Aakanksha Tiwari, Researcher - Environment and Climate Action

Like any other state in India, Tamil Nadu principally relies on coal for its energy production which is a major contributor to climate change and raises the vulnerability of Tamil Nadu and other Indian states to frequent natural disasters and extreme weather events. Public concern about climate change was largely informed via media consumption. It's important for climate change to become a bigger part of the national conversation, along with what's causing it: the burning of oil, gas and coal and the media has a big role to play in it. During this workshop, reputed journalist, Mr. Bhasker Tripathi spoke about how upcoming journalists can engage more people on the issue of climate change and how to tell the story of the climate change and tell it accurately.

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?