Aakanksha Tiwari, Researcher - Environment and Climate Action

As of today, India has 35,949 MW of power plant infrastructure that is more than 25-years-old and are bound to be decommissioned in the near future. Thus, each Indian state needs an action plan for the decommissioning of a thermal power plant. This report is a baseline study that guides to design a localised statutory framework to minimise the impact of the decommissioning process on surrounding communities & the environment.

The term “geoengineering” refers to a set of technologies that counteract the effects of anthropogenic climate change by deliberately intervening in Earth systems. Deliberately altering climate and the catastrophic effects it could have is truly frightening. So, what are the alternatives that can counteract the effects of climate change without resorting to geoengineering?

While systemic changes are key to combating greenhouse gas emission, sustainable lifestyles also help achieve reductions.  While the general notion is that individual behavioural changes have little effect, in fact they do add up to make a difference. These guidelines help you adopt a sustainable lifestyle by reflecting, switching & demanding systemic changes for a better future.

In India, coal consumption and production has doubled in the last 15 years. The federal government sees coal as a key driver of economic growth in the coming decades as well. Traditionally, coal mining and coal based power generation have been funded by the public enterprise and operated by the State. The speakers on day one spoke about various topics involving coal financing and they shared their answers to the following questions:

• How does public financing of coal take place in India and how is it linked to climate change? 
• What role does international financing institutions play in funding coal in India? 
• How can the banking sector redeem itself in bringing about “just transition” in the Indian energy sector?

The draft EIA notification 2020 got a lot of traction from different stakeholders and rightly so because of the effects it is likely to have on the environment. So, before Draft EIA 2020 what were the rules? Were they any better? Let's have a look at their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.