India

Sushmi Dey & Subhash Narayan NEW DELHI

WHILE the Indo-US nuclear deal may be waiting in the wings, the government has proposed yet another initiative to boost the growth of alternative energy sources in the country. It is planning to enact a new Renewable Energy Law that would stipulate mandatory procurement of prescribed minimum renewable energy in each state. The move is aimed at diversifying the country's energy mix that is dominated by oil, gas and coal as basic fuel feed.

BRITISH state schools are to be included under the government's new domestic carbon emissions trading scheme from April 2010, the environment minister said on Wednesday. Energy use in schools will be measured and count toward the emissions permit quotas of local authorities, which in turn will be encouraged to advise schools on energy efficiency, Hilary Benn said. "Young people stand to gain most tomorrow from the action we take on climate change today. That's why schools should be included in the shift to a low carbon economy," Benn said in a statement.

CASHING IN ON NATURAL RESOURCES Investments in clean technologies are riding a green wave into India. In 2007, Green India Inc raised $1.4 billion through convertible bonds from the international market even as it picked up $628 million from the domestic stock market.

NEW DELHI: Australia and India are on the verge of entering into a "great economic' partnership said John McCarthy, the Australian High Commissioner to India. Addressing the second India Cleantech Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, he said that the success of the partnership "depends on how we promote growth today to tackle the central issues of climate change, sustainability and clean technologies which will be discussed in the forum today'.

A national-level workshop on promoting Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) is being organised by the Haryana Renewable Energy Department in collaboration with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Union Power Ministry on July 11 at Gurgaon. Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Renewable Energy and Power, Ashok Lavasa said the workshop is aimed at highlighting the issues of energy efficient and design, create awareness about ECBC, technological options and project achievements made in energy efficiency in building operational strategies.

Govind Talwalkar

New Delhi, July 7: The National Action Plan on Climate Change, which was unveiled by the Government last week, is much more than India's response to the challenge from climate change. It is a roadmap for ensuring long-term energy security of the country leading to sustainable development, Prime Minister's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran has said.

UT Administrator Gen eral (Retd) S F Rodrigues has asked officials in the Administration to look at alternative sources of energy for the city. Speaking at a public hearing session on Monday, he suggested that the alternative sources of energy could provide a long-term solution to the energy crisis. A core group of officers, comprising the Secretary to the Governor, the Finance Secretary and the Chief Engineer, has been assigned to look into the matter.