In the India Energy Conference 2008 just held in New Delhi by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in association with Petroleum Federation of India (PetroFed) reiterated the fact that as one of the fastest growth economies of the world, India’s energy strategy is critical for achieving her development objectives and that government and corporations must improve access to economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sustainable energy sources.
While discussing alternative energy sources, the conference focused on India’s potential for developing alternative energy sources and identified policy imperatives required to push these sources to move the economy towards a sustainable pathway. Specifically the conference focused on prospects of bio-fuels in the light of the controversies on the use of land for food v/s fuel.
Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director-General TERI said, “We are going through historic changes in the energy sector, hence renewable and alternate sources of energy should be tapped in a bigger scale. I feel that nuclear energy is an important component of the energy sector. We, in TERI, realize that there is a need for closer relation with the Gulf. Biotechnology in TERI has invented technology to clean up oil spills through ‘Oil Zapper’. Just as energy market is changing, there are enormous opportunity to work in collaboration to develop science and technology to meet demands and conserve environment through clean technologies.”
Mr. Abbas A Naqi, Secretary General, Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), UAE responded to TERI’s initiative by saying, “India is the fourth largest economy of the world and is the fifth largest energy consumer. OPEC has well-equipped itself to tackle the growing demands of Asian nations without compromising upon the environmental aspect. Fossil fuels will continue to satisfy the growing demands and OPEC is working towards building technologies to create cleaner fuels. We believe that mitigation and adaptation to climate change is necessary and OPEC nations have created a fund of $300 million to conserve environment.”
India is one of the most polluted countries in the world. It is a massive energy consumer and carbon emission are significantly high. As one of the largest growth economies, if the energy issue is not tackled fast and furiously, then things could get a lot worse. Recently the Indian government has announced a new biofuels policy in its efforts towards achieving sustainability.
Related Posts About India:
Does India’s New Biofuels Policy Spell Sustainability?
The E-Charkha: Gandhi’s Vision of a Sustainable India Becomes A Reality
Tata Nano Is to Debut in October; What Will Be the Impact on Indians and the Earth?
Photo Credit: www.ey.com
[...] group’s latest announcement in green business, the commissioning of Tata Chemicals’ new sweet sorghum ethanol plant in Nanded, Maharashtra later this month promises to be one of the bright spots amid troubled [...]