The government is trying to bring in relevant and solution-oriented regulations such as fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and market based instruments such as the Perform-Achieve-Trade [PAT] scheme for energy efficiency, and also modifications in existing regulations, such as the Coastal Regulatory Zone [CRZ] amendments, 2011, observed Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State [Independent Charge] for Environment & Forests, speaking at his first-ever formal interaction in 19 months as a Minister on ‘Environmental Governance & Climate Regime' with the industry organised by Confederation of Indian Industry [CII].
India needs more regulations and an effective system to implement them, and certainly not more regulators. The audience was informed by the Minister about a new scheme to be launched on January 19, 2011 on a market-based instrument for air pollution in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. This is based on research by MIT, and would focus on tradable permits for monitoring the quality of air.
India is among the top five greenhouse gas [GHG] emitters in the world, and has made a voluntary, unilateral commitment to reduce emissions by 20-25% by 2025 basis 2005. India's 12th Five Year Plan to be announced on April 01, 2012 envisages a high growth, with elements of being inclusive and low carbon, leading to a sustainable economy, added the Minister.Â
The electricity sector posed a lot of tough choices for India. On renewable energy, the Minister noted that India currently had 8% of capacity, but only 2% of supply. By the year 2015 the capacity is set to increase to 15%, with an actual contribution of 6-7%. On hydel power, Arunachal Pradesh alone had half of India's potential of 65,000 MW, but only 15% of today's power comes from this field. However, due to concerns ranging from conflict issues, reservoir-induced seismicity in hydel projects and other problems ailing the Nuclear power sector, coal remains India's primary energy source. Hence the need to focus on clean coal and other technologies.
The Minister pointed out India is most affected by climate change due to our dependence on agriculture, and made a clarion call to transform India from a buyer of green technologies to becoming a world leader and supplier in the fields of wind and solar energy, coal gasification, etc.Â
The Minister mentioned that the Ministry of Environment & Forests sought the cooperation of industry in its efforts, and it approves over 90% of the applications for environmental clearances. The questions and closure orders on projects are raised only when basic environmental regulations were not met, the environment was not a barrier to India's GDP growth.
Expressing his happiness on being able to interact with industry to allay their fears and concerns, Minister Ramesh mentioned all his recent actions were purely on the basis of public representations from civil society. Also, the issues / projects being discussed were mostly related with forest clearances for mining and other projects that are given to state governments and less related with environmental clearances to project proponents directly. He agreed to take forward the suggestions that emerged from industry: make laws clear and implementable; build institutional capacity within the government agencies to implement regulations, adopt the practice of competitive bidding and pre-approvals for all natural resource extraction projects, and to have CII as a lead partner in constituting an Advisory Council with the Ministry to review and suggest changes in the regulatory frameworks.
Introducing the session, Mr. Hari Bhartia, President, CII and Co-Chairman & Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd., remarked that Indian industry is largely not anti-environment, and promotes several initiatives to demonstrate a sustainable growth path. He appreciated several of the endeavours by the Ministry such as the proposed National Environment Assessment and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA), and the creation of National Green Tribunals. Improvement in environmental governance will streamline various processes, leave no space for ambiguity, and encourage business to participate in environmental betterment.
The exclusive session was attended by over 35 top CEOs and industry leaders from various sectors ranging from mining, power, steel, automotive, finance, etc.
Source: CII News Update.
