Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Carbon pricing becoming mainstream studies show

pCountries cities and hundreds of the world39s biggest companies are stepping up their commitments to tackling climate change by introducing carbon pricing schemes new research shows todayp

pAccording to a new World Bank report the number of implemented or planned carbon pricing schemes around the world has almost doubled since 2012 and is now worth about 50bnp

pAround 40 national jurisdictions and more than 20 cities states and regions representing almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions are putting a price on carbon says the reportp

pChristine Lagarde... Read more..

Goyal asks US clean energy firms to invest in India

pIndian Power Minister Piyush Goyal has asked US clean energy and financing companies to invest in India saying they must capitalise on the enormous opportunity in the countryp

pGoyal who was speaking at an event here ahead of the USIndia Energy Dialogue and the USIndia Strategic and Commercial Dialogue addressed the concerns and challenges faced by investors in Indiap

pHe also laid out Narendra Modi governmentrsquos vision for getting to the ambitious target of 175 GW of clean energy by 2022 according to the Confederation of Indian Industry CIIp

pAddressing concerns... Read more..

AP power regulator to chart out hybrid renewable energy norms

pThe Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission will come out with norms for hybrid renewable energy project development whereby wind and solar energy projects could be codevelopedp

pldquoThere is great synergy between solar and wind energy power projects The infrastructure created by either of them ndash solar or wind ndash for power transmission could be used by the other We already have separate norms for solar and wind power projects We will involve various stakeholders and come out with hybrid development normsrdquo G Bhavani Prasad Chairman APERC saidp

... Read more..

Now Tuesdays are carfree days in Gurgaon

pCome September 22 the Millennium City will observe carfree day every Tuesday from 7 am to 7 pm to encourage people to use alternative modes of transportp

pThough the whole city will celebrate the initiative four major corridors DLF Cyber City Cyber Park area Golf Course Road and Electronic City in Udyog ViharIV have been identified to focus on the campaign The idea is to give an experience of carfree streets to the people and persuade them to use sustainable modes of transport It will save an average of 26 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per person per dayp

pA meeting of... Read more..

Now Available Newly Revised ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Standard

pAs the US member body to the International Organization for Standardization ISO the American National Standards Institute ANSI announces that the newly revised ISO 140012015 Environmental management systems ndash Requirements with guidance for use mdash one of the world39s most popular standards for environmental management mdash is now available on ANSI39s webstorep

pISO 140012015 sets out the requirements for an environmental management system Newly revised to ensure market relevance it is one of the world39s most widely used standards and a key business tool Compliance to the... Read more..

World urged to make clean energy cheaper than coal

pTop environmental advocates on Wednesday urged the international community to increase and coordinate investments in research and development for renewable energy to make it cheaper than coal within 10 yearsp

pquotA sensible approach to tackling climate change will not only pay for itself but provide economic benefits to the nations of the worldquot they said in a petition ahead of a key climate change conference in Decemberp

pquotWe urge the leading nations of the world to commit to this positive practical initiative by the Paris climate conferencequot the petition saidp... Read more..

Jay Whitacre takes the LemelsonMIT Prize for his saltwater battery

pThe 2015 500000 LemelsonMIT Prize has gone to Jay Whitacre for his invention of the Aqueous Hybrid Ion AHI battery The battery used primarily in combination with solar and wind energy systems was created using abundant and nontoxic resources including salt water and carbon Whitacre a professor at Carnegie Mellon Universityrsquos College of Engineering is also the founder of Aquion Energy which manufacture and sell the battery in several countries worldwidep

pLemelsonMIT Prize Jay Whitacre Aqueous Hybrid Ion aqueous battery water battery renewable energy clean energy solar wind... Read more..

Only biodegradable Ganesha idols can be immersed NGT

pWith the festive season round the corner the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday passed a series of directions to make sure Yamuna is not choked with hazardous chemicalsp

pIt further said that ldquothe DDA the municipal corporations police and Administration of NCT of Delhi would fully coordinate with each other to ensure compliance of these directionsrdquop

pWith Ganesh Chaturthi being celebrated on Thursday which is followed later by the immersion of idols in the Yamuna a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed that immersion would be allowed of... Read more..

Indian State Of Punjab Allocates 500 MW Solar Under 92kWh

pAnother statelevel solar power auction in India has yielded to the continued trend of recordlow tariffsp

pThe Punjab Energy Development Agency PEDA recently allocated 500 MW worth of solar PV power plants to five separate developers All the projects were allocated at less than Rs 600kWh 92centkWh the lowest tariffs for any project allocated under the Punjab solar power policy so farp

pA total of 18 project developers had submitted bids to develop 165 GW against the offered capacity of 500 MW These included some of the leading project developers from around the world and... Read more..

Indias aggressive green court takes lead role in highstakes battles

pThe judge was disgustedp

pFour bureaucrats stood meekly before him their heads bowed In May he had ordered them to inspect the damage wrought by development near an ecologically sensitive lake bed in Bangalore one of Indiarsquos fastestgrowing cities But their report left the judge far from impressedp

pldquoWe are totally displeased with your workrdquo Judge Swatanter Kumar thundered last week eliciting gasps across the courtroom ldquoWe didnrsquot write the 110page order last time so that it is made a mockery ofrdquop

pHe flung the file across the deskp

... Read more..

Rs 5000 fine on those throwing waste puja offerings in Yamuna

pAhead of the festive season Delhi government has decided to strictly impose a fine of Rs 5000 on those spotted polluting the Yamuna by throwing waste or puja offerings in itp

pNational Green Tribunal NGT had in January passed a slew of directions in this regard cracking the whip on those polluting the river Among its directions was a fine of Rs 5000 on individuals quotspotted throwing waste or religious items in the riverquotp

pThe decision was taken at a recentlyheld highlevel meeting chaired by Delhi environment minister Asim Ahmed Khan with officials from DPCC municipal... Read more..

Need some time to sort garbage crisis Minister

pGarbage heaps dotting various parts of the city especially south Bengaluru are here to stay Though villagers of Bingipura have agreed to allow garbage trucks into their territory for now the fact that the government is dragging its feet on setting up processing plants is a cause of concern A festive weekend ahead will only add to the stinky pileupsOn Wednesday cityincharge minister Ramalinga Reddy said the government will need a few months to stop dumping waste at Bingipura quotThe government is planning to establish 12 wastemanagement units across Bengaluru Urban district to dispose 1500... Read more..