INDIA GREEN NEWS: Public Campaign Launched to Fight Climate Change; Union Cabinet Approves National Offshore Wind Energy Policy
India Green News is a selection of news highlights about environmental and energy issues in India.
Compiled by Bhaskar Deol
September 6 - 11, 2015
CLIMATE CHANGE
India's INDCs to tackle climate change won't hit
Government today said that India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for Paris climate summit in December this year, which are likely to be announced this month, will not compromise the country's socio-economic goals.
"India is set to announce its INDCs this month. We are not likely to take sectoral commitments but will give an economy wide achievement and have made provisions and scope for each sector in INDCs," Additional Secretary in Environment Ministry, Sushil Kumar, said.
Speaking at the 4th annual CII Climate Change Conference, he said that 58 countries have already submitted their INDCs for climate change mitigation and adaptation from 2020-2030. These INDCs will be reviewed and revised exponentially in ten-year cycles and will be guided by progression....
(Business Standard - September 10, 2015)
India launching campaign to publicise fight against climate change
NEW DELHI: The government is launching an aggressive outreach campaign in the country and abroad to publicise all the measures India is taking to reduce carbon dioxide pollution and slow down the global rate of temperature rise, shedding its traditional defensive approach.
The outreach campaign will kick off on Monday and continue all the way till the Paris climate summit in December, officials said.
"India is taking many measures to deal with climate change, and specifically mitigation. The government has formulated a plan to inform people about all the efforts that are being made," a senior official told ET....
(Times of India - September 7, 2015)
Good days ahead for green bond market
With climate change issues pushing investors toward clean projects, green bond volumes this year are expected to double globally from last year's $37 billion. This year, China and India also debuted in this niche fundraising segment. India's YES Bank and Export-Import Bank successfully issued green bonds, while China's debut green bond issuance came from Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd, an energy solutions provider.
According to Henry Shilling, senior vice-president at Moody's Investors Service, so far, most green bonds have been sold by issuers in Europe and the US. This is because environmental policies in these two regions are more advanced than in developing countries. The need to finance projects supporting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets also plays a part.....
(Business Standard - September 7, 2015)
Daikin Offers Worldwide Free Access to Patents for Equipment Using Next-Generation Refrigerant
WASHINGTON--Daikin Industries, Ltd., the world's leading air conditioner and refrigerant manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan, announced today it is offering companies worldwide free access to 93 patents, to encourage companies to develop and commercialize air conditioning, cooling and heat pump equipment that use HFC-32 as a single component refrigerant.
Daikin's action is aimed at encouraging manufacturers worldwide to adopt sustainable comfort cooling and heating technologies that use HFC-32, a refrigerant with a lower global warming impact than commonly used refrigerants....
(Business Wire - September 11, 2015)
ENERGY
Union Cabinet approves National Offshore Wind Energy Policy
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet has cleared the policy to generate electricity from offshore windmills. India is already among the world's top producers of electricity from windmills on land, with a capacity of more than 23,000 MW, but extending the success to offshore regions has not made much progress so far.
Under the new policy, the ministry for new and renewable energy will be the nodal authority for offshore wind power, while the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be the nodal agency to allocate offshore blocks for Wind Energy and coordinate with other ministries....
(The Economic Times - September 9, 2015)
Government tells coal power plants to subsidize 15GW of solar power
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has ordered some of India's oldest coal-fired power plants to help make solar farms more competitive by bundling together electricity from both technologies for sale to the grid.
The decision dated 17 July requires state-controlled NTPC Ltd to sell cheaper coal power along with more expensive solar as a single unit. The effect of the order, which was released to industry officials and seen by Bloomberg News, is to reduce the price distribution companies pay for solar power and force them to take more of the cleaner form of energy....
(Live Mint - September 7, 2015)
Government may provide subsidy for putting solar panels on 500 train roofs
New Delhi: In what may be a game-changer in helping the Indian Railways cut energy costs, the government may provide subsidy for putting solar panels on the roofs of around 500 trains to generate electricity.
This is in addition to the plan to set up 500 megawatts (MW) solar capacity panels on the rooftops of railway stations. Recently, the Indian Railways, the country's largest consumer of electricity, ran a pilot coach with solar panels fitted on its roof. Since trains already have batteries attached to the coaches, the electricity generated from the solar panels will be used to run fans and lights and not to provide power for the locomotive's traction....
(Live Mint - September 10, 2015)
DDC bats for generation of 1 GW solar power by 2020
Delhi government's advisory body Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) today presented a draft policy recommending generation of 1,000 MW solar power capacity for the national capital till 2020.
The DDC draft policy that has been uploaded on their website for public consultation, will be finalised and submitted to the Delhi government for further approval of the Cabinet after 15 days.
The draft recommends installation of 1 GW (1,000 Mega Watts) solar power capacity in Delhi by the year 2020. It is proposed to double it to 2 GW by 2025, which is 21 per cent of national capital's peak power demand....
(Press Trust of India - September 10, 2015)
Note: The linked articles and excerpts in this post are provided for informational purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the India Initiative or of the Natural Resources Defense Council.