GOVT MULLS POLICY to ENCOURAGE AFFORESTATION

NEW DELHI, January 20: The Environment Ministry is planning to introduce a policy to encourage the industry to participate in afforestation projects, a top Ministry today said even as he asked India Inc to seize opportunities and meet obligations to move towards a low-carbon economy. Noting that energy efficiency is a key focus area of the government, Union Environment Secretary Ashok Lavasa said that more sectors are being included in the ambit of energy- efficient processes and targets are being "intensified". Referring to the "historic" climate change agreement which was reached at the recently concluded Paris conference, he said that while there could be an argument that much more must be done, "the diplomacy, maturity and transparency" with which the countries approached the task was "commendable". "Indian industry, which will play an important role in meeting the goals set by India's INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions), will need to meet obligations even as they capitalise on new business opportunities. It is equally a question of opportunities and obligations for the industry," Lavasa said at a CII Conference on 'Roadmap to a Low-Carbon Economy'. Elaborating on the Industry's role in capitalising on the opportunities in the low carbon segment, he said that two government missions -- National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and National Solar Mission -- have succeeded because of the great enthusiasm and commitment with which the industry participated in these. "There are huge opportunities in renewables across generation, evacuation, storage, R&D as well as energy management systems to bring these at par with conventional fuels. The challenge lies in finding offgrid solutions and fully integrating renewables into India's fuel mix," he said. Holding that energy efficiency is another key focus area of the government, Lavasa said that more sectors are being included in the ambit of energy-efficient processes and targets are intensified. "MoEFCC is considering a policy to encourage the industry to participate in afforestation projects," he said. -PTI