In an interview well known consumer and environmental activist Dr Bhamy V Shenoy speaks at length about the status of the renewable energy industry in India and the self-sustainability that the country hopes to achieve in shifting focus from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources in the future.

Beijing will promote new energy sources but wants to control 'blind expansion' in the wind and solar industries, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech in March 2012.

Europe has been at the forefront in the use of solar energy. Experiences of Spain in particular should offer vluable lessons on introducing policy changes for India.

With the emphasis on renewables surmounting the development of intelligent grids is crucial. This will ease pressure on the grid and increase its capacity.

Without doubt, climate change will affect us all but the most vulnerable are women who could actually play a large role in curbing the effects of climate change. Yet they remain invisible in any decision-making effort. In every society women and men have gender roles but with climate change the gender inequality is magnified.

With each UNFCCC meeting, one is apprised of the galloping pace at which climate change is affecting the planet. Extremes of weather and natural disasters have become commonplace, with devastating floods in Africa and Asia, extreme cold or heat waves in Europe and the spectre of hurricanes in the Americas.