Govt urges India Inc to move towards low carbon economy

Indian industry, which will play an important role in meeting the goals set by India’s INDCs, will need to meet obligations even as they capitalise on new business opportunities, said Ashok Lavasa, secretary, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, on Wednesday. Speaking at the CII Conference on ‘Roadmap to a Low Carbon Economy’, Lavasa said, “It is equally a question of opportunities and obligations for the Industry.” Elaborating on the Industry’s role in capitalising on the opportunities in the low carbon segment, he said, “Two government missions that have performed exceedingly well - the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and the National Solar Mission - have succeeded because of the great enthusiasm and commitment with which Industry participated in these. “There are huge opportunities in renewables across generation, evacuation, storage, R&D as well as energy management systems to bring it at par with conventional fuels. The challenge lies in finding offgrid solutions and fully integrating renewables into India’s fuel mix,” he said. Speaking about energy efficiency, another key focus area of the Government, Lavasa said that more sectors are being included in the ambit of energy efficient processes, and targets are being intensified. He said that opportunities are emerging for Industry in the areas of technology, technology transfers, and capacity building. He shared that the MoEFCC is considering a policy to encourage Industry to participate in afforestation projects. Another interesting area for Industry is the Green India Mission.