Opinion
Natural resources and their role in poverty alleviation
02 Jun 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| TERI Newswire VII(11)
The Planning Commission is in the process of formulating the Tenth Five-Year Plan, which, based on press reports, will target a much faster reduction of poverty in India. Several approaches can be conceptualized for the elimination of poverty, but perhaps the most effective and certainly the most sustainable approach would be the building of natural assets on which the lives of the poor depend overwhelmingly. Impoverishment of natural resources only accentuates the disparity between the rich and the poor.
The Power of None
30 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Times of India
The Dabhol drama took an unexpected twist recently after renegotiating committee chairman Madhav Godbole first stepped down and then resumed his responsibilities on the same day. TERI's Director-General R K Pachauri, a member of the Godbole Committee, added fuel to the fire by publicly stating that Mr Godbole should not participate in the negotiations with Enron. In an interview with Vikas Singh, Dr Pachauri explains his stance on the Enron controversy and the problems with India's power sector as a whole.
Trust the worm to clean up the house
19 May 2001 |
Dr Seema Bora
| The Pioneer
The astronomical growth in population, coupled with increased industrial and agricultural activities, have made waste disposal a global problem. Garbage burnt without separating non-degradable items like plastic, tin cans and glass bottles, is unhygienic and emits foul smoke.
Privatise yes, but the state must regulate
19 May 2001 |
Mr S Sundar
| The Times of India
The decade of 1990s saw the liberalization and privatization of infrastructure services in a big way. For many years, there was a strong belief that infrastructure services can only be provided by natural monopolies as they alone enjoyed economies of scale. And whether the monopolies were in the private sector as in the US or in the public sector as in Europe and India, the service providers had the opportunity to set prices without providing commensurate value for money.
Democracy & Environmental Policy
18 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Newspaper Today
A few weeks ago, President George W. Bush of the United States caused widespread dismay by his communication addressed to four different members of the Senate literally burying the Kyoto Protocol. The US President obviously did not anticipate the massive criticism and protest this action would provoke. The result of his abandonment of the Kyoto Protocol, questioning of the science of climate change and refusing to do anything about reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from US power plants have been rightly seen by many as a backward step. Not only have leaders in Europe openly criticised President Bush's stand, but a delegation from the European Union led by the Swedish Environment Minister flew to Washington, DC to meet important officials in the Administration in an effort to convince them of the unreasonableness of this change in posture on the part of President Bush.
Recapturing the spirit of Rio in Johannesburg
17 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| TERI Newswire VII(10)
In the preparations for the WSSD (World Summit on Sustainable Development) to be held in Johannesburg in September 2002, several global issues are coming to the fore as matters of concern. The Summit itself is being organized 10 years after the Rio conference on environment and development, which was a unique event where world leaders from across the globe gathered to discuss and debate the future of the planet and the development of human society. The Rio summit found agreement on various documents, which were hammered out and finalized, including the Framework Convention on Climate Change, Agenda 21, and the Rio Declaration.
Start operating buses on ULSD
16 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| Auto Monitor Vol 1(10)
Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General of TERI, has maintained that the Supreme Court order on converting the entire bus fleet in Delh to compressed natural gas (CNG) was no a practical suggestion. He met Nitika Bhardwaj recently for an interview to elaborate his views.
The Greening of Corporate India
05 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Newspaper Today
Bill Ford, Chairman of the Ford Motor Company said some months ago that his company should look ahead and never get into the same situation as the tobacco companies have faced in recent years in the US. His concern stems from the fact that automobiles are a major source of pollution, and the public would not for all time to come accept a technology which is polluting in nature. He, therefore, wants to position Ford Motor Company as an environmentally responsible entity. Ray Anderson, a manufacturer of carpets in the US decided that carpets, which are replaced, are generally thrown away as waste material and only add to pollution in several parts of the US. He, therefore, initiated an arrangement for leasing of carpets and taking them back once the customer had made adequate use of what he had installed. This allowed Ray Anderson to recycle the material and bring about a major reduction in pollution. These are just two of many examples whereby corporate leaders in the US and in other parts of the world have shown their responsibility to protect the environment.
Preserving the Himalayan ecology: concrete action needed
02 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| TERI Newswire VII(9)
Several seminars and meetings have been held on the ecological problems enveloping the Himalayan range. These have led to some actions and solutions, but a much larger challenge remains to be met for revitalizing the ecological health of the Himalaya. Ensuring ecologically sustainable development is of critical importance to mountain nations like Nepal and Bhutan. It is, however, also critically important to countries like India and Bangladesh, both of which depend heavily for their water supply on flows coming from the Himalaya.
Ninth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development: the energy focus
01 May 2001 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Newspaper Today
The ninth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) opened at the UN headquarters in New York on 16 April. The agenda for this session requires participants to consider the sectoral themes of energy and atmosphere, the cross-sectoral themes of information for decision-making and participation and of international cooperation for an enabling environment, and the economic sector theme of transport. The session's multi-stakeholder dialogues, at which scientists will participate for the first time as a major group, will be on energy and transport.