Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Himalaya Nations Develop Common Climate Plan

The mountain range containing the world's tallest peak is also one of the most important bastions of biodiversity in the world. This is why Eastern Himalayan nations have recently decided to adopt a common, unified plan of promoting adaptations to effects of climate change.

The region is bound to get severely affected by global warming. It will lose glaciers, and with it the species that depend on the ices for their survival. Invasive species will move at higher elevations as temperatures rise, further contributing to the decline of food webs. 

Without human... Read more..

Scientists find that debris on certain Himalayan glaciers may prevent melting

A new scientific study shows that debris coverage –– pebbles, rocks, and debris from surrounding mountains –– may be a missing link in the understanding of the decline of glaciers. Debris is distinct from soot and dust, according to the scientists.

Melting of glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains affects water supplies for hundreds of millions of people living in South and Central Asia. Experts have stated that global warming is a key element in the melting of glaciers worldwide.

Bodo Bookhagen, assistant professor in the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara, co-... Read more..

PAT will help India save 10mmt of oil equivalent in 3 yrs

Power Secretary P Uma Shankar has said the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) progamme will help India save 10 million metric tonnes (mmt) of oil equivalent in the next three years. ''The programme will lead to saving of 10 mmt of oil equivalent, out of 23 mmt of the total target of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) over the next three years,'' Shankar said at an industry function here.

... Read more..

India finds place on shale gas map

The discovery of shale gas brings "new hopes" to India's ability to meet its domestic energy needs, a state-owned oil and gas company announced.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. announced an "exploration landmark" with the discovery of shale gas near West Bengal.

"Though the well is still under assessment, the breakthrough is significant as India is the first Asian country where gas was discovered from shale outside U.S. and Canada," the company said in a statement.

The abundance of shale gas and other forms of so-called unconventional gas discovered in the... Read more..

Suzlon, Caparo Sign $1.2 Billion India Wind Farm Deal

Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s largest wind-turbine maker, signed a deal valued at $1.28 billion with Caparo Energy Ltd. to build 1,000 megawatts of wind power projects in India by 2013.

The first 500 megawatts will be completed by March 2012 and the remainder by March of the following year, Suzlon and the India unit of Caparo, a Guernsey, U.K.-based renewable energy project developer, said in an e-mailed statement.

The projects will use Suzlon’s S88 and new S9X turbines, both of which have 2.1 megawatt of capacity. Details on the location of the wind farms weren’t disclosed.... Read more..

Gurgaon gets its first organic food market, minus middlemen

The first Sunday organic food market of Gurgaon was flagged off yesterday at the Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy (RGRE) Park, where consumers bought organic food directly from the farmers.

Organised by Live India, an organisation that facilitates direct contact between the farmer and the consumer, eliminating middlemen, the event was aimed at increasing awareness about the benefits of organic farming and highlighting the need for sustainable agriculture in the wake of depleting soil quality all over the country.

Many popular organic food companies as well as farmers from UP and... Read more..

India's own emission reducing mechanism

Companies consuming less energy will now be able to sell the efficiency certificates to the non-efficient ones, domestically. India's domestic energy efficiency trading system ---- Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) ----- similar to international Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations will become operational from this April.

"The programme provides flexibility to take benefit under PAT as well as CDM," said Ajay Mathur, Director General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which will be running India's first programme. "A company which reduced its consumption of power can also... Read more..

India gets 1st green railway station

Railways has inaugurated India's first green station at Manwal on the Jammu-Udhampur rail route. With the tiny station facing frequent power cuts, it has been a provided a supply of solar power. "A request was made to J&K SEB for providing reliable electric power supply to this station...it was planned to generate onsite renewable energy through solar panels," said A S Negi, spokesperson, Northern Railway.

Sources said that now station lighting and fans are working on solar power. The state electric supply is a standby source, which can be used in case of any failure of solar... Read more..

Shipping carbon emissions come under scrutiny

Shipping has long being one of the world’s 'invisible industries’ – but its carbon emissions are now bringing it under the glare of critical scrutiny.

Relatively speaking, ships are climate change friendly. But, over the last 40 years, technological advances and economies of scale have cut energy consumption dramatically. Today’s articulated lorry pumps out about 50 grams of CO2 per kilometre for each tonne of goods carried. Aeroplanes account for at least 10 times as much. Nearly 80% of global trade by volume is transported by sea, with some 53,000 vessels clocking up over 50... Read more..

Small US firms tap into India’s solar mission

India’s bid to increase solar power production is energizing the business of a number of small and medium-sized US firms that offer innovative equipment and technologies.

Renewable energy firms such as Astonfield, Spire Corp. and Suniva have bagged projects worth millions of dollars in recent years from India.

“The technology that exists today in India is three generations behind what we have in the US today,” said Saurabh Sen, who grew up in Chandannagar, a small town near Kolkata, and quit banking to launch New York-based Astonfield in 2005.

“What we are bringing is... Read more..

India to plug in solar-powered telecom towers

The high-powered schmoozing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has yielded a project to install solar-powered cell phone towers in India.

Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) and lithium ion battery maker Boston Power today announced that VNL will test the small-scale telecom stations with Boston Power's batteries. VNL had originally developed the system with lead acid batteries.

The communications-based stations, called WorldGSM, are designed to operate entirely from a few solar panels and are not connected to the grid. The Boston Power batteries can power the tower... Read more..

Deere & Co. to spend about $100M on India plants

 Deere & Co. said Wednesday that it will spend about $100 million to build a new factory in India and expand an existing tractor plant in an effort to keep up with anticipated demand there.

John Deere India has been the largest exporter of agricultural machinery from India for the past 5 years. Its tractors made in India are now sold in 70 countries.

The world's biggest maker of agricultural equipment said the new factory, whose location has yet to be determined, will make small agricultural tractors that will be sold in India and for export to other countries. The... Read more..