Indian Industry, which will play an important role in meeting the goals set by India’s INDCs, will need to meet obligations even as they capitalise on new business opportunities. Speaking at the CII Conference on ‘Roadmap to a Low Carbon Economy’ in the Capital on Wednesday, Mr Ashok Lavasa, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, said, “it is equally a question of opportunities and obligations for the Industry.”
Elaborating on the Industry’s role in capitalising on the opportunities in the low carbon segment, he said, “Two Government missions that have performed exceedingly well - the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and the National Solar Mission - have succeeded because of the great enthusiasm and commitment with which Industry participated in these. There are huge opportunities in renewables across generation, evacuation, storage, R&D as well as energy management systems to bring it at par with conventional fuels. The challenge lies in finding offgrid solutions and fully integrating renewables into India’s fuel mix.”
Speaking about energy efficiency, another key focus area of the Government, Mr Lavasa said that more sectors are being included in the ambit of energy efficient processes, and targets are being intensified. He said that opportunities are emerging for Industry in the areas of technology, technology transfers, and capacity building. He shared that the MoEFCC is considering a policy to encourage Industry to participate in afforestation projects. Another interesting area for Industry is the Green India Mission.
Regarding the issue of waste management, an area of increasing concern in rapidly urbanising India, Mr Lavasa said that “an aspect of moving towards a low carbon economy is to approach energy conservation and recycling by looking at waste as a resource. We need to set systems to segregate waste at source.” He added that, “by creating practical processes and affordable technologies to convert kitchen waste into compost, not only a significant volume of urban waste can be recycled, but also an alternative will emerge to chemical fertilisers which have long-term health implications and degrade arable land. We need to create a bio-compost revolution in India.”
Sharing his perspective on the agreement that was finalized at the climate negotiations in Paris, Mr Lavasa said, “The challenge facing the nations at CoP21 was to formulate an agreement which would allow the development process to continue while moving towards a low carbon future, as numerous nations still have very low Human Development Indices and must fulfill the basic aspirations of their people just as urgently. Unprecedented commitment and determination by over 150 Heads of States paved the way for an agreement that is balanced, ambitious and binding in its own way.” Mr Lavasa said that while there could be an argument that much more must be done, the diplomacy, maturity and transparency with which the countries approached the task was commendable.
Mr Lavasa said that the success of the Paris Agreement is that it recognises the fundamental principle of CBDR by acknowledging the responsibility of developed countries to provide finance and technology for climate change mitigation. He reiterated that developed countries must take the lead with mitigation actions.
In the course of his remarks, Dr Ronald Meinardus, Regional Director - South Asia, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, said, “Discussions on the path to a low carbon economy and addressing environmental issues have become the central focus of public policy debates, particularly in democratic countries. For comprehensive and sustainable results, the participation of all stakeholders is equally important. We welcome structured and serious efforts of the Indian Industry to develop strategies to move towards a low carbon economy to counter the dire effects of climate change. A big opportunity is to invest in low carbon energy infrastructure.”
Highlighting some reform measures being taken by the Industry, Mr Sunil Jain, CEO, Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd said, “the contemporary industrial growth model equates growth to high fossil fuel consumption and resultant high carbon emissions. Industry needs to make a concerted effort to reduce carbon intensity across sectors. The steel, cement and power industries account for a bulk of the emissions and are already under the PAT scheme. However, the challenge is in the implementation of programmes, and a focused approach on policy and reducing bottlenecks is an essential step towards a low carbon economy.”
He further added that, “there has to be a Renewable Consumption Obligation on energy intensive industries, defining that a certain percentage of industrial energy consumption should come from renewables. This will support and supplement the Renewable Purchase Obligation of power companies by providing them an expanded market for renewable power.”
New Delhi
20th January 2016