Sustainability Outlook Headlines

PM Narendra Modi spells out India's preferences in future climate negotiations

Global communities might have missed India's point at the climate summit in New York on September 23, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi made up for the loss four days later by articulating the country's views on the necessary actions to be taken to face the challenges of climate change during his UN general assembly speech on 27th of September.
 
In a remark which may disappoint rich nations, specifically the US, Canada and the European Union (EU) countries, Modi insisted on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDR) and made it clear that this should "... Read more..

Renewable energy firms pin hopes on Tribunal as REC market collapses

What do you call a market where 93 lakh instruments are offered for sale but only 22,000 are bought? A dead market. The trading that took place in ‘renewable energy certificates’ on the country’s two energy exchanges on Wednesday is a sharp reminder of how a well-meant legislation can be rendered useless by poor enforcement.
 
Electricity produced by renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biomass and hydro, is usually costly and RECs are market tradable instruments given to renewable energy producers who cannot get premium tariffs for their power. They can sell the... Read more..

Australia-based AICA enters south Indian green energy market

The Australia-based AICA Group Saturday announced that its Engineering division - AICA Engineering India Pvt. Ltd will enter the South Indian market with solar products to tap the renewable energy market in the region. Shiju Mathews, managing director of AICA, told the media Kochi said the products will help customers reduce their power bills.
 
AICA Engineering, a channel partner of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has primarily been involved in the renewable energy sector specializing in photo voltaic (PV) systems and development, testing and installation... Read more..

Cisco Smart City sets blueprint for future communities in India

Cisco has unveiled ‘Cisco Smart City’ as a blueprint for the future of smart and connected communities in India. The initiative is the outcome of Cisco’s collaboration with the Government of India on the Digital India initiative. Cisco Smart City symbolizes what the digitization of a country means for the future of work, education, healthcare and the electronic delivery of citizen services, Cisco said.
 
The Internet of Everything (IoE)-powered Globalization Centre East campus in Bangalore demonstrates how citizens can live, work, play and learn in a Digital India. At the... Read more..

Government building roof tops in NDMC to generate 12 MW solar power

Roof top of government building in NDMC area will be utilised to generate up to 12 MW of solar power in the next three years, area MP Meenakshi Lekhi said. “Total target is to generate 12 MW of power (through roof top solar panels). It may take three years. We will be able finish 1 MW power generation by October-November. This will be transferred to main grid,” Lekhi told PTI.
 
She said that the requirement of her constituency is much more than the power that will be generated but the quantum will contribute to requirement and subsidise the aggregate cost. “All the government... Read more..

World’s largest coal miner to invest $1.2 billion in solar power

The Indian government continues to push proliferation of solar power through publicly owned companies, this time through the world’s largest coal mining company – Coal India Limited.
 
Coal India is planning to develop solar power plants across various states of India. According to media reports, the company is in talks with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the development of 1,000MW solar power plants. The site identification for putting up of solar plants has already been initiated. Coal India will undertake investments of $1.2 billion for this initiative.... Read more..

‘Power regulators should tweak tariffs to promote energy efficiency drive’

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is trying to convince State regulators to tweak tariff structures to promote energy efficiency and demand side management.

“We will try our best through the forum of State regulators to convince them,” said Gireesh B Pradhan, Chairperson, CERC, while delivering the keynote address at a workshop here on ‘Trigeneration technology and energy-efficient chillers’ hosted by the Energy Management Centre-Kerala.

Co-hosts included Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, and GIZ, the Indo German Energy Forum.... Read more..

Centre to spend Rs 2 lakh crore by 2019 for 'Clean India'

The Centre will spend nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in five-year time as part of its ambitious plan to completely clean India by October 2019, coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said this after unveiling the logo for the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' ( Clean India Mission), along with Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Nitin Gadkari here.

While the Urban Development Ministry will allocate Rs 62,000 crore for cleaning towns across the country, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation will spend Rs 1... Read more..

India says it won't cut emissions for 30 years. What's that mean for global warming?

India's new environment minister, Prakash Javadekar, told The New York Times this week that his country's carbon-dioxide emissions would likely keep rising for the next 30 years.

IN THEORY, INDIA'S STANCE COULD BE COMPATIBLE WITH EFFORTS TO AVOID DRASTIC WARMING

"What cuts?" he said about international efforts to curtail emissions and slow the pace of global warming. "That's for more developed countries."

Some observers have interpreted Javadekar's comments to mean that India doesn't take climate change seriously at all. But it's a bit more complicated than that.

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

It's Climate Week in New York City. The schedule features a UN Climate Summit, a People's Climate March, the Clinton Global Initiative, substantial criticism of the whole endeavor, and plenty of agitated interaction.

There is a lot of noise here. How can businesses cut through the commotion and do something? Based on my experience as a real estate and construction CEO and my academic research on urbanization, new cities, and the finance of sustainable infrastructure, I propose these simple ABCs (actually A-F) for business leaders to address climate change. These are approaches,... Read more..

Rhetoric and reality at the United Nations climate summit

Covering UN meetings is not a job for the faint of heart, and this week’s climate summit in New York has been no exception. Two-hour waits for credentials are common. Staffers are plentiful, polite and ineffectual. Barricades, private security forces and squadrons of New York’s finest protect the UN compound on Manhattan’s Upper East Side from unwanted incursions from the world beyond.
 
The summit itself consists of a series of carefully-scripted speeches from business and political leaders. They mix dire warnings with calls to action. Invariably, we are told, no country,... Read more..

Gamesa India signs wind power pact with Hero Future Energies

Wind turbine manufacturer and wind farm developer Gamesa Wind Turbines has signed a 90 megawatt (MW) wind power project order with Hero Future Energies - a new venture of The Hero Group. 
 
Under this contract, Gamesa will supply 25 units of 2 MW turbines at Kavital, Karnataka, and 20 units of 2 MW turbines at Gunga, Rajasthan. The project is scheduled for completion by March 2015. 
 
Gamesa would be responsible for the complete scope of site development, supply, and commissioning of the turbines and the agreement with Hero also includes a 10-year comprehensive... Read more..