You are here
Sustainability Outlook Headlines
Trading in renewable energy paper at new highThis month's trading, as of today, in ‘renewable energy certificates' touched a new high, both in volumes and prices. As many as 95,504 RECs were traded on the two exchanges – Indian Energy Exchange and Power Exchange of India Ltd – today, with the former accounting for 97 per cent of the trading. On the price front, the average price was Rs 2,700 a REC on the IEX and Rs 3,000 on PXIL. RECs are generation-based ‘certificates' awarded (electronically, in demat form) to those generating electricity from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, hydro and solar, if they... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Hindu Business Line
|
UN-sponsored climate talks in Durban to discuss fundingThe contentious issue of finance will be among the key items that will take centrestage at the UN-sponsored climate talks in Durban. Predictable and continuous funding to undertake steps to tackle climate change lies at the core of a balanced global deal. At the pre-conference meeting, South Africa said that the Durban meet should go beyond operationalising the Green Climate Fund agreed on at the Cancun meet. Pretoria indicated that the UN meet should take up "the very contentious issue of finance". This will be a tough political decision because of economic recession that... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Economic Times
|
Developing countries doing more to check emissions than rich ones: ReportDeveloping countries have pledged greater levels of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions than the rich nations despite the developed world being responsible for a large part of the historical emissions. This conclusion by the Stockholm Environment Institute has stirred debate about how far India would now be willing to go with the US and Europe lagging behind on substantial actions to prevent climate change but asking for greater commitments from the developing world. "There is broad agreement that developing country pledges amount to more mitigation than developed... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Times of India
|
US, India facing same challenge of providing energy: EnvoyUS and India are facing the "same challenge" of providing for the energy needs of their people while ensuring that environment is not harmed, US Consul General in Kolkata Dean R Thompson has said. 'India and USA are working to make progress in the areas of strategic cooperation, which includes security issues, energy and climate change'. "This is an area where we face the same challenge, how do we provide for the energy needs of our populations while ensuring that we are not causing irreversible harm to our environment," Thompson asked. Referring to the US-India... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Economic Times
|
PepsiCo gives $8M to support access to clean water in IndiaPepsiCo Foundation is donating $8 million to support access to clean water in India, the food and beverage company announced Thursday. Water is a critical environmental and social issue as billions of people worldwide currently lack access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needs. A growing population, climate change and other demands on the world's water supply are expected to make water scarcity and quality into much larger challenges in the future. PepsiCo is providing the grant to support Water.org, a nonprofit organization co-founded by celebrity Matt Damon.... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Economic Times
|
New plant to recycle waste, generate electricityThe Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is all set to sort out Delhi ’s problem of ever-increasing garbage more efficiently by building a waste-to-energy plant at Narela-Bawana, where they already have a waste processing plant. Highly placed sources have said that the plant was approved by the minister of environment on Tuesday and the plant would be set up by 2014. The site will not only take care of 4,000 of the 8,000 metric tonnes of garbage generated by Delhi everyday but will also generate 32 MW of electricity, the highest to be produced by any waste-to-energy plant in the... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Hindustan Times
|
Capacity growth of LNG plant on trackUnion Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has given its final nod to Petronet LNG Ltd's proposal for expanding the capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Puthuvypu, off Kochi from 2.5 million tonnes to 5 million tonnes. "This was the only clearance that was pending for the expansion proposal. We had obtained all other clearances earlier," AK Balyan, managing director and CEO, Petronet LNG told TOI here. "The project is on track and we are planning to commission it towards the end of 2012," he added. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 4000... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Times of India
|
Durban talks come at bad time: UN climate chiefUN climate talks that begin next month in South Africa coincide with a global financial crisis hurting efforts to raise money to fight climate change, the UN's climate chief said Wednesday. "This is not the best time to be talking about finance, because all developed countries are in a financial crisis," Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told a press briefing ahead of the November 28 to December 9 talks in Durban. She urged developed countries to think of the funds as a long-term need that will outlive the gloomy... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: AFP
|
