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It is often said that there are two Indias that live side-by-side; the antiquated and the avant-garde. On one hand there is an India that is ancient and archaic, with millions of individuals flocking to the Ganges every 12 years to wash their mortal sins. And on the other there is the modern India that is sending Chandrayan to the moon, building nuclear reactors, winning Olympic medals or even corporate scandals. The disparity between the two is ironic if not depressing.

And this stark incongruity between the India of Lord Rama and that of Ramalinga Raju is most evident in the law and order structure of the nation, while the nation grapples with the troubles of the 21st century, most of the laws that are in use were framed in 20th century, leading to a stark gap between what needs to be achieved and what is really done. The green movement in India to a great extent suffers from this laxity.

Climate Change Challenge
There is little doubt now that mankind faces an uphill battle in terms of the climatic disaster that awaits us. With every passing day, we come closer and closer to the cataclysmic point of disaster, wherein things would change irreparably for the worse. While much of this damage has been wrought by the greed and gluttony of the advanced nations, the developing world is also no less behind. India for instance is the fourth largest polluter in the world in terms of CO2 emissions, yet the Indian government, quite like the Emperor Nero from ancient Rome is doing precious little.

Since the 1990s there has been a greater move toward eco-consciousness across the world thanks to pacts like the Kyoto Protocol, which have enforced certain binding conditions on the advanced countries to curtail CO2 emissions in a phased manner. In fact the European Union has been quite sensitive about the whole issue of climate change and has over the last few years passed strict legislations against the use of toxic materials in the manufacturing process. Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive and Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive are two legislations that have set the ball rolling on that front.

But things have been fairly slow and quite complex back in India. Though India has much benefited from the eco-awareness, with market mechanisms like Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) etc, beyond that there isnt much story to tell. There are some stirrings of late, like the announcement of the National Action Plan for Climate Change, but it is still very rudimentary in nature and sets no specific goals that need to be achieved.

The big question is yet to be resolved: Who is responsible for Green? As of now there are multiple agencies and ministries driving green initiatives. For instance in India, green falls under the purview of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry for Science and Technology, Ministry for Power, Ministry for Renewable Energy, State Government machinery, etc. As the old adage goes, too many chefs indeed spoil the broth, that is much the case here as well. There is an urgent need for a central coordinating agency on the lines of EPA in the US, comprising climate change experts to drive the agenda. As of now, the ministries are only passing on the buck.

By Choice or Force?
But to say that India isnt going green would be a folly as well. Much of the movement on the green front has been happening due to voluntary efforts being undertaken by enterprises and individuals. The reasons for this voluntary movement have been diverse from good economics in terms of savings to profits when it comes to carbon trading. In fact, CDM has completely changed the way companies look at environment-friendly practices. There is little altruism and more economic gains that drives CDM.

Companies like Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Jindal Vijayanagar Steel, Indian Rayon and Industries, Triveni Engineering, Balrampur Chini Mills, SRF, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Birla Corporation, DCM Shriram, Oswal Woolen Mills, Tata Steel, Usha Martin, JK Cement, Birla Cement, Kalpataru Power Transmission, and others have already started projects under the CDM guidelines.

Not only that, green buildings are proliferating across the length and breadth of India. There are scores and scores of Platinum, Gold and Silver LEED rated buildings projects that have come up or are being constructed. Companies like Wipro, Infosys, Patni, ITC, etc have modern green buildings and campuses that save up to 20% energy costs upfront, resulting in huge money savings. In the past few years, India has become a significant force in the green building space and all of this has been voluntary.

But is voluntary good enough? Sadly, no. The problem that confronts us is too big to be solved by mere RoI. While economics can be a catalyst, it cannot be a sine qua non for the shift. Recently, there was a study conducted with assistance from OECD that measured patents in energy efficiency technologies across countries. One key observation of the report was that statistics suggest that the Protocol (Kyoto) has induced more innovation in the recent period. While innovation in climate change technologies and innovation in all technologies were growing at the same pace until the mid-nineties, the former is now developing much faster. Between 1998 and 2003, innovation in climate mitigation technologies has been growing at the average annual rate of 9%. This increase has taken place in Annex 1 countries which have ratified the Kyoto Protocol but not in Australia and the USA.

Hence, it is quite obvious that given the regulatory pressure, green movement encourages innovation and change. A vivid example of the same is the state of California in the US. While on a federal level there was much resistance to green policies, California under the aegis of governor Arnold Schwarzenegger enacted sweeping laws that prohibited companies from polluting the environment and incentivised clean technology development. The change has been very encouraging and goes on to prove what a push from the top can achieve. The new President of the US, Barrack Obama, is also pushing for green technology which has already recharged the green brigade.

However, governments are moved by public opinion, and till the time people are not sensitized there will be little done on that front. Even RK Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, evokes the same sentiment, I think the first step, and perhaps the most important step is to see that the public is educated about climate change. They must understand the reality of the problem and must realize what the role of the society is in meeting this challenge. Awareness is spreading no doubt, but there is still a long way to go. This is something that everyone from corporate leaders to national leaders should look into seriously. Once the political and corporate leaders understand the issue and start voicing their opinion, than people at large will understand it as well as come round to it.

The Road Ahead
The good part is that there is an increasing level of awareness about green standards within the corporate sector. In the recently concluded Dataquest Green IT survey, over 50% of the respondents from some 300 enterprises of India said that they were aware of the different standards and legislations. Since, many of the companies are obsessed with cutting costs, Energy Star seems to be the most popular ones, but there is still a long way to go as close to a quarter of the correspondents stated that they were unaware of any of the green standards.

But the government still needs to do its bit, as a leading climate change expert in India says, Many of the investments initially in green business needs governmental support till they mature. The support can be in the form of Eco taxes or subsidies or lower income tax rates to companies performing better in this area.

Niranjan Hiranandani, MD, Hiranandani Constructions, who is involved with a host of green building projects, also endorses the incentivised approach. There is a proposal in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation that will provide benefits to green projects in terms of lower taxes, etc. There is also talk of a law wherein green buildings would gain from greater FSI than normal ones. This incentivised approach will be a great boost to green, he says.

There is little doubt that as we move ahead, the pressure would keep mounting. While the voluntary mechanisms may give more flexibility to the corporate sector in terms of defining actions for climate change but it lacks enforceability, measurability and hence credibility. And it is just a matter of time before India has to take on carbon emission caps, etc. The question here is, whether Indian enterprises will wait for that day, or would they start moving now? The green ball is very much in India, Incs court.

Shashwat DC
shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in

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