IFC has set its eyes on the 'green' projects in India

The World Bank Group arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has set its eyes on the 'green India' projects in India especially focusing on Gujarat and Rajasthan. The international financing organization has identified potential investment areas under solar power, wind energy and gas-based energy for its upcoming funding plans.The organisation has set its focus on Gujarat and Rajasthan for funding renewable energy projects. In Gujarat, IFC has invested about $1 billion so far, while in coming months, it will invest in renewable energy generating companies."India has many projects in the pipeline in terms of power generation from renewable energy sources like wind, solar and gas-based energy sources. Renewable energy has been an important part of our policy. We are keen to invest in Rajasthan and Gujarat in these sectors. In Gujarat, our focus for funding will be on solar power, wind energy, gas distribution and anything that relates to 'green energy .

In India, IFC had invested upto $10 million in some of the power companies engaged in renewable energy sector like Azure Power, Applied Solar Technologies, Auro Mira Energy, Husk Power Systems and Bhilwara Energy."Last year, about 75 per cent of our total funding to the power sector in India, went for the renewable energy including solar power, wind and gas-based energy," George informed, adding that the country had seen good growth in solar energy generation as well as technology development.

Green India Mission is not business

Green India Mission is not business as usual. If that is the case, we will be playing with people's sentiments. This is about improving our mental outlook. It is an opportunity to bring about change.
The national consultations will be held in four more cities: Dehradun, Bhopal, Jaipur and Mysore, after which a final draft of the Mission will be prepared in August. Organisations and individuals from all over Maharashtra participated, suggesting ways to make the Mission a success.

The Green India Mission is a part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), aiming to increase the forest cover in the country by 10 million hectares by 2020 and enhance eco-system services in a holistic manner.

BMS Rathore, a core group member, laid down the means by which the Environment Ministry sought to achieve the mission: strengthening local community institutions and the capacity of the forest department, improving investment climate for planting and forest conservation and monitoring at outcome levels. A number of propositions were presented to the Minister through the day. Citizens brought up the questions of livelihood security, proper use of funds and the issue of de-greening vs. greening. Vishwambhar Choudhari, of Oasis Environmental Foundation, which is a part of the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), said that although the Mission was concentrating on ‘greening' the country, it should not be forgotten that ‘de-greening' through afforestation is also resulting in a loss of forest cover. “Taking the example of Lavasa City that has cut hundreds of trees and not got any clearance from the Environment Ministry, we should look into such matters before planting more trees,” he added.

A step ahead towards green india 2047

The government will try to pass the National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009, in the current Parliament session. The Bill aims at establishing an autonomous tribunal, independent of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), for environmental clearance of development projects and providing relief and compensation to people affected by natural calamities."The Bill was introduced in Parliament this July and has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which is expected to submit its report on Monday," said Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh while launching the ‘Green India 2047’ report here today. environmental governance required strengthening. At present, 21 per cent of the land area is under forest cover, while the tree cover stands at 3 per cent.

Moreover, of the total forest cover, only 2 per cent is high density and 9 per cent medium density. The remaining 10 per cent of the forest area is degraded land. "We need to improve the quality of forests, as 10 per cent of greenhouse gases are sequestered by 65 per cent of India’s forest cover and this level should be maintained going ahead.As part of environmental governance, India would be in a position to provide an alternative gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015 that will also account for the consumption of natural resources as well and this GDP would stand for Green Domestic Product.

Green India Mission to be double by 2020

The Green India Mission, part of India's plan to fight climate change, proposed to double the area being taken up for afforestation and eco-restoration over the next decade.The first draft of the Mission, released on Monday, projects an ambitious target of 20 million hectares by 2020, at a cost of Rs. 44,000 crore. Public consultations will be undertaken across the country from June 11, following which the draft will be finalised.Earlier, the Prime Minister had spoken of undertaking afforestation in 6 million hectares of degraded forest land as part of the Mission, which is one of the eight Missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The more ambitious target in this draft, however, emphasises a holistic approach to greening, making it clear that the project will not just be limited to trees and plantations, but would focus on restoring diverse ecosystems. The new and restored forest areas will act as a carbon sink. They are expected to absorb an additional 43 million tonnes of green house gases every year. This means that India's forests will be able to absorb 6.35 per cent of the country's annual emissions by 2020. The draft is rather vague on the source of funding, merely saying that the “resources will be mobilised as additionality from the Planning Commission.” It adds that “the deficit, if any, will be taken care of by developing projects for seeking assistance from international funding agencies, UN organisation, etc.”