Mismanagement of solid waste makes residents’ life hellFoodgrain stock lying just 10 steps from the heaps of waste, continuously putting the health of the residents to risk describes the Bhaktanwala area. The area is the holy city's main grain market and has a population of more than 30,000. This site has been proposed to set up a solid waste management project and a city garbage dump pond was also been demarcated here. For over two years, the ambitious project could not see the light of the day, the dump pond has filled up to its limit, and the heaps of garbage are mounting with each passing day. In the absence of making adequate... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Tribune
|
Indian activists fear nuclear plant accidentThousands of protesters living near a nuclear power plant about to be commissioned are blocking highways and staging hunger strikes demanding its closure as they distrust federal government assurances regarding safety. Agitated villagers living around the Russian-built Koodankulam nuclear plant in the southern Tamil Nadu province, 700km south of the state capital of Chennai, fear there will be an accident similar to the radiation leak in March at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant following the earthquake and tsunami. They have blocked all entry points to the plant, preventing... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: New Zealand Herald
|
Promising biodiesel crop needs time to prove itselfSeveral new companies are betting on the little-known pongamia pinnata tree as a biodiesel feedstock that does not hurt food production, but a decade or more of research and development is still needed to determine its value as a commercial crop. Pongamia pinnata, also known as millettia pinnata, is native to Australia, India and parts of southeast Asia. Its oil has so far been used in medicines, lubricants and oil lamps. Pongamia is attractive because, after six years of cultivation, its oil yield is estimated to rise to around 23 tons per hectare per year — almost double... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Arab News
|
Manufacturing needs efficient urbanisation, infrastructure & labour lawsThe National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) meant to raise the sector's share of national output and create millions of jobs over a decade is a fine example of a policy for the sake of a policy. Initiatives such as these waste money and offer no guarantee of growth. What the country needs is a coherent plan for planned urbanisation, to house ever-growing numbers of industrial and service sector enterprises and migrants from villages who man these enterprises. The NMP is a weak substitute as it merely envisages the creation of seven new towns and, that too, in select states. Urban... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Economic Times
|
Honeywell Chief Says Smart grids will take 10 years to be meaningful part of bizWith technology giants like Microsoft and Google pulling out of their smart grid plans, a serious question arises. Are smart grids going to become a reality in India soon? Besides making some sporadic and tiny efforts, the people who talk of smart grids are at least 10 years behind the talk, according to a top executive at Honeywell. In an interaction with with ET, Roger Fradin, President and CEO of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions, said: "In all honesty, I know smart grids make good press but I think it will take 10 years for it to become a meaningful part of my business... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: Economic Times
|
Political Signal Needed on UN Carbon Market Future, Norway SaysClimate envoys should send a “political signal” at the upcoming summit on their willingness to continue the United Nations carbon market to allay investors’ concerns about its future, Norway’s chief negotiator said. More than 190 nations will meet in Durban, South Africa, from Nov. 28 until Dec. 9 to discuss climate-protection rules for the period after 2012, when the current emission-reduction targets for developed nations under the Kyoto Protocol expire. Systems designed under the protocol, including the UN Clean Development Mechanism, should continue, Norway’s chief climate... Read more.. Date : Oct 28 Source: BusinessWeek
|
Wild Brush Confirms Significant Solar Energy Deal With WAAREE EnergiesWild Brush Energy (PINKSHEETS: WBRE) is pleased to announce the signing of an essential supplier of solar paneling and solar park development. WAAREE Energies has agreed to provide solar paneling and installation expertise for Wild Brush Energy Solar Park Projects up to at least 5 Mw in size. WAAREE Energies has a state-of-the-art, modern automatic production line for Photo Voltaic solar modules in Mumbai, India. The Company provides complete Turnkey solutions for SOLAR PV power plant development of any capacity for export to grid. WAAREE is presently providing its panels and... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: msnbc.com
|
India at 'extreme' risk from climate changeA third of humanity, mostly in Africa and South Asia, face the biggest risks from climate change but rich nations in northern Europe will be least exposed, according to a report released on Wednesday. Bangladesh, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among 30 countries with "extreme" exposure to climate shift, according to a ranking of 193 nations by Maplecroft, a British firm specialising in risk analysis. Five Southeast Asian nations - Indonesia , Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia - are also in the highest category , partly because of the rising seas... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Economic Times
|
