One of the most
important qualities that sets leaders apart from followers is thinking ahead of
time. Narendra Modi falls into that rare category of leaders. Climate change
seems to be the buzzword for the intellectuals in the west. May be not so much
so in the developing countries, but climate change discussions today feature
prominently in renowned newspapers across the globe. Almost on every
international platform the leaders are expected to come clear of their vision
of tackling this imminent danger before humanity. On his maiden speech from Red
Fort he addressed the need of ZERO EFFECT, referring to manufacturing products
which have zero effect on our climate. This is significant as Climate Change is
something that is affecting all us. We all are in it together. We survive
together. It would be naïve to assume that Climate Change is a thing of the
west, we have to own it together as responsible citizens.
Climate change is an
issue that should concern all of us. There are countries and populations which
are more vulnerable to climate change by the virtue of their geographic
location. The small island nations like Maldives, Mauritius and many other
small island nations in the oceans across the world face an existential threat.
About 50% of world's population lives within 200 kilometers from the coast. The
cities located on the coast line like Mumbai, Shanghai and those like Singapore
and Hong Kong are among the biggest business centers of the world.
On the recent visit
Barak Obama urged India to do more on the climate change front. As expected it
was one of the two question asked in the joint press conference. Answering a
question on whether India is under any pressure from US and China with regards
to its efforts on climate change Narendra Modi responded that India is not
under any pressure and in fact is strong enough to resist any such pressure.
However as a responsible country we understand our collective responsibility
and will contribute towards mitigating the effects of climate change.
It is worth noting that
Narendra Modi while serving the state of Gujarat as the chief Minister has
taken big initiatives to tap the solar energy potential of Gujarat. The Charanka
solar park in Gujarat is an
“ultra-mega” power project and the biggest in Asia. A brainchild of Narendra Modi. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi urged the
companies to build a solar plants across the state in just a couple of years
adding 900 MW to the electricity production. Now, as prime minister, we trust
him to deliver more on this front.
Keeping in line with his man of action reputation,
the government has identified 17 critically polluting sectors. The Environment
Ministry has also mandated stringent rules for cement industries to lessen the
pollution. The government plans to engage 3206 units to put in place the
monitoring devices on the affluent discharge points and on chimneys of the
industries to check the level of pollution”.
The electric fences on our Northern border will be
solar powered too. The Military plans to install solar panels producing 1000 MW
of electricity. Another 7,000MW of solar is out for tender across the country
and the rooftops of Delhi are to be bedecked with panels under a new scheme. The country needs more
decentralized power. These rooftop solar panels can also reach the large parts
of the country where the grid has not reached yet.
Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Tuesday stated that India can
conserve one lakh megawatts of energy by increasing its solar power production
to 100,000 Mega Watts by the year 2020. This is a fivefold increase in the
previous government’s plan which was 20,000 MW.
Energy efficiency should become the way of life for all Indians,"
Javadekar stated, speaking at conference on India's climate policy.
This stand of Narendra Modi has to be seen in context of the Blame
from the Developed world that India has not done enough to deal with climate
change.
US media has often criticized India for not doing enough as the
4th biggest emitter but what they conveniently forget is that India's per
capita emission is about 1.5 tons which is far too less than the world average
at 4 and far too below than that of US and China despite its huge population.
China has said that it is going to peak around 2030, which means that they are
going to add more. India happens to be the fourth biggest polluter because of
it 1250 million strong populations. It ranks far below the world average per
capita emission.
Like always USA is playing it cleverly and has come together with
China to pressurize India which at present is a distant 4th in carbon
footprint. China as expected is the largest at 24 per cent contribution
followed by USA at 17 per cent. If the rise in world's average temperature has
to be kept below 2 degrees Celsius then these two countries need to do more and
not just act like it. As per Sunita Narain, Director at Centre for Science and
Environment China and USA together will account for 50 per cent of 1000 giga
billion tons of carbon emission by 2100. At present these two countries
contribute about 40 per cent. China and USA have signed a deal this November. Under
the deal, China committed to cap its output of carbon pollution by 2030 or
earlier and to increase its use of zero emission energy to 20% by 2030. The US
agreed to reduce its emissions by between 26% and 28% from their 2005 levels by
2025.
The challenges before Narendra Modi today are of mammoth
proportions. The country has to grow and for that we have huge requirements of
energy (read petrol, coal, solar etc.). However the need of the hour is
sustainable development which requires utmost pragmatism in using the available
resources. We have to cut down on coal energy and the way forward is clean
energy like solar energy. Narendra has already done wonders in his tenure as
Gujarat CM and we are certain that he is the right man to find solutions to
India’s unquenchable energy needs.
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