“Development and environmental degradation are the two sides of the same coin.” Justify the statement with suitable examples.

India and China with over 35% of the world's population are on a high-growth trajectory. This growth comes with a hidden environmental cost. As our population grows, finding a balance between economic advancement and consumption of natural resources is a vital question that India should address today.  Developing countries like India can become greener and lessen their environment footprint while at the same time continue to grow and deliver goods and services, for vital economic development. A two-pronged approach has to be followed to work in this direction.  Firstly, enterprises need to decouple production systems from the consumption of materials and energy (produce more with less) to become sustainable. Material and energy costs account for 40-60% of the operating costs of enterprises in developing countries. By following steps like switching from non-renewable to renewable sources of energy and materials targetting cleaner production, maximising recycling and reuse of wastes and environmentally sound product design, enterprises can significantly work towards sustainable growth.  Governments also have a key role to play. Policies need to be simplified to create an ecosystem for new sustainable businesses to flourish. Efforts like the introduction and adoption of Green Accounting standards will be a step towards enhancing the speed of transition among businesses.