-determination and justice. We place particular emphasis on gender democracy, meaning social emancipation and equal rights for women and men. We are also committed to equal rights for cultural and ethnic minorities. Finally, we promote non-violence and proactive peace policies. To achieve our goals, we seek strategic partnerships with others who share our values.

Our namesake, Heinrich Böll, personifies the values we stand for: protection of freedom, civic courage, tolerance, open debate, and the valuation of art and culture as independent spheres of thought and action.

Our India Liaison Office was established in 2002 in New Delhi. Working with governmental and non-governmental local project partners we support India’s democratic governance through informed national and international dialogue processes with a view to enhance the diversity of green thinking.

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