Sustainability Outlook Headlines

PM inaugurates swank new T3 Terminal at Delhi Airport

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today inaugurated the swank new T3 Terminal at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the largest airport terminals in the world that will be an integrated facility for both international and domestic flights. The terminal will be opened for international operations from July 14 and for domestic operations from July 31.

"This airport terminal establishes new global bench marks. It also exemplifies our country’s resolve to bridge and bridge fast enough the infrastructure deficit in our country," Dr Singh said on the occasion at which ruling... Read more..

Report: Oceans' deteriorating health nearing 'irreversible'

A sobering new report warns that the oceans face a "fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation" not seen in millions of years as greenhouse gases and climate change already have affected temperature, acidity, sea and oxygen levels, the food chain and possibly major currents that could alter global weather.

The report, in Science magazine, doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it brings together dozens of studies that collectively paint a dismal picture of deteriorating ocean health. "This is further evidence we are well on our way to the next great extinction event,"... Read more..

India needs more quality research in science: PM

Pitching for greater collaboration between institutions like IITs and the corporate sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the country urgently needs to increase quality research in science and technology to meet newer challenges like climate change.

Addressing the convocation of IIT-Kanpur, he also said that the government has set in motion an ambitious programme to completely restructure the legal and regulatory environment of higher education.

Observing that science and technology played a dominant role in determining the power and progress of a nation, Singh said... Read more..

Anil Ambani commits to green energy for US Exim finance

 Industrialist Anil Ambani [ Images ] has committed to invest in green energy and source the technology from the US, a move that helped the US Exim Bank change its mind within a week to guarantee $600-million loan to his group's coal-fired power project in India [ Images ].

After rejecting a request for financing the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh [ Images ], last Thursday, the Exim Bank reversed its decision on Monday after a conversation its chief Fred P Hochberg had with Anil Dhirubhai Ambani [ Images ] Group chairman Anil Ambani.

The Bank's... Read more..

Mumbai architecture company iDream helps corporates to gain from green

 iDream said, “Well-executed green development projects perform extremely well financially. The financial rewards of green development are now bringing mainstream developers into the fold at an increasing pace. Some of the general benefits of green development are reduced capital costs, reduced operating costs, health and productivity benefits, higher perceived value and quality, staying ahead of regulations, as well as a strong sense of satisfaction of doing the right thing.”

Green concepts of development are flexible enough to apply to all building types – commercial as well as... Read more..

Water Levels In Major Reservoirs In The Country

 Central Water commission (CWC) under Ministry of Water Resources is monitoring storage position of 81 important reservoirs spread all over the country, of which as many as 36 reservoirs are having significant hydropower benefits with installed capacities of more than 60MW each.

The Central Water Commission monitors the live storage of 81 important/major reservoirs, having capacity at Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 151.77 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is about 67% of total reservoir capacity in the country. The combined live storage in these 81 reservoirs at the beginning of... Read more..

Net carbon dioxide emissions remain steady around the world, soar in developing countries

This week, a Dutch research institute published a study that says that for the first time in 18 years, there has been no growth in global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, cement production and chemicals production. So we should think it’s good news, and thank everyone who worked hard at slowing down their carbon foot print, right? But not really. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, which published the study, says the emission’s flat-lined in 2009 mostly because of the recession. While those emissions decreased dramatically in Europe and Russia, they soared in... Read more..

India loses to China in global race to secure energy assets

Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Murli Deora travelled to Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela this year, leading a record number of delegations to gain oil for the world’s third fastest growing major economy.

The flurry of visits is part of a new drive to find oil for India’s 1.2 billion people after losing out to China in at least $12.5 billion (Rs58,250 crore today) of contracts in the past year. India proposed a sovereign wealth fund to bid for reserves, told state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to... Read more..

Kyoto may push factories to pollute more-UN report

A Kyoto Protocol scheme may be encouraging projects to emit more greenhouse gases because of incentives to earn carbon offsets from subsequently destroying these, a U.N. report said.

The projects under investigation are the most lucrative under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and account for more than half carbon offsets sold under the scheme. Limiting their output could impact carbon prices.

The $2.7 billion scheme allows companies and countries in the industrialised world to meet carbon caps by funding emissions cuts in developing nations, earning offsets called... Read more..

Indian-origin scientist unveils new, efficient technique of biofuel production

An Indian-origin researcher and her colleagues at North Carolina State University have unveiled a more efficient technique for producing biofuels from woody plants. The procedure significantly reduces the waste that results from conventional biofuel production techniques.

Study co-author Dr. Ratna Sharma-Shivappa, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State, said: "This technique makes the process more efficient and less expensive. The technique could open the door to making lignin-rich plant matter a commercially viable feedstock for biofuels,... Read more..

Land Rover to Make SUVs More Fuel-Efficient After Adding Evoque

Land Rover, the luxury SUV brand whose customers include Tom Cruise and Queen Elizabeth II, needs to develop greener versions of all its models to sustain sales, the head of Indian owner Tata Motors Ltd. said in an interview.

The lightweight Range Rover Evoque, a sport utility-coupe crossover unveiled in London yesterday, must be followed by upgrades of the brand’s bigger all-terrain autos producing less carbon, Tata Chief Executive Officer Carl-Peter Forster said.

“I’m not a supporter of the theory that if we have a small car then we can afford to make a large car,” Forster... Read more..

Success of Climate Plans Hinges on Energy Saving, Carbon Storage, IEA Says

Any plan for halving global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 will depend on cutting the energy used by buildings and vehicles and on developing technology to capture and store pollution, the International Energy Agency said today. 

More energy-efficient buildings and cars could provide 38 percent of the carbon dioxide cuts necessary, and “should be the highest priority in the short-term,” according to an IEA report. 

Power plants, factories and refineries could contribute 19 percent of the needed pollution cuts if “carbon capture and storage” technology is commercially proven... Read more..