-Kamal Baruah
Contd from previous issue
Coal India Ltd, where she is the second largest consumer of coal.
Recently India gifts solar panels to UN HQ with an aim to reduce carbon footprint and promote sustainable energy by declaring hash tags ‘ClimateActionNow’ and ‘Equality’. India also committed to generate 100 GW of solar/wind power by 2022 from renewable sources. At the same time India’s Infosys won the 2019 UN Global Climate Action award for their journey to carbon neutrality India. Their efforts for community offset program help India to reduce firewood consumption at rural communities. People are freed from dangerous smoke inhalation by using biogas-fuelled cooking and organic farming. Infosys has sought to address global operations by using solar energy while reducing dependence on thermal power.
There are issues like safety, space and consumers’ trust towards conventional engines that runs on the road for many decades. Commuters don’t want to face interruption of charging experience. Also they feel that new technology in the market is available at affordable cost. The worldwide e-mobility revolution is not possible unless India and China co-operate because its size and scale in EVs. It’s questionable for the plan to shift to electric mobility at a time when the manufacturers were trying to upgrade their models to comply with BS-VI emission norms that probably reflected the recent slowdown of Auto sector. Also it costs the car industry for replacing conventional internal combustion engines. Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 requires unprecedented political will and cooperation but it’s not impossible. These initiatives need stronger national and international climate policies to thrive the world liveable.
A freelance writer based in Guwahati. He is a former Air-warrior with IAF and currently working for SBI