Green tech is good for business, India must lead the world – Kofi Annan
With the two largest economies and polluters of the world USA and China agreeing on key climate targets, and German energy giant E.ON shifting away from fossil fuels to renewable power, the world is now looking to India to give a lead. The country is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. The decisions it makes and the example it sets matter. India’s businesses and industries are central to this challenge. Their actions are critical not just to avert a looming climate crisis, but also to overcome the enormous challenges of poverty and malnutrition……Above all, the impacts of climate change are reducing harvests and water supplies, increasing air pollution and competition for resources and land, and heightening tensions……The role of governments here in India and across the world is vital in catalysing action on these challenges, but it is not their responsibility alone. It is the private sector which is the main motor of the economy and which accounts for two thirds of the use of natural resources.(read more)
On 6th Feburary 2014, Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Nobel laureate, in an interview to of the Times of India said – When leaders fail to lead, people take charge and leaders then have to follow….Annan expresses optimism that slowly and steadily, the world is gearing up to the challenges of climate change and global warming.(read more)
“The world is looking to India to set a lead. I hope that India responds to national and global challenges by demonstrating the ambition to move decisively away from fossil fuels and to become a powerful advocate on climate change and sustainable development. Doing good is also good for business.”
Now there are many things,Indians both in India and abroad don’t appreciate about the Nation. But since May 2014 if there is one thing that makes Indians proud is our Prime Minister Shri Narandra Modi. Since Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi, not many Indians would have been as emotive about their Leader. Perhaps the only person who would have moved Indians more than him would be Mahatma Gandhi. And who still inspires everyone. And just as the Mahatma who went about saving humanity thus freeing a Nation. Shri Narendra Modi must lead from the front and free India from the debilitating yoke of Fossil Fuel dependent Economy. And free the Ecology from its stranglehold.
We as a Nation know we can deliver an innovative approach, but we must first try not to fall into the trap of standard cliques which the super rich and superpowers have been pouting for the last 20 years!
10th Dec; LIMA CoP 20: Urging rich nations not to use disasters as tools to make business profit, India on the first day of the high-level segment of the UN climate talks on Tuesday sought them to cooperate to solve the “global problems” of climate change without getting into the “price-tag” of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime…….. Bringing the sentiments of people of most of the developing countries at the UN platform, Indian environment and climate change minister Prakash Javadekar cited past examples where rich nations selflessly collaborated to pull out their poor counterparts from crisis and asked them to follow that path to save the world…….. Addressing the gathering of ministers and key representatives of many countries, the Indian environment minister also sought not to clear only his country’s priority and development paradigm but also of most of the developing countries which need to grow economically to deal with the problem of abject poverty.
India’s Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had given its approval for the negotiating position for the 20th Conference of Parties (COP-20) on climate change – to focus on the elements of 2015 Agreement and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). It stresses that the 2015 outcome to be adopted at the COP in Paris should be comprehensive, balanced, equitable and fair in order to enhance the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention.India emphasizes that the developed countries should take the lead in addressing climate change in accordance with their historical responsibilities, the latest available scientific evidence on climate change trends and the IPCC AR5. Developed countries should implement their commitments under the Convention towards developing countries for provision of finance, technology and capacity-building support. The principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDRs) – should form the basis of continued action.(read original text)
At the CoP 20,Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar mentioned about the reluctance of the rich nations to contribute to the Green Climate Fund — a financial mechanism where the developed countries contribute to help their developing counterparts in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
“Some announcements have been made by some countries to contribute to the Green Climate Fund. However, the scale of these announcements remains far from what has been pledged”, he said in reference to the goal of 100 billion dollars in the GCF.
The remarks come at a time when the rich nations are trying to dilute the provisions of the CBDRs which are ingrained the principles of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocal. Showing mirror to the developed countries by bringing the pre-2020 period at the fore, he said, “Our ambition in the post-2020 period is directly linked with ambitious actions in the pre-2020 period by the developed countries, otherwise the poor people in developing countries will not get the carbon space to achieve sustainable development. (read original text here)
To those who were following the UNFCCC programs, the above text is almost like deja vu. The language remains more or less the same, only the Countries which are for and against the positions change.
