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Reducing carbon emissions is
about business continuity and not
just CSR
By Vikas Goswami, Head of the Godrej Group’s Good & Green programme
Global warming is reality and so is the need to cut down on carbon emissions. Vikas
Goswami, Head of the Godrej Group’s Good & Green programme, discusses why ecological
sustainability has become more than just corporate social responsibility
According to the World Bank, India is achieving its pledge to the Paris
emerging as a front runner in the global Agreement.
fight against climate change by India has been in the midst of a
consciously opting for solar power over renewable energy revolution. The
coal to fuel its growth. The World Bank’s National Solar Mission target was
recent news report in particular, lauded upscaled to 100 gigawatts (GW) of
the country for cancelling the installation installed solar energy capacity by 2022,
of 14 GW of coal-fired power plants, which is five times more than its original
given the affordability of generating target of 20GW. Solar power prices
electricity through solar power.
dropped to a record low of Rs 2.44 per
This move by India, the world’s third unit in May 2017. India is also heading
largest consumer of electricity, is much the International Solar Alliance of 121
needed for more reasons than one. nations to boost the use of solar energy in
According to the Confederation of Indian developing countries. The country is also
Industry (CII), India is the fourth largest making strides in other clean energy
contributor of carbon emissions after sources: it recently became the fourth
China, the United States, and the largest producer of wind energy in the
European Union. The country releases world.
around 2.5 million kilotons of carbon
dioxide emissions annually, which is
around 6-7 percent of the overall global Why sustainability matters /
figure of 35 million kilotons. Sustainable development
The clean energy revolution is a welcome
shift with respect to sustainability.
The clean energy revolution / The Sustainability is about balancing the fine
shift to a low carbon economy
line between economic development and
In 2015, the government set new climate protecting natural resources. Across the
change targets at the Paris Climate world, environmental sustainability has
Accord and pledged to reduce its been gaining momentum over the years,
greenhouse gas emissions intensity by and rightly so.
33-35 percent by 2030, as compared to Over the decades, three natural resources
2005 levels. Two years later, the country — water, energy and forests — have
has made significant accomplishments in
been exploited. Recent events across the
world such as an increasing number of
