Low Carbon News in India in August and September 2016
Paris Agreement: Union Cabinet approves ratification of climate document
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved ratification of Paris Agreement which is to take place on October 2. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, while interacting with the media, said that ‘with this, India has become a decisive partner in ratification process of Paris Agreement’.
The decision comes days after Central Government announced on Sunday that it will ratify the Paris Agreement on birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Government nod for Paris pact, no for aviation emission proposal
EVEN AS it decided to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, India on Wednesday rejected a proposal that seeks to ensure that emissions from international aviation do not rise from 2020. Conveying decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said the proposal put forward by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was not acceptable to India, or the three other BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa and China.
“There is an attempt to cap the emissions in civil aviation (sector) by 2020. That is the proposal and we said that for the developing world, the proposal is unfair…. When it (Indian economy) is growing, you cannot cap our emissions from aviation…. A cap by 2020 will be injustice,” he said.
Gone with the wind: Has solar left wind behind in the renewable energy race?
India may have set for itself a very aggressive and ambitious target to boost renewable energy generation in the country but the industry feels the development and increased focus on solar energy could very well take the wind out of the sails of wind power companies in India.
With around 27 GW cumulative wind installations in India, the sector is almost half done with the target. But the developers are now feeling the heat to achieve the other half of the target with uncertainty on extension of generation based incentive (GBI), coupled with unwillingness of state power distribution companies to support costly power.
Installed capacity of renewable energy has crossed 44 GW: Government
The cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy has crossed 44 GigaWatts and “phenomenal progress” has been made in other key infrastructure sectors like aviation and railways, a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was told today.
Rs.142.00 Crore Sanctioned for ‘Biogas Programme’ in 2016-17
An amount of Rs.142.00 crore has been allocated under “Biogas Programme’ during the current year 2016-17, This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. The Minister further stated that Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is promoting setting up of biogas plants under three Central Sector Schemes. National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) caters to setting up of family type biogas plants for meeting cooking energy needs of rural and semi-urban areas of the country. A target for setting up of 1,00,000 biogas plants under the NBMMP has been fixed during the current year, 2016-17 and communicated to the States.
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=28
INDO-US Clean Energy Fund
India and the United States of America (USA) will be jointly working for the creation of US $ 20 million for US-India Energy Finance Initiatives, equally supported by the USA and India, which is expected to mobilize up to US $ 400 million to provide finances for clean and renewable electricity by 2020. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. The Minister further stated that India and the USA are exploring the possibilities to establish the US-India Clean Energy Hub, as a coordinating mechanism in partnership with leading Indian financial institutions, with a view to increase renewable energy investment in India.
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=28
IOC plans to double refining capacity by 2030
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s largest oil company, plans to nearly double refining capacity to 150 million tonnes by 2030 to meet fast expanding energy needs of the country, its Chairman B Ashok said. The company has capacity at refineries to produce 80.7 million tonnes per annum of fuel currently. International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook projects 4 per cent CAGR growth in India’s fuel demand to 348 million tonnes by 2030, from 184 million tonnes in 2015-16. BP projects demand to be 335 million tonnes while EIA has pegged it at 294 million tonnes, which translates into a CAGR of 3 per cent.
Government of India releases manual on municipal solid waste management
The Minister of Urban Development Shri M Venkaiah Naidu launched the revised CPHEEO Manual on Municipal Solid Waste Management, while inaugurating the Swachh Survekshan 2017 in New Delhi, on 6 August, 2016.
ICLEI South Asia was involved as the national technical expert in revising the first version of the manual. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (India) commissioned and supported this endeavour. A national level expert team, constituted by the Ministry of Urban Development for this purpose, and other international experts steered the revision process and provided critical inputs.
The Manual will serve as a guiding tool for cities, enabling them to plan and scientifically manage municipal solid waste in consonance with the recently amended Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016. The Manual aims at guiding all cities towards sustainable solid waste management by addressing suitable measures for waste minimization at source, with an emphasis on the principles of 3R: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Systems for segregation, collection, transportation, processing, treatment and disposal of waste are detailed out in the manual.