But if India truly achieves what it has set itself up to, there is hope.
The Prime Minister’s recent announcement to install 1 lakh (100,000) megawatts of solar power is surely a large sum and a super ambitious goal . That is $100 billion in investments by India alone. When compared to $9.95 billion rich nations have committed to the Green Climate Fund, India seems to be more commited to abatement than rest of the Developed World.
But one must listen closely to Environment secretary Ashok Lavasa said, “Of the 80,000 MW of new generation in the 12th Plan (2012-17), 35% will be from renewable sources – solar, wind and biomass. This will go up to 45% in the 13th Plan (2018-22), there will be 110,000 MW generated through conventional means, 100,000 MW from renewables.” If India had planned to generate the same amount of electricity in thermal power plants, it would burn an additional 130 million tonnes of coal every year, with its corresponding GHG emission, he added.
But the problem lies with not what is being said, instead what is happening on ground. In recent events post an acrimonious Parliament Winter session, which brought down the total opposition rating by a notch or two, important legislations were missed. And now the Government uses the Ordnance route to dismantle a few decisions which the previous government had made, which could be termed as positive. The Land Acquisition Bill at least had halted the mindless greed of many who would pillage the Earth with the most amazing excuse. The below article is mind boggling to any person who cares for the long term well-being of the Planet and wealth generation for India.
Will coal or solar power fuel India’s drive to bring electricity to its villages?
Krishnan Guru-Murthy in Madhya Pradesh, The Guardian, Thursday 30 October 2014 20.03 GMT
The village of Geer in Madhya Pradesh is about to undergo the simplest of revolutions. After 25 years of being told electricity is coming, it is finally here…….There are, according to the World Bank, around 400 million Indians waiting for electricity. The new prime minister, Narendra Modi, has pledged to connect them all within five years and plans to do so with an unprecedented dash for coal. India has the fifth largest deposits in the world but has not been mining them, so coal-fired power stations import about a third of their supply. The government has made it clear that has to change, but is being frustrated by a combination of environmental protest, court battles over corruption and the constitutional rights of tribal communities who claim mines threaten their livelihoods…….Among the companies trying to deliver Modi’s vision is Mahan Coal, jointly owned by British-registered Essar Energy and Indian corporate giant Hindalco. Chief executive Ramakant Tiwari has spent seven years battling to get permission to begin a vast opencast mine in a section of the Mahan forest. It is one of the last natural forests left in Madhya Pradesh and breathtakingly beautiful. But as we stand on a hill surveying the area Mahan Coal plans to dig, Tiwari insists he will make it even better.
“Do you not feel bad, destroying a forest and turning it into a vast scar on the landscape?” I ask.
“We are not destroying anything. We are just taking the old trees which have become coal and planting new trees for the future,” he insists. Tiwari, who looks and sounds more like a charity worker than a mining boss, sells it as part of the natural cycle of human development…….(read more)
The villagers living next to the mines see things differently. In Chilika Daad, they are sick and tired of the blasting and the dust. They say the promises they were given of development, investment and jobs were broken and all they have are homes they can’t sell and lives they can’t change.
The fact that a CEO of a Company actually believes that he can play God, is beyond belief. But this is perhaps the actual face which the world and especially the UNFCCC must take into consideration before putting into text any resolution in Paris 2015.
The Indian Prime Minister has one thing which he should not let go. And that is the belief common persons have in him. But when the voice of both the poor and those engaged in prevention of looting of the Nations Wealth in the process of creating of short-term riches are not heard; disaster shall follow.
Both Political & Economic.
Many around the world would agree that our present Prime Minister is a great orator. And one thing any good speaker would agree is that a speech becomes as good as the belief one has on the words spoken. If one doesn’t believe in the word s/he speaks it would reflect. Our Prime Minister believes, or so we would like to remember him by. But recent events and actions show that he is in a hurry to bring in all that he has promised. And that too in a very short time.
