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Sustainability Outlook Headlines

India votes against UNSC draft resolution to securitize climate action

India on Monday voted against a United Nations Security Council's draft resolution that aimed to securitize climate action and undermine the hard-won consensual agreements in Glasgow.
The explanation of the vote on India's part was done by Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti in his speech also spoke against drawing a separate link between security and climate change.
The draft resolution that has been co-authored by Ireland and Niger states that the adverse effects of climate change can "... Read more..
Source: ANI

CORSIA offsetting requirements will be applicable from 2027 for Indian Operators

During the 39th General Assembly, ICAO decided to implement a Global Market Based Measure (GMBM) scheme in the form of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to address CO2 emissions from international civil aviation. The measures taken towards implementation of CORSIA in India are as follows:
 
 
 
DGCA has issued Civil Aviation Requirements on "CORSIA" after consultation with the stakeholders.
DGCA has issued guidance material for airline operators and other stakeholders for better understanding... Read more..
Source: PIB

Hyderabad gets nod for second waste-to-energy generation plant

Telangana's minister for municipal administration and urban development K. T. Rama Rao on Monday said that the union ministry for environment and forest has given clearance for 28 MW waste to energy plant in Hyderabad.
 
Once commissioned, he said, the plant would take the total capacity of waste to energy plants in the city to 48 MW, highest in south India.
 
He pointed out that south India biggest waste to energy plant of 20 MW was inaugurated in the city a year ago.
 
The minister was speaking while flagging off 1,350... Read more..
Source: Economic Times

Indian refiner BPCL tie-up with nuclear institute in net zero push

India's third largest refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL.NS) said on Monday it has tied up with the country's nuclear research institute for an electrolyser technology for green hydrogen as it seeks to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.
 
India, the world's third biggest greenhouse gas emitter, is aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and wants to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50% by 2030 from 38% currently.
 
BPCL's Chairman A. K. Singh said the refiner plans to scale up indigenous alkaline electrolyser... Read more..
Source: Reuters

UN's 'observer' status to ISA will aid OSOWOG: Minister R K Singh

Union Minister R K Singh on Saturday said granting of 'observer' status to the International Solar Alliance by the United Nations will give impetus to the One Sun One World One Grid(OSOWAG) initiative.

In a congratulatory tweet, the Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister said this historic decision of the UN is going to be a stepping stone in furtherance of the Prime Minister's vision of OSOWAG.

This will provide a big boost to the initiative to bring about just and equitable energy solutions through the deployment of solar energy, he further said.
 

... Read more..
Source: Economic Times

Rajasthan: 4,000MW solar plant at Sambhar may spell doom for prized wetland

At a time when the state forest department is at an advanced stage of creating a development agency to protect and conserve the natural ecosystem of Sambhar lake, a wetland of international importance, plans are afoot to set up a 4,000MW ultra mega solar plant at the Ramsar site.

Sambhar Salt Ltd has recently invited expression of interest (EoI) from companies to set up the project. Out of the 58,000 acres the company has, it currently uses only a fraction of 2,500 acres for salt production and a large area can be utilised for solar power generation.

As per industry estimates... Read more..

Source: Economic Times

Govt to discuss Electricity Bill with farmers, halts power reforms for now

According to the agreement between Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Centre, one of the consensus points is that the government will discuss the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 with farmers before it is tabled in Parliament.

This will put brakes on the power sector reforms and the power distribution reforms will get delayed.

The one year and 15 day-long agitation by the farmers at Delhi's borders was called off after the Centre agreed to their major demands.

The protests were called off after the Centre gave a letter to the farmer bodies agreeing to meet their... Read more..

Source: Business Standard

UN General Assembly grants Observer Status to International Solar Alliance

 

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliance (ISA), India's Permanent Ambassador to United Nations, T S Tirumurti announced on Thursday (local time).
 
Terming this as a historic decision, Tirumurti said that ISA has become an example of positive global climate action through partnerships to benefit global energy growth and development.
 
"Historic decision by UN General Assembly today to grant Observer Status to International Solar Alliance. In 6 years, International Solar... Read more..
Source: Business Standard

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, nuclear energy has an important role in the country’s energy transition for meeting the goal of net zero economy

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that nuclear energy has an important role in the country’s energy transition for meeting the goal of net zero economy.
 
