Clean tech has been the buzzword in the valley for a couple of years now. There is plenty of venture capital available to fund clean technologies. Clean tech business ventures are seen to combine the benefits of for-profit with the sustainability of non-profits. This includes using wind,solar,geothermal, biomass and other energy sources. However, it is not confined to generation of energy alone.
Where does India stand today with respect to clean technologies? And what is our government's views on pushing for cleaner technologies?
As a developing country, India's per capita fuel expenditure is very low compared to developed countries. This ultimately leads to lower per capita emission of GHG's or Greenhouse gases consisting of various oxides of Carbon,Sulphur and Nitrogen. This has been the focal point of argument that the developing countries put forward at Bali, where the 13th UN conference on climate change took place recently.
I think India and other developing countries are making a grave error by linking push for clean technology with per capita emissions. I would suggest use a new metric " per capita quality of life" or PCQOL. To start off, compare the quality of air and drinking water in top 50 Indian cities with that of top 50 cities in US. Then look at the kind of fuel used for public/private transportation, the emissions caused by industrial zones within cities, the energy efficiency of housing infrastructure and quality of water in the rivers that flow near/through the cities. I am pretty sure Indian cities would fare much worse.
The ultimate objective of addressing per capita emissions is to make quality of life better for the citizens. Does lower per capita emissions mean we wait to switch to clean energy until our per capita emission matches that of US? Can India ( or this earth) survive when per capita emissions of India and US are equal? US consumers have historically been the biggest embracers of innovation and this has been the single biggest factor why US companies are the most innovative. Clean tech is picking up momentum and while it is still not mainstream, I won't be surprised if US consumers manage to cut down emissions within 10 years. Honda already sells the largest number of Civic hybrid cars in the US. Where does that leave India? Do we want to go the path of US, and then come out of that ? Or should we address this now, when all that rapid economic growth is ahead of us ? Sustainable growth is not just a fancy buzzword.
It is a tremendous opportunity for India to carve out a future which is energy efficient and dependent on clean energy sources. The time to act is now.