The one singular thing this Government is forgetting is that it won on a plank of “Good Governance” NOT “Get Quickly Rich”.
And the people of this Country and the World are ready to wait a little, for long-term sustainable gains. All our Prime Minister needs to do, when “ankle biters” pursue him, towards the path of self and Nation destruction; is to talk to his people in “Maan Ki Baat“. As after many moons India is witnessing a Statesman and a Visionary, it would be sad indeed to find a Politician instead.
The faith one reposed on the NDA was as said, on good governance. This becomes somewhat shaky when one gets to read news which give confusing and conflicting messages –
Is Narendra Modi a climate sceptic? The Guardian,
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, reportedly will be a no-show at the United Nations climate summit this month. Could it be because he does not accept the science behind climate change?……..“Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our habits have changed. Our habits have got spoiled. Due to that, we have destroyed our entire environment,” the rightwing leader told students in a video Q&A, according to India Today on Friday. (read more)
The Prime Minister, understand the situation of our Nation better than most of us, but it would put him in good stead if the people within the Nation help him with the tools he needs to keep at arms length the pressure to “get quickly rich” and then end up in a polluted ditch, as did China. By becoming the factory nation producing the worst polluting products the “white man does not want to produce in his back yard, but happily consumes”.
An environmentalist looks at the World as one, thus the parting thoughts to help assuage the determination in walking a Clean, Green & Suatainable Business path is perhaps found in the recent disappearance of the AirAsia Aircraft supposedly due to bad weather conditions. It is indeed a very sad news, which every major TV/Newspaper is covering.
But what is not being said is the report published in the IPCC AR5. These disasters are waiting to happen. And while in most cases in Climate Change is was the LDC ( least developed nations) & SIS ( small island states) which were and are most affected. Recent storm and severe weather events are affecting the Developed Nations too.
IPCC Report: ‘severe and pervasive’ impacts of climate change will be felt everywhere
31 March 2014 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today issued a report saying the effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents and across the oceans. The world, in many cases, is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate. The report also concludes that there are opportunities to respond to such risks, though the risks will be difficult to manage with high levels of warming.
Severe Weather Conditions are predicted by IPCC as result of Climate Change around the World
The report, titled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from Working Group II of the IPCC, details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks. A total of 309 coordinating lead authors, lead authors, and review editors, drawn from 70 countries, were selected to produce the report. They enlisted the help of 436 contributing authors, and a total of 1,729 expert and government reviewers.
The report concludes that responding to climate change involves making choices about risks in a changing world. The nature of the risks of climate change is increasingly clear, though climate change will also continue to produce surprises. The report identifies vulnerable people, industries, and ecosystems around the world. It finds that risk from a changing climate comes from vulnerability (lack of preparedness) and exposure (people or assets in harm’s way) overlapping with hazards (triggering climate events or trends). Each of these three components can be a target for smart actions to decrease risk.
“We live in an era of man-made climate change,” said Vicente Barros, Co-Chair of Working Group II. “In many cases, we are not prepared for the climate-related risks that we already face. Investments in better preparation can pay dividends both for the present and for the future.” (read more)
As those who travel more frequently by air-planes are CEO’s of Coal Mining Companies and the likes. As all tragedy are by default learning experience. The least the second-hand perpetrators ( second hand because, users by default of using the modern tools which they buy and create demand thereof,might be the first) could do to help in abatement of Climate Change is to pause and find that perhaps the old fashioned mining for Coal is a better option than making an open cast mine. We all understand that the present Renewable Energy Solutions are “bridge solutions” at best and we need further R&D to perfect it. But this does not give us the excuse to rip the heart out because some idiot, greedy, short-sighted human, whose only contribution to this planet was amassing riches from the plunder of earth; said it was cheap. The families of any natural disaster victim would tell you what price they have paid for the folly of following the path of self- aggrandizement by a few.
A few ideas can be found in the articles which our PM must read (Sustainable Mining should be The BASICs agenda at UNFCCC-Doha.;Green Business Ideas – Abandoned coalfields can boost RE and save forest in India.). It may help save India and perhaps the Planet.
