Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Unreliable car emissions tests harming fight against air pollution, expert says

The growing gulf between laboratory tests and real world air pollution from cars is hampering efforts to cut the toxic air that kills millions of people a year worldwide, a leading expert has warned.

The UN admitted on Tuesday that the global response to air pollution is not up to scratch, after it was revealed last week by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that harmful airborne particulates had risen by 8... Read more..

Fracking gets go-ahead in UK for first time since 2011 as North Yorkshire council approves plans

Fracking has got the go-ahead in the UK for the first time since 2011, after councillors in Yorkshire granted planning permission for the controversial process to take place in Ryedale.

North Yorkshire county council's planning committee voted by seven to four to approve Third Energy's plans to frack at a site near Kirby Misperton, following a two-day evidence hearing.

... Read more..

NGT bans 10-year-plus diesel vehicles in Kerala

In an order that has shocked vehicle owners in Kerala, the National Green Tribunal’s circuit bench at Kochi has banned plying of diesel vehicles older than 10 years.

This has put private bus operators, lorry owners and, more importantly, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, one-third of whose fleet is older than 10 years, in a tough spot.

... Read more..

Government electrifies 108 villages last week, total now at 7,874

A total number of 7,874 villages out of those without power have been electrified till last week with an addition of 108 to the network, the Power Ministry said today.

"108 villages have been electrified across the country during last week (from 16th to 22nd May 2016) under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY)," the Power Ministry said in a statement.

... Read more..

Telangana, the new hotspot for solar power; to add 3,000 MW by next year

Telangana is set become one of the hot spots for solar energy development in the country, given the rapid strides it has made since the State’s formation two years ago. It has seen the installation of over 520 MW in the past 12 months and has handed over development of 3,800 MW through major tenders. This is part of the State’s target of solar photovoltaic power generation of 5,000 MW 2018-19.

G Raghuma... Read more..

Levi’s, EU Project Unlock New Ways to Turn Textile Waste Into New Products

With dramatically large amounts of clothing and other textiles being thrown out every year – nearly 10 million tonnes in the United States and more than 3 million tonnes in European Union (EU) countries – it is no wonder why designers and companies are increasingly looking to this waste as a potential resource.

Designers, design researchers, scientists, raw-material suppliers and end-product manufacturers... Read more..

Centre ready to give CNG for tourist vehicles, SC told

The Union government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it was ready to supply CNG for tourist vehicles plying between Manali and Rohtang Pass but Himachal Pradesh has to back it up with a sustainable business model.

There was no immediate relief for the tourists taxi operators who are against an NGT order modified by the apex court that not more than 1,200 tourist and private cars can go to Rohtang... Read more..

Wind Power Giant Gamesa Combines Solar, Diesel and Storage for Off-Grid Prototype

The global wind manufacturer and developer Gamesa is inaugurating an innovative prototype project in the city of La Muela, in its home country of Spain.

For the first time, the company will be adding solar, storage and diesel to a wind project in order to test the viability of combining renewables and storage to minimize fossil-fuel backup for off-grid applications.

... Read more..

Policy to promote integrated solar manufacturing units on cards: Goyal

The Centre will soon release a policy to provide subsidy support and business assurance to attract companies for setting up integrated solar manufacturing units in the country.

“We had set up a committee under Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, to look into solar manufacturing and they have come up with a proposed policy…We are giving final shape to that it will soon go to the Expenditure Finance Committee of... Read more..

India’s Karnataka clears roadblock for 910MW of solar projects

The Indian state of Karnataka has issued letters of approval (LOAs) for 910MW of solar projects that were allotted in its dispersed 1.2GW solar auction in March.

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) has now approved 910MW of projects ahead of signing power purchase agreements (PPAs).

This... Read more..

GRI Launches Technology Initiative to Advance Digital Sustainability Reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) today launched a technology initiative that aims to address key challenges in sustainability reporting: the lack of structured data and the lack of demand for digital reporting.

Announced on the second day of the GRI Global Conference, the new Digital Reporting Alliance will create the technical infrastructure for digital reporting by promoting an eXtensible Business... Read more..

Niti Aayog to woo green energy investors, devise strategy of hiking output fourfold by 2022

The government has tasked its premier think tank Niti Aayog with promoting India as a renewable energy investment destination and developing a strategy to help achieve its target of increasing output nearly fourfold to 175 GW by 2022 from 45 GW at present.

This could potentially create a rift between the Aayog, which replaced the erstwhile Planning Commission last year, and the ministry of new and renewable... Read more..