Sustainability Outlook Headlines

The Real Change Modi's Jhadoo Can Sweep In

Obviously this broom-vroom is going to go viral like the Ice Bucket Challenge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated nine people for the Clean India message campaign, including Anil Ambani who picked up a broom yesterday (October 7, 2014) in a cute runner’s outfit with red shoes. Ambani nominated nine more, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shobhaa De and Shekhar Gupta. These three names are going to cause angst. Serious angst. Think of all the cringing going on now. Actors, society queens and journalists/editors are now going to be vying with each other to be nominated – by the right person.... Read more..

Date : Oct 9

Source: News Laundry

One reason solar power is growing so fast? Creative new lending schemes.

The fast recent growth of rooftop solar power in the United States has been utterly stunning. The number of homes with rooftop panels has roughly tripled since 2010. By one count, a new solar system is now installed every four minutes.

So what's driving this? It helps that photovoltaic panels keep getting cheaper, thanks to a surge in Chinese manufacturing and various efficiency improvements. It also helps that the federal government offers a 30 percent tax credit for rooftop systems (at least until the end of the 2016).

But one of the biggest factors rarely... Read more..

Date : Oct 9

Source: Vox

Low-carbon LED lamp wins Nobel for Japanese trio

Three Japanese-born researchers today won the Nobel Prize for Physics for inventing the LED lamp, a boon in the fight against global warming and aiding people in poverty.
The trio are Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura, a researcher who is currently based in the United States.
"This year's Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source -- the blue light-emitting diode (LED)," the jury said.
"Their inventions were revolutionary," it said.
"Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Deccan Herald

Small rooftop solar power plants to create 3.25 lakh jobs in 10 years: Report

Small rooftop solar power plants alone are likely to create 3.25 lakh jobs cumulatively in the next ten years in India, says a report.

"The small rooftop scenario (sector) would contribute the most to job creation, with around 3,25,000 cumulative new jobs in next ten years," a report by Bridge to India, a company engaged in businesses like Strategic Consulting, Market Intelligence and Project Development, said.

The supply chain for small rooftop systems would include many intermediaries, spreading margins across more layers, it said.

The... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Times of India

Delhi Metro makes a profit by reducing its carbon footprint

After earning carbon credits through regenerative braking, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is now making profits from its second project — Modal Shifts — by successfully reducing its carbon footprint and selling the credits thus earned in the international market.

Speaking to Newsline, DMRC Director (Finance) K K Saberwal said the organisation is earning a part of its income by selling carbon credits — the first Metro system in the world to reportedly achieve the feat.

Carbon credits are like shares that are sold in the international market with a view... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Indian Express

China and India Set to See Boom in Energy Efficient Vehicles

September was an important month for the environment, with worldwide rallies demanding urgent action on climate change and a UN Climate Summit. It was against this backdrop that researchers at the Global Carbon Project released new data showing that China’s per capita carbon emissions have overtaken those of the EU. In 2019, India is expected to follow suit.

This puts renewed pressure on the two Asian superpowers to curb their notoriously high levels of pollution and seek out other, cleaner sources of energy. In this article, Asia Briefing examines the as-yet largely untapped... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Asia Briefing

Power outages forcing firms to reconsider investment, expansion plans in Telangana

Frequent and long power outages are forcing industries based in Telangana to reconsider their proposed incremental investments, expansions and greenfield projects in India's newest state.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has blamed N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, for the power woes of his state. Andhra Pradesh, from which Telangana was carved out on June 2, owns over 60% of the two states' combined power generation assets of 16,465MW in terms of location.

While Rao has sought three years to fully resolve the power crisis... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Economic Times

Building energy efficient cities across India, with Hyderabad as a starting point

Energy is a red-hot topic in India. Power Minister Piyush Goyal recently announced the Modi government’s goal of providing 24/7 access to power for homes and industrial, and commercial users within five years. With such ambitious goals in a country that already faces significant energy shortfalls, energy efficiency – especially for buildings – must be a key part of the strategy. With 70% of the buildings that will exist in India by 2030 yet to be built, energy efficiency measures offer tremendous potential to build cities that lock in energy savings for decades to come.

A... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: NRDC

Yamuna's oxygen levels plummet to zero, spelling ecological disaster for river bank

As the Government spends considerable money to clean up the Yamuna, pollution remains a grave threat to the river that flows through the Capital. A recent study conducted at the ITO Bridge (Vikas Marg) and Nizamuddin Bridge (Bhoj Marg near Akshardam Temple), and published in the International Journal of Environmental Sciences, has revealed that pollution has lowered the dissolved oxygen (DO) level to zero mg/l.

That in turn has badly impacted on the aquatic life along the river bank. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level has been in the range of 4 to 29 mg/l at both the... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Daily Mail

Record year for fossil fuel emissions pushes carbon budget to the brink

Drowned out by the hundreds of thousands of people at climate change marches and all those heads of state checking in to a New York climate summit, we got confirmation this week that the world had broken a record.

Humanity (ahem) managed to pump 36 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and making cement in 2013 – an all-time high.

For those cynics among us, you might just hold up that number as a testament to our decades-long collective political and societal failure to cut our profligate fossil fuel and consumption habit.
... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: The Guardian

CSE claims green buildings not meeting norms

Even though Delhi government is planning to notify a number of benefits for green buildings, like enhanced floor area coverage (FAR) and a property tax rebate, a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study has found that many such buildings may not be "green" at all. The study claims that some may even be guzzling more energy than regular buildings that are not certified to be green. CSE's recent analysis of the Indian Green Building Council's (IGBC) data on various buildings revealed this discrepancy.

The research team at CSE compared the energy performance index (EPI) of... Read more..

Date : Oct 8

Source: Times of India

Solar-powered electronic toll plazas to be set up pan-India

Close on heels of Centre's announcement to install advanced electronic toll collection system pan-India, the Highways Ministry has said the plazas will be solar-powered.

"The Ministry proposes to develop solar powered toll plazas on NHs across the country in order to reduce their carbon footprint," a Road Transport and Highways Ministry official said.

The Ministry has sought designs for such advanced solar plazas from architects, professionals and qualified engineers by October 31 announcing a prize of Rs 10 lakh for the best entry followed by Rs 7 lakh and Rs... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Economic Times

Where have all the water bodies gone?

In September, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court gave a landmark ruling directing the Government not to grant layout approval or building plan permission on lands located on water bodies. It was responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the subject.

This historic judgment is not only a wake-up call for Tamil Nadu, but for other States as well where a significant number of small water bodies are dying.

The judgment comes close on the heels of the Delhi High Court’s grave remark that the depleting water level will lead to water wars soon.
... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Dutch firm to study ways to make Himachal waste-free

The Himachal Pradesh government Monday signed here an agreement with Dutch company Nexus Novus to know the ways to make the hill state waste-free.

Urban development department director J.M. Pathania signed the agreement for a feasibility study on waste management in the state on behalf of the government. Nexus Novus was represented by its managing director Rutger De Brujin.

The feasibility study will cost 51,565 Euro (about Rs.40 lakh) and the entire cost will be borne by Nexus Novus, an official statement said.

The state will provide all field... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Zee News

Solid waste disposal: Green panel chides Madhya Pradesh, 2 other states

National Green Tribunal (NGT) has rapped three states of MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan for poor municipal solid waste (MSW) management and lack of priority to issue. The green panel has also slammed the civic body for its failure to shift Bhanpur dumping site to a new landfill site despite almost a year of the case.

The NGT bench comprising judicial member justice Dalip Singh and expert member P S Rao sought explanation from all three states on action taken by them after Union ministry of urban development (MoUD) issued advisories in October 2013 indicating technical options... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Times of India

Clean India campaign is Delhi’s best chance to make waste recycling compulsory

Mundane civic issues like cleanliness in public spaces rarely go national. So it was heartening to have the Prime Minister launch the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary last week. In Delhi, the launch of the campaign saw everyone from cabinet ministers to sundry politicians, bureaucrats to clerks and top cops to the constabulary wielding brooms at their workplaces. For many, it was a good photo op. Others were probably there because the attendance was mandatory.

Cynicism aside, the much-televised campaign has made cleanliness a talking point. The... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Hindustan Times

Centre’s response sought on e-waste management

With the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in full swing, an area which demands attention is management of electronic waste or e-waste. As the increase in generation of e-waste and its dumping in India are becoming a major concern, the National Green Tribunal has sought response from the Centre on a plea alleging rampant violation of e-waste management rules notified in 2011.