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister said that the current installed nuclear power capacity in the country is 6780 MW. He said, Nuclear power is not only clean and environmental friendly, but... Read more..
Source: PIB

Curbing vehicle emission tops Maharashtra climate change plan

Maharashtra’s City Action Plan for Climate Change submitted under the National Clean Air Programme on Thursday has suggested that mitigating vehicular emissions is the state’s top challenge in managing air pollution, especially in Mumbai. Of the 806 measures listed to control air pollution, vehicular emission measures comprise the major chunk at 314.
This is followed by industrial emissions with 139 measures and resuspended dust 108. Among all the measures, those for Mumbai that are likely to cost Rs 17,000 crore top the list.
These measures include 21 actions to... Read more..
Source: Times of India

France to continue supporting India in its renewable energy goals: Ambassador

France will continue to support India to help achieve its ambitious target of having 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain said on Thursday.
 
Prime Minster Narendra Modi had announced the target of 500 GW of renewable energy in India by 2030 at the COP26 conference in Glasgow earlier this year.
 
Participating in an international conference on One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG), organised by industry chamber CII, Lenain fully endorsed India's pioneering initiative of OSOWOG.
 
"... Read more..
Source: Economic Times

President Biden Signs Executive Order Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability

U.S. Government Will Lead by Example to Leverage Scale and Procurement Power to Drive Clean, Healthy, and Resilient Operations

Today, President Biden will sign an executive order that demonstrates how the United States will leverage its scale and procurement power to lead by example in tackling the climate crisis. The executive order will reduce emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities. The President is building on his whole-of-government effort to tackle the climate crisis... Read more..

Source: White House

Lok Sabha begins discussion on climate change

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up the discussion on climate change under Rule 193. Speaker On Birla said this is an important subject for all human beings, and it is a matter of great pride that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advocated conservation of the climate on all international forums.

Initiating the debate, DMK's Kanimozhi cited the excessive flooding in recent weeks in south India and how Chennai was badly affected again, as she stressed that the government needs to act on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

BJP's Sanjay Jaiswal said that Prime Minister Modi... Read more..

Source: Economic Times

Stepping up ethanol production may help reduce crude oil import, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said stepping up ethanol production can help reduce the import of crude oil and prove to be an extra means of earning for sugarcane farmers.

He claimed that before the BJP came to power, only 20 crore litres of ethanol was being sent to oil companies from Uttar Pradesh, which now increased to around 100 crore litres.

Addressing a public meeting here after dedicating to the nation three mega projects, Modi said, “Every year, India spends around Rs 5-7 lakh crore on crude oil for petrol and diesel. We can reduce this import by giving... Read more..

Source: Financial Express

Solar-based lift irrigation to be implemented across Jharkhand: Agriculture secretary

 Renewable energy based lift irrigation schemes will prove to be a game-changer for the agriculture sector in Jharkhand, a top official said.
 
The Jharkhand government has rolled out multiple schemes to boost the agriculture sector and lift irrigation system is one such initiative, Agriculture Secretary Abu Bakar Siddiqui said on Tuesday.
 
Lift irrigation is primarily targeted at the farmers who cannot afford diesel pumps or other traditional boring systems.
 
Siddiqui who visited Simdega to take part in 'Kisan Samvad... Read more..
Source: Economic Times

Rajasthan gets Rs 1.94-lakh cr investment commitments for RE, other sectors

The Rajasthan government received investment commitments of Rs 1.94 lakh crore from a wide range of investors for sectors including renewable energy, mines and minerals, engineering and pharma, at a roadshow held here on Wednesday.
 
Of this, the state signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 1,27,459 crore and letters of intent (LoI) to the tune of Rs 67,379 crore.
 
These MoUs and LoIs were signed in the presence of the state's Commerce and Industries Minister Shakuntala Rawat.
 
JSW Future Energy has proposed... Read more..
Source: Economic Times

Air Quality Commission orders immediate closure of NCR industries not running on gas/ Cleaner fuels in industrial areas despite availability of gas infrastructure and supply

Despite the measures taken in different sectors towards improvement of air quality of Delhi-NCR, the air quality still remains in ‘Very Poor’ to ‘Severe’ category. Keeping in view the need to enforce strict actions against the deteriorating air quality of the region, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) believes that there is an urgent need to take further preventive measures, as a matter of extreme emergency and abundant caution.

