Sustainability Outlook Headlines

IFC lending $85M to Dewan Housing Finance

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing debt funding to the tune of $85 million to Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) to expand finance for affordable and energy-efficient housing in India, according to a press statement.

IFC had early this year disclosed it may lend up to $70 million to the housing finance firm besides additional commitment from the Canada Climate Change Program (CCCP) where IFC will act as an implementing entity for CCCP to support climate change investments.

It has now said the overall funding involves $70 million through external commercial... Read more..

Slashing new car sales to curb pollution

China will slash its new car registration quota by 37.5% starting from next year to further restrict car sales as part of its efforts to curb pollution which has reached dangerous levels.

According to an interpretation of a five-year vehicle emission reduction plan (2013-2017) announced by the city government, the number of newly registered cars will be cut from current 2.40 lakh each year to 1.50 lakh by 2017.

A five-year clean air action plan (2013-2017), released earlier ruled that the total number of vehicles in the city would be restricted to around six million by the... Read more..

India's Gujarat to Appeal Rejection of Solar-Tariff Cut

Gujarat, India’s biggest solar power-producing state, plans to file an appeal with regulators on their decision to reject a tariff cut for photovoltaic plants.

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission will hear the appeal on Nov. 11, said Hemant Sahai, a lawyer representing solar developers that are fighting the state’s attempts to reduce the rate paid for power produced by their plants.

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd., the state power purchaser, filed a petition in May seeking to lower the tariff for solar power by 28 percent, citing the excessive profits earned by plant... Read more..

Innovation: When tech meets the toilet

After battling garbage and having ruthlessly been humiliated in many quarters, the city of Bangalore seems to now shift its focus on sanitation. With technology not been able to change the mindset of people towards garbage segregation, there is hope that tech can change the toilet experience for the public. And going by what B S Sathyanarayana, the mayor of the city, has to say, it may be soon that Bangalore will open itself to e-toilets.

"Yes, we are planning to set up e-toilets in Bangalore. Right now it will be a pilot project, and we plan to start with 100 e-toilets for which we... Read more..

Biogas plants to be set up in Alappuzha

The municipality here is geared up to tackle the issue of waste management. It has decided to set up biogas plants with the help of Kudumbashree units, which will give interest-free loans to people for this purpose.

And the projects of Alappuzha MLA T M Thomas Isaac for waste management turned a boon for Alappuzha municipality, which otherwise had landed in trouble due to the non-functioning of solid waste treatment plant.

Isaac had rolled out a project titled 'Nirmala Bhavanam, Nirmala Nagaram' when the municipality failed to find a permanent solution for the waste problems... Read more..

Green energy red-flagged

Solar and wind energy are considered environment-friendly, with zero carbon emissions. These sources of energy are going to be the main elements of India’s proposed march towards a low-carbon-economy.

But doubts have begun to be expressed over long-term ecological and social fallout of rolling out wind and solar energy on a large scale.

Going by the warning issued in a recent government-sponsored study of select green power projects in the country, large solar and wind power projects may lead to a conflict situation in years to come if corrective steps are not taken to... Read more..

Agricultural Output Could Drop Two Percent Each Decade, Warns Leaked UN Panel Report

A scientific panel set up by the United Nations has found that climate change will pose a serious threat to the world's food supply in the coming decades, reports The New York Times. The findings aren't set to be announced until March and are still undergoing editing, but a copy of the report has leaked online. The findings come from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has been releasing reports on the matter around every six years — the Times reports that its 2007 findings were far less foreboding.

According to the Times, the report says that agricultural... Read more..

India to relax 'green' norms for big power projects

The Indian government, keen to boost power output in the electricity-starved country, is likely to bypass environmental hurdles for 'ultra mega power projects' (UMPPs).

The cabinet committee on investment (CCI), set up to fast-track projects worth over Rs1,000 crore, is likely to take up this week two stalled power projects with investments worth Rs35,000 crore.

The power ministry has already approached the CCI to exempt the plants from a key provision of the Forests Act, 1980, that requires companies to identify land for compensatory reforestation.

The Dibang project... Read more..

Two boards to oversee water, power sectors after division

Worried that the issues of water sharing and power supply might become a major bone of contention between Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh, the Union home ministry is eliciting opinions from senior officials to explore the creation of two independent boards under the direct supervision of the central government to jointly oversee the irrigation and electricity sectors in both the states.

According to sources, during their recent interaction with Union officials, chief secretary PK Mohanty, energy special chief secretary M Sahoo and others brought to the notice of the Centre... Read more..

India's struggling sugar mills seek solace in ethanol

Struggling sugar mills in India are seeking solace in producing ethanol from crushing sugarcane, as the government ramps up pressure on oil retailers to cut fossil fuel imports by blending gasoline with the biofuel.

New Delhi, scrambling for ways to cut nearly $20 billion off its oil costs as it battles a record current account deficit, could save around $1 billion on annual imports of crude as it pushes oil firms to hit a goal of 5 percent blending of ethanol in gasoline.

Reaching that blending target in 2013/14 for the first time since its introduction over six years ago... Read more..

Policy watch: Solar shines globally, but India lags

Last fortnight, a report by Mercom, an energy consultancy firm, showed that “Total corporate funding in the solar sector, including venture capital (VC), debt financing and other equity financings raised by public companies, was significantly higher at $2.18 billion compared to $915 million in Q2, as a number of public companies took advantage of rising market values this quarter”. The full year’s figures are expected to be a lot more impressive. India may not take advantage of this surge.

The figures indicate a revival of interest in the solar energy segment after the mood was... Read more..

India Inc pitches for widening scope of CSR

India Inc wants activities including public awareness advertisements, gainfully employing skilled professionals, and contribution to local governing bodies for public causes to be included under corporate social responsibility (CSR), as defined under the Companies Act, 2013.

Apart from the expansion of the list of activities, corporates also want provision for carrying forward the unspent money set aside for CSR, a government official told The Indian Express.

The suggestions are a part of the comments received by the corporate affairs ministry on the rules for CSR under the... Read more..