Kristina Johnson, Program Assistant, Food and Agriculture, India Initiative, Urban, San Francisco
September 26th-October 2nd
India Green News is a selection of news highlights about environmental and energy issues in India
Climate Change
India-US announce joint working group on climate change
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama have announced formation of a joint working group to enhance bilateral cooperation on addressing global issue of climate change.
The announcement to establish India-US Climate Change Working Group came through a joint statement issued after Obama-Singh meeting at the Oval Office yesterday.
(Business Standard, 9/28/2013)
Indo-US joint statement to cut use of chemical refrigerants opens door for talks
NEW DELHI: India’s agreement with the US to work together to reduce use of chemical refrigerants like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) opens the door for wider discussions including under the UN sponsored agreement on the ozone layer on phasing out of the use of this greenhouse gas with high global warming potential.
The joint statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama on Friday makes it clear that India, like China before it, is open to begin talks on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) at a forum other than the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The India-US agreement will allow for the beginning of a formal discussion when the meeting under the Montreal Protocol takes place in Bangkok in October. There is as yet no agreement on the nature of these discussions, which will be decided at the October meeting.
(The Economic Times, 10/2/2013)
Monsoon to get longer in India: IPCC
NEW DELHI: North India is likely to heat up more than the southern parts of the country while the entire Indian subcontinent may see longer rainy seasons in second half of the century, the UN’s climate body has predicted in its latest comprehensive document on climate change.
The conclusion, showing variation in temperature and rainfall in South Asia, is part of the lengthy technical details of the United Nation‘s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which made its comprehensive report — Climate Change 2013, The Physical Science Basis — public in Stockholm on Monday.
(Times of India, 10/2/2013)
Energy
US, EU irked by India’s compulsory licence plan for green technologies
The US and the EU have raised strong objections to India’s decision to allow compulsory licensing in the green technology sector.
Compulsory licensing allows domestic producers to manufacture copied versions of patented environment-friendly products.
“US and European clean-tech companies fear that Indian companies, encouraged by the provisions in the National Manufacturing Policy, will start approaching the Government for CLs to manufacture patented products, and that their patents would be at risk,” a DIPP official told Business Line.
(The Hindu Business Line, 10/2/2013)
India May Announce 750-Megawatt Solar Auction in October
India may announce this month an auction of licenses to build solar-power plants after a gap of almost two years, offering developers as much as 3 billion rupees ($48 million) of direct grants for the first time.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is awaiting Cabinet approval to invite bids for 750 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity, Ministry Joint-Secretary Tarun Kapoor said in an interview in New Delhi. The auction, which may be announced in the next 10 days, is typically held about 45 days after bids are invited, he said.
(Bloomberg, 10/1/2013)
Environmental Health & Governance
Beware of the air you breathe!
Kolkata and Delhi have ranked the two most polluted mega cities in India, according to reports of a Delhi-based NGO.
However, what is perhaps more alarming is that smaller towns and cities are fast catching up with the two metros in pollution stakes and could wrest the dubious tag in the foreseeable future.
(Hindustan Times, 10/1/2013)
For more news on the issues we care about, visit our India News archive or read our other International blogs.
This compilation of the India Green News was authored by Kristina Johnson.
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