Karnataka cancels 18 grid interactive solar projectsThe Karnataka government’s ambitious plan to generating 200 Mw power from the solar photovoltaic power projects has suffered a setback with the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) rejecting the proposal to grant subsidy for 18 projects from the state. As a result, the state government has been forced to cancel the permission granted to those projects. The state government had allotted 129 Mw of grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plants to various developers covering 21 projects. These projects were allotted under the MNRE Scheme for Demonstration Programmes on... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Business Standard
|
Growing something out of nothingFears of global warming and its impact on our environment have left scientists scrambling to decrease levels of atmospheric carbon we humans produce. Now, Tel Aviv University researchers are doing their part to reduce humanity's carbon footprint by successfully growing forests in the most unlikely place — deep in Israel's Aravah Desert. With environmental "extras" such as a local plant species, recycled sewage water unsuitable for agriculture, and arid lands unusable for crops, a group of researchers including Profs. Amram Eshel and Aviah Zilberstein of TAU's Department of Molecular... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: EurekAlert
|
Desi companies set to feature among world's top 10 coal minersWhat is common between Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani, Madhusudan Rao and GV K Reddy? In a race to secure coal assets to fuel their power plants, these billionaires are fast emerging as global coal barons. The companies that they run - Reliance Power,Adani Power, Lanco Infratech and GVK - will feature among the top 10 coal miners in the world, behind Peabody and Shenhua Energy, once they start coal production in coming years. Peabody Energy, which claims to be the world's largest private sector coal producer, had registered sales of 246 million mt in 2010 and Shenhua Energy's coal... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Times of India
|
USA & India Clean Tech Industry Leaders Meet In Orange County California For ConferenceSome of the top Clean Tech industry leaders from India and USA are coming to meet this Thursday and Friday at the India Clean Tech Conference. The event held by 365 Consultant Inc. and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event at the Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Avenue Irvine, CA 92612, on October 27th & 28th. The two-day long conference is designed to raise awareness about India's open business environment for innovation and commercialization. It's an opportunity to establish business partnerships with Indian companies, and for expansion into the Indian market by... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: PRWeb
|
Government subsidy to villages using solar powerLUCKNOW: In order to promote solar power, the government is subsidising the technology. Besides, efforts are also on to encourage people to get into using the solar energy equipment. In rural areas, the village pradhans who are willing to set up a solar power plant are given 50% subsidy by the government, for up to 200 Mw. In some of the villages, such efforts have already paid off. Ensuring affordable, adequate and uninterrupted power supply to domestic and other consumers remains one of the major challenges before the country. There is also an increasing concern and growing... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Times of India
|
Nagzira-Navegaon corridor gets a leg-upWhen Nagzira-Navegaon corridor has been badly damaged by road-widening, a modest effort is being made to save what remains of the corridor between two protected areas. The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a non-profit wildlife conservation organisation, launched an eco-development project for vulnerable villages in the corridor. The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has in-principle agreed to declare Nagzira-Navegaon as a tiger reserve. To start with, three biogas units and 30 eco-friendly chulhas were given to the families in obscure Sondlagondi village, a chicken-... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Times of India
|
Firm setting up power unit in reserve forestThe district administration and forest department have allegedly allowed a private power producing company to set up a hydel power plant at a reserve rainforest area of the Western Ghats in Sakleshpur taluk. The deputy commissioner has permitted the company to use dynamite to blast boulders in violation of the Indian Wildlife (... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Deccan Herald
|
REFILE-UPDATE 2-EU Commission moves to combat carbon fraudEuropean Union spot carbon permits face regulation alongside other financial instruments under proposed laws published on Thursday as the EU Commission seeks to bolster a market shaken by fraud and oversupply. The EU Commission has proposed that spot carbon permits should be classified as financial instruments, adding to futures, forwards and options which are already covered by financial market rules (MiFID). "By treating emission allowances as other financial assets, the proposal extends financial market protection to the carbon market," EU Climate Commissioner Connie... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Reuters India
|
Investors Worth $20 Trillion Urge Legally-Binding Climate TreatyHundreds of the world's largest investors, representing more than $20 trillion in assets, today encouraged governments and international policy makers to take new legally-enforceable steps to combat climate change at the upcoming UN climate summit in Durban, South Africa. The group of 285 investors issued a joint statement emphasizing the urgent need for policy action which stimulates private sector investment in climate change solutions, creates jobs, and ensures the long-term sustainability and stability of the world economic system. The statement represents the largest... Read more.. Date : Oct 27 Source: Environment News Service
|
