In climate change talks, the countries need to think equity differently Just before the BASIC ministerial meeting on climate change in Delhi this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed on “equity” in climate change talks and said economic growth should not harm the environment. Although the BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — are growing, making them a powerful voice in global economy, they still view themselves as...

India is readying to defend its policy requiring companies to source local content for the national solar mission project, a rule that has triggered protests from the US and the EU.  The commerce department is talking to the ministry of new and renewable energy on how to argue its case should the dispute reach the World Trade Organisation. The ministry is responsible for executing the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission,...

-The Times of India   Lanco, the company accused by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of illegitimately cornering contracts worth Rs 13,000 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar mission, has objected to the allegations and said "they were not crosschecked with the company and were wrongly perceived".  In a statement made to TOI, A Narasimhan, senior vice-president (corporate communications), said, "Lanco Group has equity participation in few of the companies...

-The United Nations A United Nations official today urged Asian countries to commit to achieving sustainable energy for all their citizens by 2030 by increasing access to and the efficiency of renewable energy sources. “Reaching the goal of sustainable energy for all will require action by all countries and all sectors to shape the policy and investment decisions needed for a brighter energy future,” said Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization...

-The Telegraph     A non-government environmental agency claimed today that it has uncovered a scam in the solar power mission where, it said, a private firm has used front companies to circumvent government rules for solar power projects. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said its three-month-long investigation suggested that the company had used unfair practices to grab lucrative projects under the first phase of the solar mission that hopes to add...