Countries protect their renewable energy equipment. Exporting nations see it as trade barrier. The world is witnessing an increase in trade disputes in the renewable energy sector. Countries are trying to strengthen their renewable energy base by preferring indigenous products over imports. This is an obvious dampener for countries with good renewable energy equipment manufacturing capabilities and advanced technology. They argue that such policy measures hinder free trade. Their complaints at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are piling up. India is the latest to be in the spotlight.

Newly democratic Bhutan pushes community forestry to tackle rural poverty.

Read More : http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/forests-people

Lowest bid in second batch of solar energy projects was for Rs7.49/unit. The way the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is making progress, it is expected that solar energy will soon be as cheap as energy from conventional sources. At least, that is what emerged from the second batch of bidding under the National Solar Mission held on December 2 for 350 MW capacity. The lowest bid was for Rs7.49 per unit, which is 50 per cent lower than the benchmark tariff of Rs15.39/unit fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

Arctic sea ice at its lowest in 2011, says World Meteorological Organization report. The year 2011 has been the 10th warmest year on record in spite of a strong La Nina, which has a relatively cooling influence. In the event of a La Nina, the sea surface temperature is lower than usual in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Also, in 2011, the extent of the Arctic sea ice was the second lowest on record, and its volume was the lowest, revealed a provisional statement by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the country, but only to harvest disillusionment. What went wrong? Down to Earth team traveled to Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in search of answers.

When Vijay Ingle of Chittalwadi village in Akola district decided to install a biogas plant at his dairy last year, everyone was sceptical. It had failed to take off in the Vidarbha region despite the government promoting biogas as the cleanest and cheapest fuel for over three decades and offering subsidies for setting up the plant. Besides, no one had heard of a biogas plant installed 400 metres from the house; it is usually set up in the backyard, close to the kitchen.

Environmentalists see red over wildlife bill in Bangladesh. A rift has been created between the Bangladesh government and activists. Reason: a bill that gives powers to the government to declare forest areas protected while pushing for co-management of forests by authorities and communities. Activists say the bill, if passed, would put forests and wildlife at risk.

They are registered as clean development mechanism projects, eligible for carbon credits. On October 15, 2010, the regional officer of Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB), R K Sharma, visited Tilda industrial area in Raipur unannounced. He noticed thick smoke rising from the premises of a renewable energy project. On paper the 8.5 MW power plant, Agrawal Renewable Energy Project, uses rice husk, a cleaner alternative to coal, to produce electricity. The electrostatic precipitator (ESP), an emission control device, installed in the plant was tripping frequently.

Developers face penalty in the range of Rs. 2 crore for a month’s delay. With a looming deadline of January 9 next year, many of the 5 MW capacity solar photovoltaic (or PV) projects taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission seem set to miss the deadline unless they pick up their pace. Twenty-eight PV projects were to be set up under the mission in a year’s time from the date of signing the power purchase agreements.

As the world continues to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the global temperatures could rise by 3°C by mid-century, says a soon-to-be-released report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Extreme weather events will become even more intense. Erratic monsoons and severe cyclones have already battered large parts of India this century. Should we still blame the increasing disasters on unpreparedness of governments and bad planning? Down To Earth investigates