Last month, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had indicated that the government was hunting for funds for the green india Mission, as “the money collected under the compensatory afforestation scheme would now be transferred to the States and so would not be available.”

India’s mammoth afforestation scheme, the Green India Mission, may have more greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential than previously estimated, according to a yet-to-be published study in Current Science.

The mission could offset about 10.5% of projected national GHG emissions compared with the ministry of environment and forests’ earlier estimate of 6.4%, according to Greening India Mission: A critical review by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The study has been submitted for review.

If the new estimates are true, it will make easier India’s task of reducing carbon intensity— effectively the amount of GHG emitted per unit of energy consumed—by 20-25% by 2020 (with 2005 as the base year). India made the commitment ahead of a UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The 10.5% estimate includes the total mitigation potential of ongoing afforestation schemes in India (around 1.2-1.3 million ha annually).

The GHG removal by India’s forests in 2020 is projected at 4.87% of total emissions then, without the Green Mission.

“The government’s estimate does not include soil carbon, which implies the lower estimate. There are two ways forests store carbon, one as wood and biomass (above ground and root biomass) carbon and the other as soil carbon. The official estimate includes only above ground biomass,” said the paper’s author, who did not want to be identified before its publication.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who had announced the mission, did not respond to calls or text messages.

According to the study, the official number is estimated by simply multiplying global default biomass growth rate values by area, whereas the study uses the internationally accepted comprehensive mitigation assessment process model.

The author said both the estimations have one limitation. “Neither of the numbers include extraction of fuelwood or timber from these forests over the years, which could reduce it a bit. There is no way to estimate how much people will extract,” said the author.

The mission, which plans on restoring and afforesting around 10 million ha between 2010 and 2020, is a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The mission draft is still under public consultation, after which it will be finalized. The draft estimates that the mission will cost approximately Rs44,000 crore.

India is also negotiating on the global climate change platform for funds to maintain forest cover as well as afforestation.

At present, global negotiations are more focused on funds for reducing deforestation, which releases carbon dioxide.

Jagdish Kishwan, director general, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, questioned the argument that measuring carbon sequestration by afforestation is tough.

“It is not so difficult, (it’s) very much possible, but depends on what accuracy you want,” he said. “Earlier, no one thought we could measure forest cover.”

The study says the biggest barriers to the mission are finance, and knowledge and experience in forest management.

“India has a gigantic afforestation programme, next only to China. But no biodiversity or social benefits have accrued,” said the author. “Little science, and research and development is involved in sustainable silviculture practices or species choice. And very little in enhancing carbon stock. Hardly anything has happened in the last 30 years. Hopefully this will provide a momentum.”

India Goes Green On Technologies...

Green technology or greentech (otherwise called clean technology) is the application of the environmental science to conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. Sustainable development is the core of green technologies.

During his recent India visit, U.S. President Barack Obama said his country will support the second green revolution in agriculture in India. He suggested that India and U.S. should work together to bring about a more sustainable Evergreen Revolution.

India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has asked the rich nations to make green technology available to developing countries free of charge.

Tata's new mantra - Go Green

If globalisation was the driving factor for Tata Group in the last decade, going green may well be the buzzword for the present one. From being on the fringe, the green movement is gaining momentum within the group. India's oldest industrial house is stepping up efforts to reduce its carbon footprint across the value chain — from manufacturing processes to distribution networks to eco-friendly consumer products.

For instance, Tata Steel aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at its Jamshedpur plant from the current 1.8 tonne to 1.7 tonne per tonne of liquid steel made by 2012. The ideal global benchmark though is 1.5.
Tata Motors is setting up an eco-friendly showroom using natural building material for its flooring and energy-efficient lights. Tata Motors said the project is at a preliminary stage.

The Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Taj chain, is in the process of creating eco rooms which will have energy-efficient mini bars, organic bed linen and napkins made from recycled paper. But there won't be any carpets since chemicals are used to clean those. And when it comes to illumination, the rooms will have CFLs or LEDs. About 5% of the total rooms at a Taj hotel would sport a chic eco-room design.