Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Singapore exchange proposes mandatory climate-related disclosures

Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), Singapore’s stock exchange regulator, will require mandatory climate-related disclosures for listed companies as part of a roadmap to meet investor demand for greater commitments to tackle climate change.

From 2022, all companies will need to disclose information in-line with recommendations from the Group of 20’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), according to the proposal published on Thursday.

In addition to the TCFD framework, the regulator outlined seven environment-related metrics for reporting,... Read more..

To push EV adoption, Karnataka eyes sops for companies making retrofit kits

The Karnataka government is planning to offer sops to electric vehicle (EV) startups to retrofit petrol-powered two- and three-wheelers to make them electric.

"We want to look at it from the demand side, and give a policy push to drive demand," a senior government official, who is part of negotiations with stakeholders, told ET. By policy push, the officials hinted at offering incentives to startups, but they added that the talks are at a very early stage.

Karnataka was ahead of other states when it came up with an electric vehicles and battery storage policy in 2017. The... Read more..

Showstopper Ladakh solar power project hits land hurdle

The government is eyeing to build a global showstopper in Ladakh by raising the capacity of the proposed mega solar power project to 10,000 MW along with a 5,000 MW battery storage and 3,000 MW wind farm. But a year after prime minister Narendra Modi announced it during his Independence Day speech in 2020, the plan continues to stumble over land issues.

The original blueprint envisaged a photo-voltaic set up of 7,500 MW capacity split in roughly 70:30 ratio between Leh and Kargil districts, respectively. But the topography of Zanskar region of Kargil, where a packet of 2,500 MW was... Read more..

Power Ministry sets up regulatory compliance wing to monitor discoms

The Union Power Ministry has set up a regulatory compliance division to monitor the various regulatory parameters and their compliances by power distribution companies as well as state commissions, an official statement said.

ET had on April 13 reported the union power ministry will soon have a separate wing to watch over compliance by all regulatory commissions. The monitoring wing will also look at the pendency of cases and delays in judgments in each body. The report mentioned that the wing is proposed to be operational in the next three-four months.

Power and renewable... Read more..

BMC to launch website on climate action plan on Friday

The BMC will launch a website of Mumbai’s climate action plan on Friday. Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray will conduct the launch, officials said.

Through the website, residents can give feedback and suggestions on the first climate action plan, which is currently under preparation. The website will be an information forum where citizens can view details about climate change, action plans of other cities and steps required to fight the change.

Officials from BMC said that the Mumbai Climate Action Plan is expected to be ready around October. The plan is... Read more..

IIT Delhi researchers develop modified cotton fabric which adsorbs air pollutants

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have developed a modified cotton fabric capable of adsorbing harmful air pollutants.

ZIF-8@CM Cotton and ZIF-67@CM Cotton, as they are called, are Zeolite Imidazolate Framework (ZIF)-modified functionalised fabrics which adsorb high levels of organic air pollutants like benzene, aniline, and styrene from the ambient air.

According to the research team, air pollution resulting from the rising levels of particulate matter, nitrous oxides, sulphur oxides,... Read more..

AirCarbon x Nike: Newlight and Nike Partner to Reduce Carbon Footprint

Newlight Technologies (www.newlight.com) announced today a partnership with Nike to explore the use of AirCarbon, a carbon-negative biomaterial produced by microorganisms from the ocean. AirCarbon is currently used in fashion applications as a carbon-negative substitute to plastic and leather, including for eyewear, wallets, and bags. Nike will explore the use of AirCarbon in a variety of applications, with the goal to advance Nike's mission to create products that are better for athletes and the planet.

"AirCarbon offers an opportunity to... Read more..

Gadkari urges vehicle makers to discourage diesel engines, promote alternative technologies

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday asked vehicle manufacturers to discourage production and sale of diesel engine vehicles, and urged them to promote other technologies.

Addressing industry body SIAM's annual convention virtually, Gadkari said the government is committed to delivering vehicles with flex engines that give the users an option to run a vehicle on either 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent bio-ethanol.

"The industry must promote alternative fuel technologies and fund R&D (research and development) for alternative fuels," he... Read more..

Gautam Solar installs 1,000 solar pumps in Haryana

Solar power equipment maker Gautam Solar on Tuesday said it has installed 1,500 solar pumps at various locations in Haryana under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme.

By May 2021, the company had installed 1,000 solar pumps in Haryana.

According to the company press release, by August, the company bagged an order of about 1,500 more solar pumps from Haryana farmers.

“So far, we’ve worked with the farmers of Haryana and Rajasthan.. We look forward to working with farmers in the other regions of the country as well,” said... Read more..

New advanced oxidation technology can enhance waste water reuse at lower cost

A new technology may soon enhance the reuse of waste water in an affordable and sustainable manner. The technology which uses UV-Photocatalysis can treat municipal sewage and highly polluting industrial wastewater streams and increase its reuse as a technological option in industrial as well as municipal wastewater treatments.

With ever-increasing water crisis, it becomes imperative for industries & utilities to reuse ‘treated water’. However, the current treatment practices are inefficient because of high dependence on biological treatment systems, which are unable to bear... Read more..

Boost for hydrogen mission, India gets first electrolyser unit in Bengaluru

Moving in line with the green hydrogen roadmap that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech this year, US-based renewable energy company Ohmium International, through its Indian subsidiary, started India’s first green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing unit at Bengaluru on Tuesday.

"The company is already in talks with some state-run majors and private players keen on hydrogen projects for supply of electrolysers from our electrolyser gigafactory in Karnataka," said Pashupathy Gopalan, an Ohmium Investor. This comes at a time when industry majors like... Read more..

India stands committed to working with the U.S. on Clean Energy.

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri BhupenderYadav today held a telephonic conversation with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC), Mr. John Kerry today, to discuss Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD) Track under India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership, and other related issues

Both sides agreed that India and the USA, will engage for a constructive engagement under the “India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership” .The Environment Minister stated that these platforms provide greater opportunities... Read more..