Jaipur: The South Asia Clean Energy Forum was inaugurated on Tuesday to tackle challenges of climate change and address needs of clean energy and environmental friendly infrastructure. The event will conclude on October 24.
During the inauguration, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said promoting clean energy in the subcontinent, which has about one-fourth of the world's population and 28 percent share in the global economy, is the need of the hour. Garcetti drew attention to the threats posed by climate change.
"The US is committed towards promoting renewable energy transformation in the countries of the fast-growing subcontinent and this forum is an effective initiative in this direction," Garcetti added.
Promoting clean energy in South Asian region
On the occasion, the US Ambassador announced three new programmes to promote clean energy in the South Asian region. These are US-South Asia Mayoral Platform on Environmentally Friendly Development of Cities, Indo-American Low Carbon Comfort and Cooling Collective and Clean Energy Investment Facilitation Platform. Through the Cooling Collective programme, the target is to raise one billion dollars for super efficient cooling technology by 2030, Garcetti said.
Cabinet minister Hiralal Nagar said India is moving rapidly towards achieving the target of zero carbon emissions by 2070 through renewable energy promotion. As a result of this, the installed renewable energy capacity in the country has exceeded 200 gigawatts and Rajasthan is contributing the most to this with 29.85 gigawatts of installed capacity. He said that Rajasthan is working towards combating the challenges posed by climate change and ensuring access to renewable energy for the general public.
The event is witnessing participation from policy makers, stakeholders, development partners and experts to shape future policies in the field of energy. He also thanked Garcetti for bringing together representatives from Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh.
Rajasthan has huge potential for green energy
Nagar said the need of the hour is green and clean energy. Rajasthan is one such state that has the highest potential for green energy and is thus the first choice for solar production. "Work is underway on zero carbon emission and efforts are on to purify the environment through solar and wind energy. Green energy is available at a lower cost than solar," he said.
Looking at the geographical conditions of Rajasthan, diplomats from various countries who came to this forum have also been invited at Rising Rajasthan.
While interacting with the journalists, Hiralal Nagar said that the maximum investment in Rising Rajasthan will come from the sector of green and clean energy. This sector has scope for huge work and will also generate employment in the coming days in Rajasthan, he said.
Responding to the issue of trees being chopped for setting up pump storage facilities, Nagar said the pump storage scheme has been running in other countries for about 60-70 years and it is needed for the environment protection here. "Trees are very important for everyone but equally important is the production of green energy so as to avoid losses caused by coal emissions," he said adding that new trees can be planted.
He clarified that one will not be allowed to cut trees indiscriminately. The rule is that for cutting one tree, one has to plant 10 trees and then care for these trees for the next 10 years. It is only after this that one will be given approval for such projects. An affidavit in this regard will be taken from the applicants of pump storage scheme, he added.
The minister also announced that a policy is being prepared for battery storage so as to provide maximum benefit to the consumers by providing electricity at a low cost. If electricity is provided to the industries at a low cost, then more and more industries will be attracted towards Rajasthan. Thus, electricity cost has to be reduced in Rajasthan so that the state can be included among the developed ones.
At the event, Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation signed an MoU with seven states of the US regarding sustainable energy transition, energy efficiency, wastewater treatment, solid waste handling and air pollution abatement in view of the upcoming Rising Rajasthan. The autonomous bodies of the two countries will work together for technology, innovation and administration.
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