Environmental issues are central to the new government’s plan. Refusing to sign up to “any legal commitments or binding, mandatory targets on climate change”, Jairam Ramesh, the new Environment and Forests Minister reiterated that India will stick to its own climate change initiative: the eight national missions announced in the NAPCC last year. Perhaps reacting to the much repeated criticism of the climate change action plan, the government has stressed the need for more “action” and less “talk” this time around.

To start, the self certification clause that would have allowed industries to simply “self certify “ the environmental impact of any expansion will be dropped. BT Brinjal will not be hitting the supermarket shelves anytime soon either as the government has indicated that a comprehensive study on genetically modified foods is needed before clearance for any new foods will be given.

While the finance ministry may be keen on doing away with these “anti-market” environmental obstacles, Jairam Ramesh has declared that he will focus his energies on strengthening the regulatory system and ensuring stricter environmental norms. Environmental laws have long been seen in India as obstacles to development and growth. Arguing that a more accountable and transparent system will integrate environmentalism into the country’s economic model creating a more sustainable growth plan, Jairam Ramesh hopes to set up new overseeing authorities as well. The new government has announced that the current Central Pollution Control Board will be converted into a new environmental protection authority. Biodiversty and wildlife protection authorities and a new public environmental research institute will also be set up.

This new pro environment stance taken by the government is a good start. Till now, the environmental ministry has generally maintained a low profile and a strong environmental ministry that is ready to a take a stand is a welcome change.  India really needs to start putting in place the promised missions and enforcing environmental standards. But there also is pressure on the government to maintain economic growth rates during the economic slowdown and in order to do so it appears they have realised that India will have to match economic growth with environmental protection and adaptation.

According to a UNEP report, investment towards renewable energy in India increased by 12 percent this past year, with a 17 percent rise in investment in the wind energy sector and India has been lobbying at the international level for more technology transfer. At the domestic level, the new Minister has set the right tone. But for India to come out on top, the government has to follow through these next five years.

At the G20 Summit, Indian officials will be discussing with various global leaders about the most pressing problems of in the past few months: the economy, terrorism, and climate change. However, as has been highlighted in previous Climatico blogs, while there is definite discussion on India’s climate change goals and plans- particularly given international events- the upcoming elections has left this current period on India’s domestic front somewhat dull in pushing forward climate change plans. It is unfortunate (but reality!) that the election transition comes at a time when Indian officials are beginning to negotiate, articulate, and create international climate change agreements. Especially, since India’s national action plan on climate change relies heavily on international partnerships for technology transfer, adaptation funding, and building ‘green’ economy capacity. It would be unfair to say that some of the actions taken by Indian officials at upcoming international summits will be moot, as climate change discussions within India are prevalent and span across so many sectors that it will definitely be an issue for the new government. However, there is level of disconnect whether these international agendas are reflective and responsive of India’s populous now and come two to three months from now.

Disconnect between national and international contexts?

On a recent U.S. tour, to increased partnership on renewable energy, including controversial civil nuclear powerdeal, Shyam Saran, India’s Special Envoy on Climate Change was in Washington, D.C. last week to articulate its views and aims in upcoming international climate change talks where much of the world is awaiting to hear the United States role and actions.

The U.S. Government has made clear its desire to include and engage with India on climate change goals with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stating that India and the US have numerous areas where their partnership can be strengthened. Meeting with various US political figures and organizations, Mr. Saran highlighted that US-India cooperation on climate change will continue to aim at finance and technology initiatives. Todd Stern, U.S. special envoy on climate change, was “immensely impressed” with the Government of India’s national-level actions towards climate change.

However on the domestic front, are these international agendas reflective of India’s populous? Deepa Gupta’s blog , highlighting the India’s Climate Youth Movement, noted that India’s “informal sector is one of the greener sectors in India and the world” given its level of reusing and recycling in day to day activities. However, sheer volume in Indian cities can make this point irrelevant. For example, sewage waste and water pollution continue to be major problems in urban areas. Yet, in Mumbai, India’s largest slum, Dharavi, is home to approximately 100 recycling plants that produce plastic goods- from roadways to handbags.

Photo credit: Flickr/gruntzooki

On a promising note, Mr. Saran noted that India is looking into this, stating: “Recycling, zero-discharge chemical plants, water-positive processes and waste-to-power technologies are all going to play important roles in the future.” Furthermore, in India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, power generated waste technology research and development is noted as a key initiative under the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat.

At this current juncture, there seems to be a lot of proposals and mission statements being presented by Indian officials who must communicate India’s efforts to address climate change issues to a diverse international audience yet there is a different level of communication between political parties and Indian citizens on the domestic front as campaign agendas take over. Arguably, climate change isn’t the only issue being discussed on the international arena nor is it the core issue in political elections but it has become an important issue in many ways. Already, in Karnataka, city government officials have been revisiting their climate change strategies to be responsive of changing factors including rise in car ownership and solar power development. It will be important to evaluate whether these two arenas converge following the elections and that international agreements are responsive of domestic opinions and perspectives.

Solar shop, Ladakh. Photo: Flickr/Ajay Tallam

After a quiet quarter and a fairly dull interim budget, the government today launched an ambitious project as part of its climate change policy, falling under two of the missions laid out in the NAPCC: the National Solar Mission and the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency. Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s project to increase the use of solar power, Nagpur, a town in the state of Maharashtra, is set to become the first of 60 ‘solar cities’ in India. These cities will source at least 10% of their power consumption from renewable sources and the city will be energy efficient. 

It’s well known that India suffers from acute power shortages. As the temperature rises, so does the demand for power, which stresses the already stretched power grids. For example, states like Karnataka depend on a mix of hydroelectric and thermal sources of power and, like Kerala, are dependent on the monsoon for meeting their electricity requirements. A bad monsoon or unexpected rises in temperature (like this year) invariably mean power cuts and load shedding.

As India’s policy on climate change points out, solar power has great potential in India for many reasons. Firstly, we get a lot of sunshine (over 300 days of sunlight a year); secondly solar power distribution can be decentralised, and in that sense it is ‘empowering people at the grass root level’. Thirdly, it will reduce our acute power woes and finally, India’s need for solar power supports innovation, technology transfer and international cooperation. Electrification of rural areas is also electorally powerful. 

This project has great potential economically. Renewable energy markets are becoming attractive investments – HSBC’s renewable energy wing is looking to invest heavily in solar and wind projects in Asia and as mentioned earlier, Gujarat’s latest investment summit attracted a number of private partners for renewable energy projects. Supported partly by the recession’s cost cutting nature and burgeoning awareness on environmental and energy management amongst people in India, energy efficiency is becoming more and more important as well. The recession may be good for the eco-realty sector as energy efficient and eco friendly buildings are becoming fashionable. Investing in solar projects like this will bring down the costs involved in setting up solar energy sources as well. 

As a government report on India’s energy security recommended in 2006, solar technology is “the only renewable energy source with sufficient potential to meet almost all our energy needs, we should give high priority to [the] development of solar technology”. The plan doesn’t give too many details into the hows and whys, but it comes at an opportune time when power, economic efficiency and the environment are becoming priorities on the Indian consumer’s list.