Sustainability Outlook Headlines

US envoy Kerry says world needs a 'wartime mentality' over climate

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said on Monday the world needed to adopt a "wartime mentality" to face the challenge posed by climate change, urging development banks to scale up their green finance efforts.

While countries covering 55% of global GDP came out of President Biden's recent climate summit committed to net zero emissions by 2050, much deeper action was needed between now and 2030 for the mid-century goals to have any chance of success.

"We've got to get a kind of wartime mentality here," Kerry told a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development conference,... Read more..

Govt extends second phase of FAME scheme for electric vehicles by 2 years

The government on Friday said it has extended the second phase of FAME India scheme by two years till March 31, 2024, for faster adoption of electric mobility and development of its manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

The second phase of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) India scheme focuses on supporting electrification of public and shared transportation.

A notification of the department of heavy industry said that the scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of three years from April 1, 2019.

"Now with the approval of the... Read more..

Gujarat discoms sign pacts for 3,979 solar projects with 2,500 MW capacity

Gujarat's four public-owned electricity distribution companies have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 3,979 small-scale distributed solar projects with aggregate capacity of 2,500 MW, the government said on Saturday.

These small-scale distributed solar projects, to be commissioned within the next 18 months, will bring in an investment of over Rs 10,000 crore in the state for the development of green energy and allied sectors, it said.

State energy minister Saurabh Patel said that the development is a major boost towards the state's commitment to promote renewable... Read more..

ZDHC's second Impact Report details sustainability progress over 2020

ZDHC, a Dutch multi-stakeholder initiative for fashion industry, has released its second Impact Report detailing the implementation progress and present recent developments within ZDHC and the industry at large along with the road ahead. It also calls for collaborative action and commitment to safer chemistry to supply chain partners in the report.

Sharing the progress of the three ZDHC Leader Programmes; Brands to Zero, Supplier to Zero and the forthcoming leader programme for chemical suppliers, the report said: “The 2020 assessment confirms around 80 per cent of brands have... Read more..

Telangana snags Triton EV's Rs 2100 crore investment

Telangana has snagged its largest electric vehicles (EV) investment yet with US-based electric vehicles major Triton EV all set to invest Rs 2,100 crore in setting up its EV manufacturing facility in Zaheerabad. Triton Electric Vehicle Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of Triton, will create over 25,000 jobs and manufacture around 50,000 EVs, including semi-trucks, sedans, luxury SUVs, and rickshaws, at the facility over the first five years, Telangana IT & industries minister KT Rama Rao's office announced on Thursday. The facility will be located at the Zaheerabad NIMZ (national investment... Read more..

RIL to invest Rs 75,000 cr in clean energy, build 4 giga factories: Ambani

Five years after disrupting the telecom space with the launch of Jio, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday announced yet another game-changing move — a mega entry into green energy.

The company is planning to get into solar power generation and manufacturing, hydrogen production, e-fuels, and energy storage under its “New Energy and New Materials” division.

It will also set up a platform for renewable energy project finance to source long-term global capital for investment in these sectors.

The three-pronged plan will cumulatively involve an investment of Rs 75,... Read more..

1366 Technologies to invest US$300 million in solar manufacturing in India, seeking local partner

Solar wafer provider 1366 Technologies is actively exploring manufacturing opportunities in India, seeking a local partner.

US-based 1366 Technologies, which is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Venture, confirmed to PV Tech that it intends to invest US$300 million to establish a 2GW wafer and cell manufacturing facility in India, CEO and founder Frank van Mierlo has said.

Reports first published in Livemint stated the successful partner will handle module manufacturing and the establishment of solar farms in India. 1366 is in talks with Indian firms but van Mierlo... Read more..

Denmark signs framework agreement on International Solar Alliance with India

Denmark signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) and Instrument of Ratification with India, informed Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Wednesday. "On 22 June, Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy, deposited signed copies of ISA Framework Agreement and Instrument of Ratification with @MEAIndia, the depositary of Agreement. Signed copies of ISA FA were handed over to Additional Secretary (ER)," Bagchi tweeted.

Meanwhile, Denmark becomes first country to ratify International Solar Alliance... Read more..

U.S. bans imports of solar panel material from Chinese company

The Biden administration on Wednesday ordered a ban on U.S. imports of a key solar panel material from Chinese-based Hoshine Silicon Industry Co (603260.SS) over forced labor allegations, two sources briefed on the matter said.

The U.S. Commerce Department separately restricted exports to Hoshine, three other Chinese companies and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), saying they were involved with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

The three other companies added to the U.S. economic blacklist include... Read more..

A ‘bio-refinery’: using the chemistry of willow trees to treat Canada’s municipal wastewater

Every year in Canada, six trillion litres of municipal wastewater are partially treated and released into the environment, while another 150 billion litres of untreated sewage are discharged straight into pristine surface waters.

Now researchers have found a way to stem that flow: by filtering the waste through the roots of willow trees. Experimenting with a plantation in Quebec, the scientists estimate that over 30 million litres of primary wastewater per hectare can be treated using ‘bio-refinery’ annually.

Their results were published June 14 in the journal Science of the... Read more..

Swiss Government renews GRI partnership to spread sustainability reporting globally

GRI is pleased to announce the continuation of a successful partnership with the Swiss Confederation’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), through a new €3.8 million (US$4.6m) program to increase high-quality sustainability disclosure and accountability by organizations in Africa, Hispanic America and South East Asia.

The key aims of the four-year Sustainability Reporting for Responsible Business (SRRB) program are to enhance the capacity of companies for reporting; create and improve the environment for transparency and disclosure; and increase the application of... Read more..

Green hydrogen purchase to be made mandatory

Green hydrogen would be brought under renewable purchase obligation (RPO), Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday.

Under RPO, bulk purchasers like discoms, open access consumers and captive users are required to buy a certain proportion of renewable energy out of their total consumption of electricity. They can also buy RE certificates from renewable energy producers to meet the RPO norms.

Interacting with media in a virtual curtain raiser press conference on 'India's role as a Global Champion for the Energy Transition theme at the UN High... Read more..