At a time when global diplomacy is under unprecedented strain, sustainability may offer the most credible pathway to peace. This was the central argument advanced by Dr. Govind Singh, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at the Jindal School of Environment & Sustainability (JSES), O.P. Jindal Global University, during the panel discussion at the Inaugural Dialogue of Diplomatist@30, hosted at the New Delhi Institute of Management on 21st January 2026.
Diplomacy Under Strain
One word, Dr. Singh noted, echoed repeatedly through the day’s discussions: courage. Yet courage was needed not only to confront global challenges, but to defend diplomacy itself. “Diplomacy appears to be under fire,” he warned, pointing to the increasingly confrontational language used by world leaders on public platforms.
“When diplomacy is sidelined, conflict takes centre stage—and diplomacy becomes optional,” he said. “That is deeply dangerous. Diplomacy must never be optional.”
In his view, the erosion of restraint, negotiation, and mutual respect has serious consequences—not just for international relations, but for the values transmitted to younger generations observing global leadership.
Why Sustainability Must Anchor Global Politics
Against this backdrop, Dr. Singh framed sustainability not as a peripheral concern, but as the moral and strategic foundation of diplomacy. Recalling his early involvement in climate advocacy, he spoke of being trained in climate communication in 2008 under a programme initiated by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, an experience that shaped his understanding of climate responsibility across the Global North and South.
Quoting Gore, Dr. Singh recalled a line that remains strikingly relevant today: “What is the use of having bars of gold if there is no healthy planet to live on? What is the point of a beautiful house if the planet beneath it is polluted?”
The message, he argued, applies as much to today’s urban professionals as to policymakers. “What is the value of a high-paying job,” he asked, “in a city where the air is not fit to breathe?”
The sequencing of the dialogue’s theme—placing planet before prosperity, peace, and people—was therefore not accidental. Without a sustainable planet, none of the other pillars can endure.
Sustainability as the Foundation of Peace
Dr. Singh underscored that environmental stress lies beneath many contemporary conflicts. “Every major conflict of the 21st century has an environmental subtext,” he said, pointing to water scarcity, land degradation, energy insecurity, and climate vulnerability.
Climate change, he noted, functions as a threat multiplier, intensifying existing disputes, accelerating climate-induced migration, and placing fragile states under ecological pressure. In this context, sustainability is no longer a sectoral issue—it is central to peace, prosperity, and people-centric governance.
“Sustainability today is not just about planting trees,” he argued. “It is about preventing conflict.”
Green Diplomacy as a Peace-Building Tool
Building on this premise, Dr. Singh made a compelling case for green diplomacy—the use of environmental cooperation as an instrument of peace-building. Transboundary water management, climate negotiations, joint disaster preparedness, and cooperation on green finance and technology, he suggested, can function as confidence-building measures even when political relations are strained.
“Countries may disagree on politics,” he observed, “but they still depend on the same rivers, ecosystems, and climate systems.”
India, he argued, offers valuable lessons in this domain. Through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, India has demonstrated climate leadership rooted in partnership rather than pressure, reframing the green transition from a burden into an opportunity. India’s continued engagement in climate resilience, disaster response, and regional environmental cooperation has quietly become a pillar of its diplomacy.
Even amid political challenges, mechanisms such as India–Bangladesh water cooperation have endured—highlighting how ecological interdependence can sustain dialogue when other channels falter.
Integrating Ecology into Policy
Looking ahead, Dr. Singh stressed that sustainability must be embedded across policy domains. Environmental ministries, he cautioned, cannot operate in isolation. Climate considerations must inform economic policy, foreign policy, and security thinking alike.
Initiatives such as Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), launched by the Government of India, reflect the country’s deep-rooted traditions of sustainable living and offer knowledge systems that are globally relevant.
He also challenged conventional narratives around population and sustainability, urging policymakers to focus on ecological footprints rather than numbers alone. “Ten high-consuming individuals,” he noted, “can exert a far greater environmental burden than thousands living sustainably.”
A Call to Reimagine Diplomacy
Concluding his remarks, Dr. Singh offered three guiding principles for the future: diplomacy must integrate ecology into every policy domain; sustainability must prioritise people over technocratic fixes; and peace must be built by protecting the planet before ecological crises spiral beyond control.
In a world increasingly defined by division and volatility, his message was clear: sustainability is not merely an environmental agenda—it is a diplomatic strategy, a peace-building tool, and a pathway to a more stable global order.
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