India Climate Change and Energy News - February 6 to 12, 2011
Posted February 23, 2011 in Solving Global Warming
Climate Change
Center Plans ‘Green India’ Mission
“Inaugurating the Southern Forest Ministers' Conference here, the Minister said that formal approval for the project was expected on February 22 at a committee to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh…. Mr. Ramesh said that the Mission would aim at improving the quality of five million hectares of degraded forests and bringing another five million hectares of non-forest areas under forest cover through social and farm forestry…. He said that the Mission would be implemented with the participation of grama sabhas, women's self help groups and community organizations. A legal entity in the form of joint management committee would be formed for carrying out the program.”
(The Hindu, 2/6/11)
Soon, Virtual Center to Study Climate Change
“In a round table conference hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, the alumni and directors of the five IITs have decided to address the urgent need to take action against the challenge of climate change…. Even as all the IITs are working on environment-related projects, a proposal to set up a virtual centre at IIT Bombay for studying climate change was floated. This centre would co-ordinate with all the environment-related faculties across IITs.”
(Daily News & Analysis, 2/7/11)
“The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which runs the country’s national agricultural research system, has recently augmented its efforts to combat climate change by launching a new research-cum-technology demonstration project called “National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture” (NICRA). This project received Cabinet approval on December 15, 2010, with an outlay of Rs 350 crore for the remaining two years of the current plan. The project will probably continue in the 12th plan (2012-17)…. ‘The project will concentrate on creating research and capacity-building infrastructure and on conducting on-farm demonstrations of available climate-resilient technologies,’ says ICAR director-general S Ayyappan. A significant aspect of this project is that it is entirely India-centered and focuses on finding location-specific solutions to climate change challenges.”
(Business Standard, 2/8/11)
Energy
India Can Generate 68,000 MW Power from Renewable Sources: WB
“The World Bank today said 68,000 MW of power costing less than Rs 6 per unit can be generated from renewable energy sources, which can play an important role in increasing India's energy security…. A report by the multilateral funding agency said that the 68,000 MW of wind, hydro and biomass energy can be harnessed at less than Rs 6 per unit…. ‘Developing indigenous renewable energy sources, which have low marginal costs of generation, are more economically viable in the long run,’ the study --Potential of Renewable Energy in India -- said….The report also suggested that renewable energy development can also be an important tool for regional economic development within the country.”
(The Economic Times, 2/11/11)
“U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said he conveyed a "message of great concern" to Indian officials Monday about the country's restrictions on imports of solar-power technology, rules that are making it difficult for U.S. firms to enter one of the world's fastest-growing solar-energy markets…. The complaint highlights how an area targeted for cooperation between the two countries has instead turned into a source of continuing frustration for the U.S…. India is planning to add 20,000 megawatts of solar power to its grid by 2020 as it seeks to step up electricity capacity to meet the demands of a growing economy while developing clean-energy sources. The program will disburse about $20 billion in subsidies to power plant developers in coming years. But an Indian regulation that goes into effect in April will bar those firms from importing any foreign-made solar panels—the technology that converts sunlight into electricity.”
(The Wall Street Journal, 2/8/11)
Future of Transportation is in Electric Vehicles
“The future of transportation in India has to be in electric mobility, given the vast limitations of alternatives such as biofuels, which can never replace or become an everlasting solution to diesel and petrol, G M Pillai, IAS officer and former director general of the Maharashtra Energy Development Authority (MEDA), said here on Friday…. ‘The government's move towards setting up a National Council on Electric Mobility provides a pointer to the rising appreciation of the need to promote electric vehicles,’ Pillai said at the inaugural session of a two-day seminar on ‘Sustainable development: challenges and opportunities' at the Hiraben Nanavati Institute of Management and Research (HNIMR) in the city. The council will take a holistic view of the sector for hybrid and green cars to ensure that incentives are harmonized for maximum impact.”
(The Times of India, 2/12/11)
Environmental Compliance and Governance
Jairam Says GDP will be Less if Environment Impact is Considered
“The country’s nine per cent growth story today came in for questioning from Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who contended that if the impact on ecology had been taken into consideration, the growth would have been only around six per cent…. He said from 2015 onwards the impact of ecology would be part of calculations to judge the economic growth…. ‘If you are reporting a 9 per cent GDP growth...the real GDP growth in terms of accounting for ecological degradation, loss of natural resources, loss of bio-diversity would probably be somewhere closer to five and half to six percent,’ Ramesh said…. He was addressing the Stakeholders Consultations on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in India here.”
(OneIndia, 2/10/11)
(Prepared by Andy Gupta, Program Assistant)
Note: The linked articles and excerpts in this post are provided for informational purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the India Initiative or of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
