Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Green signals from the middle class

A survey shows that Indian consumers are willing to pay premiums for green products if they were readily available — and that’s because they’re worried about the state of the environment

Conventional wisdom has it that the Indian middle class values price over almost any other attribute in its purchasing decisions and is relatively indifferent to environmental concerns. Ergo: the market for green brands and products is too small to consider. A recent global survey suggests that consumer goods marketers who continue to think this way are missing a big opportunity for growth.

KSRTC to make Mysore a model

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has taken a number of measures to improve the transport system in the city and the district with new initiatives to make Mysore a model in the country.

The KSRTC has selected Mysore City as pilot for all its projects in the State.

KSRTC sources told UNI here today that Mysore, which had attained fame as the best alternative tourist destination in the state, was going to be the first city in the country to launch Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which gives real-time information on the arrival time of buses on intra-city... Read more..

Gurgaon switches to green energy

With growing shortage of power supply and prolonged outages, residents of Gurgaon are gradually starting to depend on a more reliable alternative — solar power.

Residents have begun contributing in their own ways in the upmarket colonies and condominiums in the city and are showing interest to install solar panels which can be used as power backup systems during outages, among others.

Dr Suranjana Rai Luthra, a PhD in Physics from IIT Delhi residing in DLF Phase-II, has installed a solar water heater and a solar-powered inverter system at her home.

"This is a totally... Read more..

Merger of ONGC Russia with Sistema okayed

The Cabinet has approved the merger of ONGC's Russian assets with Sistema-promoted Bashneft and RussNeft in a deal that will give the Indian company access to Trebs & Titov oilfields, boost profitability of its Imperial Energy and ownership of 25% stake in the merged entity with a management say.

The approval has come weeks before the June 30 deadline set by two parties to conclude terms of the deal. ONGC is demanding tax breaks for its project Sakhalin-I and its recent acquisition, Imperial Energy. ONGC's foreign arm had acquired Imperial Energy in 2009 for $2.1 billion but it... Read more..

India pushes single binding carbon regime

India, with the help of other like-minded countries, has launched a fresh salvo against developed nations asking them to ensure their greenhouse gas emissions peak by 2012, and then make it gradually dip by 2020.

Even as some rich countries put pre-conditions to join and the rest outright refused to be a party to the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, India stands firm. New Delhi has demanded that these nations must peak their emissions by 2012, and collectively bring their emissions down by 40%-50% from 1990 levels by 2020. India's push is backed by the African Group, Argentina,... Read more..

China's no to signing water sharing pact imperils India

The recent scare about China diverting the course of the Brahmaputra River is not the first time that India has expressed concerns about its Communist neighbour's hydel projects, and is unlikely to be the last.

Beijing not only has a host of projects lined up on the Brahmaputra River — 24 according to some reports — but has also planned at least five, which have a cumulative power generation capacity of about 2,000 mw, for the Arun River (Bamchu) that is called Kosi when it enters India.

New Delhi isn't the only country voicing these concerns as China's abhorrence of any... Read more..

Solar energy to light up Punjab institutes

Educational institutions in Punjab would now be harnessing the power of the sun to meet their energy needs through rooftop Solar Photo Voltaic (SPVs) systems, officials said Friday.

A Punjab Energy Development Agency initiative, the eco-friendly project will be set-up under the Indian government's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) programme.

'In the first phase, SPVs systems would be installed at five institutions. They would be of combined capacity of 230 kilowatt,' said an official spokesperson of the Punjab government.

The institutions are the... Read more..

IEA urges more use of geothermal energy

Tapping into geothermal energy could allay some climate concerns though not without better regulatory mechanisms, the IEA said from Vienna.

The International Energy Agency said in a report that policy actions and better incentives could help increase the amount of geothermal energy in the global energy mix from around 0.25 percent currently to more than 3 percent by 2050.

"This would be an important contribution to global efforts of reducing carbon emissions, using a sustainable and reliable source of energy that is available all over the world, and does not fluctuate with... Read more..

City breathing in toxic metals: Study

 According to a study, several toxic metals are present in high ratio in the city’s environment, posing threat to human health. National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (NRCLPI) conducted a study in Bangalore. Thuppil Venkatesh, Principal Investigator of NRLCPI, oversaw the study. He said lead’s presence in environment was hazardous to human health even if its concentration was 0.1 parts per million (ppm). He informed that lead concentration in soil samples collected from main bus stands in the city was 250-

500 times higher than that (see box).

Four students from... Read more..

Germany to help fight climate change in Mizoram

A German development bank and the Mizoram government have signed an agreement to raise adaptive capacity of the people against climate changes.

 
Representatives of the German government-owned development bank, Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) signed an agreement with the Mizoram government here today to implement climate change adaptation (CCA) project in the state.

This was a fulfilment of an agreement earlier signed between the KfW and Indian government’s DoNER ministry to implement the CCA programme in the five Northeast states of Mizoram, Nagaland,... Read more..

Rally underscores need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels

For children of the 14 special schools who participated in the environment awareness rally at the Botanical Gardens here on Thursday, the trip was an occasion for joining hand and spreading a message.

With gleaming smiles, they enthusiastically raised slogans on the need to switch to biofuel and decrease our dependence on the polluting fossil fuels.

The rally was a fund-raising event organised by Solid Care, an organisation working for the rights of persons with mental disability, in association with the ‘Momentum from Waste', an environment group from Bangalore which is on a... Read more..

Rajasthan has huge solar energy potential'

A highly encouraging scenario during the next decade in the renewable and non-conventional energy sector was projected for Rajasthan at a conference on “Climate change and renewable energy” organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Thursday. The participants said the desert State has a huge potential in solar energy.

Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation and the State Pollution Control Board collaborated with the CII for organising the day-long conference which was attended by two State Ministers, a battery of experts and a large number of industry... Read more..