Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Delhi's air quality severe, CPCB convenes emergency meeting

Delhi's air quality deteriorated to 'severe' due to a dust storm in northwest India which led to a sudden spike in the pollution level in the national capital, the Centre-run SAFAR said. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) recorded the city's air quality index (AQI) at 408 which falls in severe category, while the Central Pollution Control Board showed the AQI in very poor category at 347. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor... Read more..

Eyeing investment, India considers new solar tender with focus on factories

India is considering a new tender to develop solar power equipment manufacturing that doesn’t include a requirement to also generate electricity, a move aimed at sparking investor interest, according to people with knowledge of the plan. In addition to separating manufacturing of solar cells and modules from generation, the government may also offer some form of financial aid, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. There has been little interest from solar equipment... Read more..

Bengal tigers may not survive climate change, UN report finds

Climate change and rising sea levels eventually may wipe out one of the world's last and largest tiger strongholds, scientists warned in a new study. The cats are among 500,000 land species whose survival is in question because of threats to their natural habitats, according to a UN report published on Monday. The Sundarbans, 10,000 square kilometres of marshy land in Bangladesh and India, hosts the world's largest mangrove forest and a rich ecosystem supporting several hundred animal species, including the... Read more..

The Body Shop launches first community trade recycled plastic

The Body Shop has stepped up its sustainability efforts with the launch of its new Community Trade recycled plastic in collaboration with Plastics For Change. The new plastics are being launched as part of the company’s Community Trade fair trade programme and are a first for the company. Sourced from Bengaluru India, the recycled plastic is collected by waste pickers. According to a press release, “In its first year, The Body Shop will purchase 250 tonnes of Community Trade recycled plastic to use in nearly... Read more..

US Clean Energy Cooperation in Asia

Energy demand in Asia will continue to climb in the coming decades, which will have critical economic, climate, and geostrategic implications for the United States. Over the next 20 years, India and Southeast Asia are expected to record the world’s highest carbon dioxide growth rates. For this reason, tackling energy-related emissions in this region must be a part of any meaningful global strategy to curb climate change. Accelerating a clean energy transition in Asia is a critical imperative to both help meet booming energy demand and mitigate against climate change. Unfortunately, the... Read more..

Greenlight Planet's solar fans to keep rural India cool this summer

While the country braces for the hottest year since 1901, this model provides powerful airflow for grid-like cooling, striking the perfect balance between performance, durability, and affordability. For ten years, Greenlight Planet has been focused on developing affordable and durable solar powered lighting solutions for under-electrified households and businesses around the world. In that time period, the company's Sun King product range has expanded, from simple task lighting, to keep up with changing consumer needs. "Our products have evolved from simple lighting to more sophisticated... Read more..

Centre to invite bids for 40GW battery plants

The government is considering a plan to establish battery making capacity of 40 gigawatts (GW) to give a boost to its electrical vehicles and renewable energy initiatives, an official said. It will ask states to compete for the opportunity to set up internationally competitive facilities that will also service global markets. Domestic and global battery makers will be asked to bid for setting up plants in the selected states. The proposal is expected to entail investments of $40 billion in the next two-three years and is likely to garner interest from global battery manufacturing firms and... Read more..

Humans driving 1 million animal and plant species to extinction: Report

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history and its impact will see extinction of one million out of eight million total estimated number of animal and plant species on earth, many within decades, unless their habitats are restored, said the UN-backed inter-governmental body in a global report released in Paris on Monday.

Blaming “human activities’ for such threat, the body... Read more..

India's e-car plan has just one, but potentially debilitating flaw

Dirty air has finally become an issue in Indian election manifestos, along with perennial subjects such as temple-building and farmers’ incomes. That shouldn’t be a surprise: Even politicians can’t escape air pollution, which has reduced life expectancy in areas near the capital New Delhi by more than 12 years.

To address the issue, the government earlier this year laid out a three-year subsidy program for... Read more..

After HC nod, BEST to acquire 20 electric buses by June-end

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will most likely induct 20 electric buses by the end of June. The transport undertaking has received a nod from the Bombay High Court to procure 80 electric buses on wet lease.

“We have managed to place an order for these electric buses. We should get 25% of the order within three months and the remaining in six months,” Surendrakumar Bagde, general... Read more..

Cyclone Fani fails to bring rain, but wind power generation picks up

Cyclone Fani may have failed to bring rain to Tamil Nadu, but the heavy wind it generated has been powering the wind mills in the state over the past two days. Tangedco evacuated 74 million units of wind energy on May 1 and 90 MU on Thursday, which was more than 25% of the total power consumption in the state. This is a new high for the beginning of May. Wind power generation during the corresponding period in previous years was abysmally low. Wind power generation peaked at 3,947MW on May 1 evening and 3,... Read more..

‘Think of social objectives for smart cities’

There’s no harm in going ahead with urban interventions but we need to consider social objectives that are the key to sustainability in the context of smart cities, said Krishna Kumar Dhote, professor of architecture and planning at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, on Saturday. He was giving a presentation on ‘Social implications of urban interventions in context of smart cities’, organized by the Maharashtra regional chapter (MRC) of Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI) at ITPI MRC... Read more..