Policy Brief
Water Neutral Electricity Production in India: Avoiding the Unmanageable
14 Dec 2016
| Dr Shresth Tayal
| Dr Sonia Grover
Water scarcity has the potential to impact the financial viability of thermal power plants by affecting the project’s rate of return. This could be due to delays in project execution leading to cost escalation and revenue losses, as well as due to affects during the operating life of the project. During operations, any drop in plant load factor may reduce the revenues.
Discussion Paper on Faecal Sludge Management in Urban India: Policies, Practices, and Possibilities
09 Dec 2016
| Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar
| Dr Girija K Bharat
Urban Sanitation and Need for Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) in India The Government of India has undertaken an ambitious social change endeavour of clean and open defecation free (ODF) India. Sustained efforts in this direction has improved the sanitation scenario in India, which in turn would help in achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 6 of universal and equitable access to safe and aff ordable drinking water and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all.
Sustainable Urban Development: Necessity of Integrating Water-Energy-Food Dimensions in Developmental Policies
01 Oct 2016
| Dr Shresth Tayal
| Ms Swati Singh
India is in a state of transition from traditional rural economy to a modern industrial economy. However, with increasing urbanization it faces challenges in terms of population rise, unplanned urbanization, climate change and degraded ecosystem which pose major impediments towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. As on 2015, 400 million people reside in urban India and by the year 2050, the number of people living in Indian cities is expected to be about 840 million, which will further aggravate the issues of water, energy and food security.
Road Map for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience in Goa
26 Jul 2016
| Ms Riya Rahiman
This policy brief is based on the learning that emerged from The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) two-year long program on 'State-level policy engagement for mainstreaming urban climate resilience' in Goa and Uttarakhand, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation under its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilient Network (ACCCRN) initiative. ACCCRN—a 9-year initiative (2008–16)—has been instrumental in bringing forth the urban climate change resilience agenda to cities in Asia.
Road Map for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience in Uttarakhand
26 Jul 2016
| Ms Riya Rahiman
This policy brief is based on the learning that emerged from TERI's two-year-long program on 'State Level Policy Engagement for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience' in Goa and Uttarakhand, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation under its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilient Network (ACCCRN) initiative. ACCCRN—a 9-year initiative (2008–16) has been instrumental in bringing forth the urban climate change resilience agenda to cities in Asia. In India, with ACCCRN's support, various cities, viz.
Discussion Paper: Suggestions for an Appropriate Environmental Governance Architecture for India
15 Feb 2016
| Mr S Vijay Kumar
The Discussion Paper examines the current architecture of the main environment related legislations, namely the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; and The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, in the context of the Constitutional provisions and the evolution of approaches to better environmental management, including those emanating from international conventions.
Discussion Paper: Modelling Urban Carrying Capacity and Measuring Quality of Life using System Dynamics
11 Feb 2016
| Mr Mihir Mathur
| Mr Kabir Sharma
An outcome of urban growth is concentration of population and businesses. As the population of an urban area increases, so do diverse concerns and problems including issues of servicing large number of people with existing, limited resources. Environmental problems, particularly pollution and water scarcity, have become more prominent and worrisome in recent times and are central issues for urban planners and decision makers. To address these complex problems, practical approaches that incorporate the concept of carrying capacity into managing urban development are needed.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) Towards Cleaning India: A Policy Perspective
31 Aug 2015
| Dr Girija K Bharat
| Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar
The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals have emphasized on the achievement of universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all 1(Box 1). India has been able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the water sector, but it has been lagging in the sanitation sector. According to the recently launched Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)2 update (2015), about 564 million people practice open defecation in India out of 946 million open defecators of the world. As of 2015, about 10 percent of urban population of 419 million resort to open defecation (OD) in India.
Sustainability Dynamics of Resource Use and Economic Growth
31 Aug 2015
| Mr Mihir Mathur
| Swati Agarwal
All economies of the world depend upon the use of renewable natural resources1 for their growth. This relationship inherently reflects that continued increase in extraction of resources is a must to sustain economic growth. Inevitably, a tipping point is reached from where the regeneration rates of the resources diminish due to depletion of the resource stock. The resource production peaks and declines which lead to a delayed feedback on the economy, ultimately restricting its ability to grow and sustain its level of output.
Solar PV for Enhancing Electricity Access in Kenya: What Policies are Required?
01 Jul 2015
| Dr Debajit Palit
Modern energy services are crucial to human well-being and to a country's economic development; and yet globally over 1.3 billion people are without access to electricity and 2.6 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. More than 95 per cent of these people are either in Sub-Saharan African or developing Asia and 84 per cent are in rural areas (International Energy Agency, 2015). Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in energy resources but very poor in energy supply, making the region have highest access deficit in electrification rate, only just managing to stay abreast of population growth.