Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Govt drafts 'lax' car fuel efficiency norms

 After nearly four years of wrangling, the government finally released its draft policy to force improvement in fuel mileage of cars with standards and labelling. But the policy proposal, opened up for consultation on Friday, came under fire for being a sellout to the automotive industry - demanding little improvement from car manufacturers over the next decade.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency was locked in a tussle with the ministry of road transport and highways and the auto industry for years and finally brought out a consultation paper on Friday requiring cars to be labelled for... Read more..

India Solar Projects Get Bids From Local, Foreign Firms

  India has received bids from 154 companies including Spain's Gestamp Solar, Fonroche Energy of France and local utilities Reliance Power Ltd. and Tata Power Co. for contracts to build solar power facilities, an executive of the agency in charge of buying electricity from solar projects said.

A man walked though panels at a newly inaugurated solar energy farm at Gunthawada in Gujarat state, about 175 kilometers north of Ahmadabad, Oct. 14, 2011.

The South Asian nation had called bids to build and operate 350 megawatt of solar power facilities. These will be the second round... Read more..

Get schooled on going green

 How can we save the environment from pollution and global warming? Who is more aware of the environment? And who has been doing what to promote a clean and green environment?

Answering these questions were school children from Delhi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar at the ‘Green-I Contest' organised by Carrier India, CII and Indian Green Building Council here this week.

The contest required the students to make presentations on green ideas that could be implemented in schools to make them more environment-friendly. The grand prize of Rs.7.5 lakh will be used by the winners... Read more..

Greenpeace called upon Uttra Pradesh government to demand a bigger share of decentralised renewable energy

 In the backdrop of the upcoming National Development council (NDC) meeting, Greenpeace has called upon the Uttra Pradesh government to demand a bigger share of decentralised renewable energy (DRE) under the flagship Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). Greenpeace also released its national report on RGGVY highlighting how the scheme has failed to meet its objectives. 

The report is a compilation of social audits, public hearings and consultations of RGGVY conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to understand if the scheme has been able to meet its stated... Read more..

Shriram group eyeing power projects via JVs

 The Rs 30,000-crore Shriram group is planning to promote non-renewable power projects through joint ventures and by way of investing in upcoming projects. The group, which is already a strong player in renewable energy sector, is now looking at setting up thermal-based power plants in states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and has earmarked up to Rs 2,200 crore for renewable, non-renewable power projects and in infrastructure business.

Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of VC Circle's Investment Forum II in Chennai recently, Arun Duggal, chairman, Shriram Capital... Read more..

India may drag EU to WTO over carbon tax on airlines

 India may consider dragging European Union to the World Trade Organisation if the 27-nation bloc goes ahead with its contentious plan to impose carbon tax on non-EU airlines, sources said.

According to the EU plan, non-European airlines will have to pay a price for emission of carbon dioxide. From January 2012, airlines flying into or out of EU airports will have pay a tax to cover the Co2 emission they emit during the entire flights.

"We have opposed this. The move is against EU's international commitment in WTO. It will distort trade in goods. If the EU will not defer its... Read more..

Vasavi Housing goes for green building project on OMR

Vasavi Housing Infrastructure Limited, one of the city's most reputed builders, today announced the launch of its latest environmental-friendly project 'Thazham' on the IT Corridor of the OMR.
 
Spread over an 1.2 acre area at Semmencherry, the Green Building would consist of 56 flats in ten blocks.

Talking to reporters here, Vasavi CEO P B Krishna Prasad and Director P Ravindranath said the project offers a combination of two and three bedroom apartments.

The two bedroom apartments had an area of 875 sqft to 1208 sqft and the three bedroom flats from... Read more..

German envoy sees high scope for business ties with India

German companies, now mostly concentrated in Tier-I cities in India, are looking for Tier-II destinations for expansion, says a German envoy.

Dr Ingo Karsten, the newly appointed German Consul in south Indian city Bangalore, said the domestic companies in his nation were keen in setting up business in developing Tier-II cities.

He was here on Wednesday to visit Kerala after assuming charges as CG at the new Bangalore consulate.

"Apart from IT, there are areas like renewable energy, waste management, health care and infrastructure where the two countries could... Read more..

Airtel slammed for 'failing' on emission reduction plan

Greenpeace India has slammed Bharti Airtel and the Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI) for their 'failure' to honor a commitment of disclosing a detailed and sustainable emission reduction plan, including a substantial substitution of diesel with renewable alternatives to power their network operations by September 2011.

Greenpeace India has stated that the two had given a public commitment regarding the emission reduction plan following a meeting between  Bharti Airtel, representatives of COAI and Greenpeace India on June 10th, 2011 “Not only have they failed to deliver... Read more..

New green building rating system launched

It will soon be possible to rate buildings according to their environmental friendliness. The upgraded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 2011(LEED 2011 for India) rating system for green buildings was launched by the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah, on Thursday.

The new rating comes into effect immediately and seeks to ensure energy efficiency and sustainable buildings. LEED 2011 was organised by the Indian Green Building Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry).

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Abdullah urged the delegates to... Read more..

India, France stress nuclear safety in foreign minister talks

The foreign ministers of India and France on Thursday agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the nuclear energy sector and said the safety of power plants was the top priority.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and his Indian counterpart, SM Krishna, met in New Delhi as villagers protested nuclear plants in India.

The Indian government plans to build a 9,900-megawatt nuclear plant near Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra with technical assistance from the French energy company Areva SA.

The project was delayed after protests broke out against the plant in... Read more..

Govt: Adoption of post-Kyoto pact in 2015 or later

The government will announce at upcoming U.N. climate talks that a new international framework to reduce greenhouse gases should be adopted in 2015 or later, years after the Kyoto Protocol expires, government sources said Wednesday.

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, effective from 2008 to 2012, each nation will not be legally obligated to reduce global warming gases such as carbon dioxide from 2013 during the "transition period," but each nation will be asked to steadily carry out the Cancun Agreements, in which countries proposed voluntary reduction targets.

The Cancun Agreements... Read more..