India and other countries are expected to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for the Conference of Parties (COP-21) in December 2015. Keeping in mind the expectation that India will experience severe impacts from global warming and the fact that a large proportion of people still require basic needs and energy services, CSTEP conducted a study examining two scenarios for India’s development by 2030: policy or Business as Usual (BAU) and Sustainable Development (SD) or quality of life. The study builds on the India Energy Security Scenarios (IESS) 2047 tool developed by NITI Aayog by adding a ‘quality of life’ dimension to the energy and emissions pathways.
This report compares Green Public Procurement (GPP) programs from four leading Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea and Thailand) to understand what the frameworks and key success factors that result in high-impact green and sustainable procurement are. It looks at their commonalities and differences with the goal of informing a more effective implementation of green procurement policies and programs across Asia. It will be beneficial for other countries in the early stages of promoting and implementing green public procurement, and it will give practitioners insights into the tools and approaches used to implement and promote it.
Biofuels have received global attention recently as governments across the world seek to address fuel efficiency, air quality and energy security. Biofuels are produced from renewable biological sources and are considered viable alternatives or supplements to fossil fuels. In order to support a broader shift towards biofuels, governments have introduced various policy measures; some of these include mandatory fuel blending programs, incentives for flex-fuel vehicles and agricultural subsidies for farmers. The Government of India in January 2003 launched its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme for 5% ethanol blended petrol. India’s EBP Programme sought to improve fuel efficiency and ensure protection from the price shocks of the global crude market. In 2009, the Government of India introduced a National Policy on Biofuels. The Policy focussed on further encouraging biofuel usage and reducing the prevailing dependence on fossil fuels, while it sought to mitigate environmental and fuel efficiency concerns. The Policy also recognised the significant opportunity that biofuels offer to India’s agricultural and industrial sectors.
Over the past decade, India’s cities have been witnessing an increasing trend in motorization with deteriorating air quality, and there have been calls to promote public transport as a way out of this gridlock. It is in this context that electric buses can play a positive role, as there are several benefits associated with the shift from conventional diesel buses to electric buses in terms of reduction in local pollution, noise, and fuel consumption. In spite of the many positive benefits related to the electric bus technology, certain challenges remain. Primary among these are costs and safety concerns. Currently, the Electric Vehicle (EV) technology is associated with significant capital costs, with the battery component constituting about half of the total manufacturing costs. Safety is yet another important parameter, and the biggest concern is that of a fire hazard. However, with a good Battery Management System (BMS), rigorous implementation of standard operating procedures, and customization of the bus fleet, both safety and cost aspects can be effectively addressed.
India is currently one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and the construction industry alone accounted for approximately 10% of its GDP in 2014. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies waste generated from the Construction and Demolition (C&D) of buildings and civil infrastructure as construction and demolition waste (CDW). The CPCB has estimated solid waste generation in India to be around 48 million tonnes per annum of which the construction industry accounts for approximately 25%. However, this estimate of 12-15 million tonnes of CDW is widely considered dated and a significant underestimate; but no updated comprehensive estimate for the country exists. In India, although some valuables are recovered from CDW and some of it is used for filling, most of it gets disposed in landfills or through unauthorised dumping in low-lying areas, open spaces, roadsides or water bodies creating enormous nuisance and environmental problems. India requires a paradigm shift from a dumping based approach to utilising CDW efficiently.