As international climate negotiations progress this week in Bangkok, Thailand, India has shown signs of more proactive engagement on climate change issues both internationally and at home. While the Indian government continues to emphasize poverty alleviation and economic development as the country's highest priorities, recent stances on domestic emission reductions indicate that India is taking considerable steps to encourage more constructive global climate talks. India joins a growing contingent of developing countries that "are making very significant efforts to show what they are doing to address climate change and indicate what more they are willing to do,"
END OF THE COAL ERA
Image Credit: ThinkScream
END OF THE COAL ERA
- India Has Shut Down 37 of the World’s Biggest Coal Company’s Mines
IN BRIEF
The largest coal company in the world has announced that it will shutting down 37 of its sites. the move is fueled by increasing affordability of solar power
The Indian government has recently shifted from coal to cleaner, renewable sources, most notably solar power. Just last week, the government announced that it has abandoned plans for building another coal power station with Chimanbhai Sapariya. T,he country’s Energy minister noted that “Our focus is now on renewable energy. The government will encourage solar power.” The prices of solar power continue to plummet as technology and government incentives work to make renewable energy more attractive.India is leading the way in a renewable energy revolution. Analyst Tim Buckley said, “Measures taken by the Indian government to improve energy efficiency coupled with ambitious renewable energy targets and the plummeting cost of solar has had an impact on existing as well as proposed coal-fired power plants, rendering an increasing number as financially unviable
INDIA’S TURN
Those who’ve seen that Leonardo DiCaprio documentary on climate change might remember that bit during the actor’s interview with India’s energy minister. After DiCaprio pointed out that India’s among the leading contributor for climate-warming gasses, the minister made a reply that stumped the actor.She said that before talking about India, one has to look at the more developed nations and how they are serious about cutting down on their carbon footprint. Besides, India lives with what it has, and it couldn’t afford the alternative energy at that time.
CLEAN AIR
- India Will Sell Only Electric Cars Within the Next 13 Years
IN BRIEF
Poor air quality kills 1.2 million people in India every year. To help battle that staggering statistic the Indian government is instituting a plan to help get fossil fuel powered vehicles off the road. The plan calls for the end of gas powered vehicle sales by 2030.Every car sold in India from 2030 will be electric, under new government plans that have delighted environmentalists and dismayed the oil industry.
It’s hoped that by ridding India’s roads of petrol and diesel cars in the years ahead, the country will be able to reduce the harmful levels of air pollution that contribute to a staggering 1.2 million deaths per year.
India’s booming economy has seen it become the world’s third-largest oil importer, shelling out $150 billion annually for the resource – so a switch to electric-powered vehicles would put a sizable dent in demand for oil. It’s been calculated that the revolutionary move would save the country $60 billion in energy costs by 2030, while also reducing running costs for millions of Indian car owners.
India’s Energy Minister Piyush Goyal says the government will financially support the initiative for the first two or three years, but the production of electric vehicles will be “driven by demand and not subsidy” after that.
- India Bans High Emission Vehicles
The Supreme Court of India banned the sale and registration of Bharat Stage (BS)-III emission norm-compliant vehicles from April 1 2017 , saying the health of millions was more important than commercial interests.
CLEAN ENERGY
India Is About to Be The Second Country to Ever Use New Nuclear Technology
India has the second largest population in the world. Thus it has a huge demand for electricity. Therefore, the country largely based on the renewable energy game.
As the country works to develop its renewable energy sources, now its biggest achievement yet has come from nuclear energy. Now, Indian nuclear scientists are in the final throes of starting a high-tech giant stove i.e., novel nuclear reactor.
This novel nuclear technology is a kind of an ‘Akshaya Patra’, the mythical goblet with a never-ending supply of food.
Since 15 years, Indian scientists are working on a gigantic nuclear facility in Kalpakkam, the Bay of Bengal near Chennai. This gigantic reactor is a fast breeder nuclear reactor. Although the fast breeder nuclear reactor is the technology on which Indian scientists have been working to perfect for 27 years now, with an experimental facility called a Fast-Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR).
- The key to a cleaner and greener environment? This startup thinks that it's free WiFi.
t’s a simple rule that always gets broken; but now, a pair of Mumbai entrepreneurs are seeing an opportunity to incentivize the simple act of respecting public spaces by throwing garbage in the trash can.
It started after Raj Desai and Pratik Agarwal, the cofounders of startup ThinkScream, attended a music festival in 2013. Here, they realized that it would be immensely helpful for people to stay connected during these events. Simultaneously, the two also saw the massive amount of trash that accumulates during festivals.
The two then began to develop a trash can that can give people 15 minutes of free WiFi simply by making sure that they throw their trash in the right place.
SMART GARBAGE CAN
The smart garbage can is made of plastic, about 1.3 meters (4.5 feet) high, and comes with an LED screen. When someone throws something in the bin, the screen displays a unique code that will allow the user to access the internet within a 50 meter radius of the trash can. It costs about $1,470 to produce.
ThinkScream is also partnered with a local telecom company who managed to debut six smart garbage cans at a music festival back in 2014.
Novel as the idea is, the pair assures everyone that the intent behind the project was not to create a gimmick, but to actually spur civic action. “It was meant to be a catalyst for the public to change their behavior and stop littering,
Source - https://futurism.com
