Govt focused on ‘clean energy path’, says Javadekar

The new government led by Narendra Modi is focused on cleaner energy and has a well defined roadmap to encourage innovation and cutting edge technologies that ultimately contribute to reduction in carbon emissions, minister of environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javadekar said.

Speaking at a function to confer `Climate Solver Awards' constituted by WWF-India, he said rewarding innovation is an attempt to catalyze an enabling environment for climate innovations. Javadekar said innovation was the sustainable way of development for any country as innovation impacted the society as a whole.

He cited the example of solar panels over the Narmada canal in Gujarat, where the innovative use of solar energy gave three pronged benefits to the society. These included enhancement of energy efficiency, saving land resources and minimising evaporation of water due to placing of solar panels on the banks of irrigation canals in Gujarat.

The minister touched upon several key climate friendly initiatives that had been introduced in the union budget this year. These included a increase in cess on coal form Rs50 per tonne to Rs100 per tonne, raising more revenue for clean energy, cross-subsidising solar and other renewable energy research in the field of clean energy technologies, Rs100 crore allocation for the `National Adaptation Fund' for climate change and Rs500 crore allocated for setting-up of Ultra Mega Solar Projects in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Laddakh to promote the renewable energy.

Javadekar also released a report on `Solar Air Conditioning and Solar Desalination in India'. Appreciating the comprehensive study on renewable energy, the minister said the initiative encouraged the use of similar technologies by local communities, which would solve the problem of energy, water and environment in an integrated manner.

Launched by WWF-Sweden in 2008, `Climate Solver' is a climate innovations platform developed by WWF to strengthen the development and widespread use of low carbon technologies, which reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The platform aims to stimulate the diffusion of innovative low carbon technologies and also generate awareness about them as immediate and practical solutions to climate change.

WWF's `Climate Solver' initiative seeks to support innovation by small and medium-sized enterprises with the potential to become leaders in India and the world in tackling climate change. They are selected as `Climate Solvers' based on their development of cutting-edge technologies that contribute to reducing carbon emissions or enabling energy access through sustainable clean energy solutions.