Sustainability Outlook Headlines

UAE asks to host 2023 UN climate change conference

The United Arab Emirates has asked to host the COP 28 international conference on climate change in 2023, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Sunday.

The annual Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The UAE exports oil and hosts the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) headquarters.

"The UAE has demonstrated a proven track record in progressive climate action and multilateral cooperation that... Read more..

Nitish asks officials to speed up installing smart meters in every house

PATNA: Reiterating his demand for ‘one nation, one electricity rate’ in the country, CM Nitish Kumar asked the energy department to accelerate the installation of prepaid smart meters in each household of Bihar on Saturday.

While chairing a high-level meeting to review the performance of the energy department through video conferencing, the CM assured the officials that there would be no dearth of funds for the ongoing work of installation of prepaid smart meters. “You all should work to speed up the installation of smart meters,” he said.

Nitish said the prepaid smart... Read more..

In climate push, G7 agrees to stop international funding for coal

The world’s seven largest advanced economies agreed on Friday to stop international financing of coal projects that emit carbon by the end of this year, and phase out such support for all fossil fuels, to meet globally agreed climate change targets.

Stopping fossil fuel funding is seen as a major step the world can make to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, which scientists say would avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change.

Getting Japan on board to end international financing of coal projects in such a... Read more..

Financial companies, Singapore's SGX to launch carbon offsets exchange

London — A group of banks and other financial companies has teamed up with the Singapore Exchange to launch a trading platform for voluntary carbon offset credits, the companies said May 20.
"CIX will leverage satellite monitoring, machine learning and blockchain technology to enhance the transparency, integrity and quality of carbon credits that deliver tangible and lasting environmental impact," the companies said in a statement.

Global efforts to address climate change have been driving demand for solutions to help corporates reduce their carbon emissions.

However... Read more..

About 7 GW of unsigned PSAs pose risk to renewable energy targets: CRISIL

New Delhi: Delays in power supply agreements (PSAs) for about 7 gigawatt (GW) of the bid out renewable energy projects might lead to 35 per cent shortfall in the 160-GW renewable energy capacity target set for the end of calendar year 2022, according to CRISIL Research.

It, however, added that this delay might not impact the credit profile of developers since implementation and debt drawdowns have not yet started and project viability remains largely intact, supported by benign module price trajectory over the past 18 months.

“The PSAs for the 7 GW of projects bid out at... Read more..

Magenta EV to get USD 15 mn investment from philanthropist Kiran C Patel

Mumbai-based electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions company, Magenta EV Solutions Pvt Ltd has confirmed commitment of over $15 million (Rs 120 crore) in Series A funding from eminent Indian-American philanthropist, cardiologist, and business serial entrepreneur, Dr Kiran C Patel.

Incorporated in 2017, Magenta was founded by Maxson Lewis and Darryl Dias. The duo has combined global experience of over three decades in management, consulting, automotive and renewables industries.

Over the last three years, Magenta has established itself as a key player in the EV charging... Read more..

HSBC Partners With WRI and WWF to Scale Next Generation Solutions to Climate Change

LONDON (May 20, 2021)—HSBC, in partnership with World Resources Institute (WRI) and WWF, today unveils their Climate Solutions Partnership to unlock barriers to finance for companies and projects that tackle climate change. The partnership’s three workstreams focus on start-up firms developing carbon-cutting technologies, projects that protect and restore biodiversity, and initiatives to help transition energy growth to renewables in Asia.

The partnership aims to bring emerging climate solutions to commercial viability and scale. It will do this by supporting sustainable projects... Read more..

India’s utility-scale solar installations fell by 39% in FY2021

India added about 3.5 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity in the 12 months (April 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) of FY2020-21, about 39% less than the FY2019-20 installations. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh led large-scale solar installations, with most of the share coming from these States. Rooftop solar posted strong deployment figures despite Covid-induced lockdown and restrictions. About 2 GW of new rooftop PV capacity was added in FY2021. Gujarat and Maharashtra together contributed nearly 50% of all rooftop solar installations in FY2021. Other states... Read more..

Wastewater Management Is A Matter Of Survival For The Textile Industry In India: Secretary, Ministry Of Textiles

Bengaluru: The ReFashion Hub is a collective that aims to raise awareness and drive conversation about water stewardship in India’s textile industry for long term positive climate impact. As a part of this initiative, a national level multi-stakeholder consultation was organized by Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) with support from Alliance For Water Stewardship and Water Management Forum (under Institute of Engineers India), on 18 May 2021, to build consensus on establishing wastewater as a resource and dealing with it in a sustainable way by the textile industry. Shri Upendra Prasad... Read more..

India ranks 94 in per capita single-use plastic waste production

India’s plans to phase out single-use plastic are already paying dividends as the nation ranks 94th in per capita plastic waste production. A report, Plastic Waste Makers Index by the Australia-based Minderoo Foundation said India’s per capita waste generated from single-use plastic is 4 kg.

The report said Singapore and Australia top the list of the countries in per capita plastic waste generation. Singapore’s per capita plastic waste generation stands at 76 kg followed by Australia at 56 kg, the report said. The report, based on a study of 1,000 factories producing the raw... Read more..

India to launch battery energy storage manufacturing capability

India is to plough Rs.18,100 crore (US$2.5 billion) into setting up 50GWh of advanced chemistry cell battery storage manufacturing facilities.

The Indian government’s ‘National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage’ will seek manufacturers through a competitive bidding process, which will be required to commission manufacturing facilities of minimum 5GWh capacity within a period of two years.

Several Indian companies have started investing in battery packs but the capacities of these facilities are small when compared to others globally and so far there has... Read more..

IREDA Amends 5 GW CPSU Solar Tender, Raises Tariff Cap to ₹2.45/kWh

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has extended the deadline for the 5 GW grid-connected solar projects (Tranche-III) under the central public sector undertaking (CPSU) program (Phase-II).

The implementing agency has extended the bid submission date to May 31, 2021, and bids will be opened on June 9. Earlier, the last date to submit the bids was May 15.

The tender was floated in January this year, and IREDA had capped the tariff for the project at ₹2.20 (~$0.030)/kWh. Following the announcement, Telecommunications Consultants India Limited floated an... Read more..