A Bench headed by Justice U.D. Salvi issued notices to the Ministry of Environment & Forests, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and others while posting the matter for October 13. The Tribunal was... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: The Hindu

Concrete steps, not just marketing campaigns needed to make India a clean country

For starters, it will take more than televised tokenism to clean up India. Today, a fraction of the country's liquid waste gets treated. The rest is dumped into rivers and ponds. Most solid waste goes into landfills unsegregated, where it contaminates land and groundwater.

And that is without getting into discussions on hazardous wastes and pollution. Without fixing all these, India cannot be cleaned up. To take just one instance of the scale of the problem, the website of the Central Pollution Control Board, the apex body dealing with pollution in India, has a report called... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Economic Times

PM Modi's US Visit: India-US agree to fight climate change through better use of information

India and the United States have agreed to work together on efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change and improve climate resilience through better use of information and planning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama issued ajoint statement in Washington, DC on Tuesday, laying out the broad contours of a new partnership between India and the United States for climate resilience.

The two leaders propose to identify opportunities to jointly advance capacity for strengthening climate resilience, including development of actionable information, data... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Economic Times

World’s first solar battery developed

American scientists have developed the world's first solar battery which recharges itself using air and light.
Ohio State University reserachers developed the solar battery by combining a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device.
Researchers said the key to the innovation is a mesh solar panel, which allows air to enter the battery, and a special process for transferring electrons between the solar panel and the battery electrode. Inside the device, light and oxygen enable different parts of the chemical reactions that charge the battery. The solar battery will be... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: Times of India

Smart grids can fix India’s power shortage

As we all know, the country is currently seeing prolonged power cuts and blackouts in many regions, affecting all strata of society, including residential, commercial and industrial entities.

In order to meet our rapidly increasing electrical needs, we need to increase efficiency to a point where we will actually be using less energy to power more homes and businesses. To be sustainable, we must be able to produce the amount of energy we need, without the weighty costs of environmental destruction that our current grid allows. At present, the challenges in addressing power... Read more..

Date : Oct 7

Source: My Digital FC

India signs MOU for first ever offshore wind power project

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed with regard to establishing a Joint Venture Company (JVC) in order to construct India’s first demonstration offshore wind power project.

The 100MW project would be located along the Gujarat coast and would be supported by subsidy for the construction of the evacuation and transmission infrastructure connecting the wind farm to the main land. This would include financial support for carrying out studies such as the wind resource assessment, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), oceanographic survey and Bathymetric studies. The... Read more..

Date : Oct 6

Source: Renewable Energy Magazine

Indian Aluminium Maker Announces 100 MW Wind Energy Project Days After Its Coal Mine Is Cancelled

Indian government-owned companies seem to have embarked on a hyperdrive to implement renewable energy projects. The aggressive capacity addition plans are reportedly backed by the central government, which aims to boost the existing renewable energy policies. Just last month, Coal India Limited, the world’s largest coal mining company, announced that it is planning to invest $1.2 billion in solar power projects.

National Aluminium Company India
One of the integrated aluminium production facilities of NALCO
The latest public sector company to join the renewable... Read more..

Date : Oct 6

Source: Clean Technica

Three IITs develop cement low on carbon content

Buildings in the city may soon be able to reduce their carbon footprint, though by a slim margin, thanks to low-carbon cement or 'LC 3'. Scientist at IIT Delhi, along with IIT Bombay, IIT Madras and an environmental NGO called Development Alternatives (DA), have developed a type of cement that% is not just low-cost, but can emit 20% to 30% less carbon than regular cement. For every tonne of cement produced, about 0.82 tonnes of CO2 is emitted.

The most energy-intensive part of cement production is making clinker-grey balls of ground limestone and clay made by heating them at... Read more..

Date : Oct 6

Source: Times of India

Ministry of corporate affairs slashes estimate of companies CSR spend by half

The corporate affairs ministry has cut by half its internal estimate of corporate social responsibility spending in the first year, in part because companies aren't very enthusiastic to the idea.

The ministry now expects the eligible companies to spend about Rs 5,000 crore; its initial projection was more than Rs 10,000 crore. It has cut the estimate also after finding discrepancies in the data it relied upon.

Under new rules, companies with a net worth of more than Rs 500 crore or revenue of over Rs 1,000 crore or a net profit of more than Rs 5 crore need to... Read more..

Date : Oct 6

Source: Economic Times