Taking a tough stand against the industries in industrial areas flouting the comprehensive policy directions for... Read more..

Source: PIB

NITI Aayog launches 'e-Sawari India E-Bus Coalition' in tie-up with CESL

Government think tank NITI Aayog on Tuesday announced the launch of 'e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition' in partnership with Convergence Energy Service Ltd (CESL) and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India), with support from Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

The coalition has been launched with the aim to share knowledge and learnings on e-bus adoption in India among various stakeholders, including central and state governments, city-level government agencies, transit service providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), financing institutions and... Read more..

Source: Economic Times

49 Original Equipment Manufacturers of e-2W, e-3W & e- 4W registered under phase-II of FAME-India Scheme

49 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of e-2W, e-3W & e- 4W have been registered under phase-II of FAME-India Schemeas on 26th November, 2021. Details are given at Annexure.

Ministry of Heavy Industries formulated a Scheme Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in 2015 to promote adoption of electric/ hybrid vehicles (xEVs) in the country. At present, Phase-II of FAME India Scheme is being implemented for a period of 5 years w.e.f. 01stApril, 2019 with a total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crores. This phase... Read more..

Source: PIB

NDMC in talks with NHAI to construct roads out of waste material

North Delhi Municipal Corporation is in talks with National Highways Authority of India to make roads out of waste material. For this, it has chosen its biggest landfill site in Bhalswa, which has around 55 lakh metric tonnes of waste accumulated over the years.
“Our target is to clear the landfill site as soon as possible. For this, we are in talks with NHAI to take the inert material from the corporation’s Bhalswa landfill site and use it for road construction. This will help in reducing the waste by around 15,000 metric tonnes per day,” said a north corporation official. “The plan... Read more..

Source: Times of India

Beer Giant Ab InBev Commits to Net Zero Emissions Across Value Chain by 2040

Climate change remains one of the most pressing global challenges facing society. At AB InBev, we are committed to driving decarbonization and building climate resilience through our 2025 Sustainability Goals. Today, we are proud to announce a new ambition to achieve net zero across our value chain by 2040.  

Ezgi Barcenas, our Chief Sustainability Officer, made the announcement during our 2021 Investor Seminar, in which our CEO Michel Doukeris presented a new Global Purpose – We Dream Big to Create a Future with More Cheers - and our company’s forward-looking strategy.  

“... Read more..

Source: ABinBev

India's plastic waste generation has more than doubled in five year: Environment Ministry

India's plastic waste generation has more than doubled in the last five years with an average annual increase of 21.8%, the Centre said on Monday.

Responding to a query raised in the Lower House of Parliament, Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Choubey said that more than 34 lakh tons of plastic waste was generated in 2019-20 and 30.59 lakh tons in 2018-19.

According to data shared by the minister, in the last five years, the quantity of plastic waste in the country has more than doubled, as the country produced 15.89 lakh tons of plastic waste in 2015-16.... Read more..

Source: Live Mint

18 times hike in installed capacity of solar energy in India between 2014 and 2021, says govt

The installed capacity of solar energy in India has witnessed an 18 times increase between 2014 and 2021, the Union government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Responding to a query in the lower house, Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Choubey said India's current share of non-fossil sources based installed capacity of electricity generation is more than 40 per cent.

"Through the National Action Plan on Climate Change and its various national missions, India is addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation across a range of sectors.

"Installed capacity of solar... Read more..

Source: Economic Times

Electric Vehicles: Parliamentary panel pitches for self-dependency in Lithium battery production

A parliamentary panel that looked into the challenges faced by electric automobile industry has asked the government to work towards achieving self-dependency in manufacturing Lithium-ion batteries to reduce dependency on other countries, especially China.

In its report presented in the parliament on Monday, the parliamentary panel on industry headed by K Keshava Rao felt that there is a lack of an integrated electric vehicle (EV) eco-system.

"EV has three critical components - Batteries, Motor and power electronics. All these are high investment products. In addition, parts... Read more..

Source: Economic Times

MoHUA and UNDP sign MoU for Strengthening Waste Management Sector in India under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India to strengthen the waste management sector in India under the overall ambit of Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban 2.0. The MoU, operational for a period of five years (2021-26) was signed by Ms. Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary and National Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) representing MoHUA, and Ms. Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, representing UNDP India, in the presence of Shri Durga Shanker Mishra,... Read more..

Source: PIB
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