Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Jairam persuades negotiators to join climate talks

Faced with strong protest from negotiators over what they called change in India's stance on climate talks, the government on Sundayscrambled to control the damage. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh held a series of meetings with two negotiators who had threatened to pull out of Copenhagen talks as they feared that the baseline of India's stand was being changed in the name of flexibility.

The effort paid dividends with the negotiators -- Chandrasekhar Dasgupta and Prodipto Ghosh -- agreeing to join the talks in Copenhagen. But they also drew dark red lines by publicly confirming... Read more..

India long-term bet for Africa in energy cooperation: Tharoor

Offering itself as a "huge market" for energy products, India today said it was the "long-term bet" for the African nations as a partner for cooperation in the sector.

"India is, and is also likely to remain an energy-deficit country for the years to come. Friends from Africa, let me emphasise that India is your long-term bet as partner for cooperation in the energy sector," Minister of State for External Affairs Minister Shashi Tharoor said.

He was addressing the second India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference here.

India was the fourth largest consumer of crude oil and... Read more..

Solar Mission to attract Rs20,000 crore investment till 2012

The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has finalised the roadmap for implementation of the recently-approvedNational Solar Mission till 2012 at an investment of Rs20,000 crore.

"In the next three years, we will add 1300mw of solar energy, including grid and non-grid, as the first phase of the 20,000 mw solar power by 2022," Union minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah said here today.

"Based on the experience of the first phase we will finalise the next phases for implementation," Abdullah said.

Abdullah said the Clinton Foundation, of former US... Read more..

Jairam's cut just raises questions

Let me begin by saying that the environment minister’s bold effort to make public India’s stance on climate on the floor of the Parliament must be commended. His call for transparency and open debate on the biggest challenge facing humanity today is refreshing.

Also his two clear red lines that reiterate India’s stand thus far (even though he does not believe India had any stand before his arrival), namely no binding emission cuts and no deadline for peaking, are welcome policy statements. But beyond that there are only questions. Let me just raise a few critical ones.

I am... Read more..

Citing steps by India and China, Obama hopes for climate change accord

Citing steps by India and China and an emerging plan to help developing countries mitigate impacts with $10 billion a year, President Barack Obama has delayed his appearance in Copenhagen in the hope of hammering out an accord on global climate change.

Obama will now be at the climate change summit on its last day Dec 18, typically the time when last minute accords are worked out, as opposed to his original plan to be in Denmark next Wednesday on his way to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize.

"After months of diplomatic activity, there is progress being made towards a... Read more..

Canada offers green technologies to India

Canada will offer India a wide range of eco-friendly technologies ensuring sustainable development, besides protecting environment, Ontario premier has said.

"Ontario has world-class high-tech industry with 2,600 environmental firms, is ready to provide access to India its new environmental friendly technologies as desired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently to strengthen shaping a greener and more dynamic Indian economy," Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said.

McGuinty will lead a week long Clean Technology Trade Mission to India from December 6 said on the eve of his... Read more..

Fierce debate in India over move to cut carbon intensity by 20-25 percent by 2020

A day after India vowed to cut its carbon intensity levels by 20-25 per cent in the next 11 years on its 2005 levels, skeptics are hitting out at the government for bowing to the U.S. pressure ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit starting next week..

India's decision on emission cuts was announced Thursday in parliament by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who said this will be done through a series of measures including mandatory fuel efficiency standards for all vehicles, a compulsory green building code and switching over to clean coal technology.

Although the... Read more..

Why Copenhagen Will Be Good for Business

A deal at the climate conference would tip the balance toward renewables, and offer huge opportunities for companies ranging from Alstom to IBM.

When the delegates at the climate summit in Copenhagen need to call home, they can do so in style. Cisco Systems (CSCO) is outfitting four rooms in the city's Bella convention center with a giant-screen teleconferencing system, enabling officials to confer face to face with counterparts in 100 places around the world. The donation is not entirely altruistic. It's a demonstration of how Cisco's products can substitute for business travel,... Read more..

Bridging the gap on clean technology

India is clear that technology transfer should be a key part of any climate treaty. Along with more than 130 developing countries in the world, India’s checklist of demands from the rich, held responsible by the poor for the state of the environment, includes the technology element.

The issue is not new to multilateral negotiations, nor does it have a one-size-fits-all solution. Not only does India have different and very specific technology needs to mitigate climate change, these differ even within the country.

Technology transfer encompasses everything from collaboration to... Read more..

China backs India's stand on climate change

Ahead of the Copenhagen meet, China on Thursday backed India's stand that developing nations have no obligation to binding emission reduction targets and said it is ready to enhance "cooperation and coordination" between the two countries, which it termed as "victims" of climate change.

"We understand the current situation in India. We should take adaptation and mitigation measures based on our national conditions and capacity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.

He said China is ready to strengthen "communication, coordination and... Read more..

CIG: Atlantis to evaluate options for India’s first ocean energy ...

CIG has learnt that following hot on the heels of the recent announcement by London based marine energy specialists Atlantis Resources Corporation that it will be testing the world largest tidal turbine of the coast of the Orkney Islands, the firm has signed a new deal with Narenda Modi, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat by which it will conduct an in-depth economic and technical feasibility study in the Gulfs of Kutch and Khambhat, both with known strong tidal ranges.

The new deal could see Gujarat propelled to global leader in tidal energy.

In the event that a... Read more..

UN climate head eyes Copenhagen aid deal

The UN climate chief voiced optimism Wednesday that the upcoming Copenhagen summit will offer immediate aid for developing nations but urged rich states also to chart out long-term help.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said it was vital that developing countries come out of the December 7-18 summit with assurances so they can plan more carbon-efficient economies.

"We will need to see mechanisms created in Copenhagen that allow for prompt action -- immediate action -- the day the conference ends," de Boer told Washington-based... Read more..