Global demand for carbon credits, especially in Europe for economic reasons, has been declining since 2010

With the prices sliding of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates traded on the international exchange, Indian companies holding the credits are bracing for tough times. Brokers trading in CERs have started to downsize their carbon desk and the ones holding these are looking for buyers. “The demand for CERs is low, which saw the prices slide. Aggregators of credits and the intermediaries, have started feeling the heat.

South Korean steel maker says will take steps after consulting ministry

South Korean steel maker Posco is opting for dialogue and negotiation, rather than a legal route, to sort things out, after the National Green Tribunal suspended the environmental clearance for its $12-billion project in Orissa.

Even as the government’s annual Economic Survey outlines the importance of climate change and global warming, the Union Budget 2012-13 made no announcement towards climate financing. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made no specific announcement about how the Rs 3,864-crore National Clean Energy Fund is going to be utilised in 2012-13.

Indian NGOs opposing the proposed nuclear power plant in Kudankulam have got covering fire from Moscow.

A Russia-based environmental group, EcoDefence, on Monday backed the Indian non-profit groups, saying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remark on foreign funded NGOs thwarting nuclear enterprises was incorrect.

For long, industrialised states were looked upon as the ones trading forest cover for development. However, a recent report by the Forest Survey of India showed five of the nine most industrialised states were able to increase their green cover in 2011, compared to 2009. Between 2001 and 2010, these nine states contributed 60 per cent towards the country’s gross domestic product output.

Data analysed by Business Standard showed the five states added 178 sq km of forests. The states were Tamil Nadu (74 sq km), Rajasthan (51 sq km), Orissa (48 sq km), Karnataka (four sq km) and West Bengal (one sq km).

Environmentalists press for clearer picture of fund disbursals as forest cover shrinks

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) may soon audit the fund deposited for compensatory afforestation, which has a corpus of about Rs 25,000 crore. Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan said the CAG could audit the fund if it wanted to do so. “I have written to him (CAG Vinod Rai) in response to his letter, where he said CAG could audit the fund if the government shifts the money being kept in various nationalised banks to the Public Accounts of India,” she said

In a major setback to OPG Power Gujarat, the National Green Tribunal has directed it to stop work at its 300 Mw thermal power plant at Bhadreshwar, Gujarat.

The ongoing construction work was challenged before the Tribunal by fisherfolk, saltpan workers and local villagers. The Tribunal said till all approvals were obtained by the project proponent, no construction activity should take place, said Ritwik Dutta, legal counsel for the appellants.

A year after Jairam Ramesh's final environmental clearance, Korean giant waits for state govt to hand over land
Last January, the Union environment ministry's approval for the Rs 52,000-crore mega steel project by Korean giant Posco at Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district made headlines.

Seeks talks after court battle lost

Crying “discrimination”, the Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) wants to initiate a fresh dialogue with the environment ministry to arrive at a solution enabling the expansion of its aluminum refinery in Orissa.Vedanta has claimed the ministry discriminated against it by not clearing its Lanjigarh project, while the Jindal Power and Lavasa projects got the green signal.

When the Union environment ministry gave the GMR Group its go-ahead to the Alaknanda hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand three weeks ago, it invited suspicion from non-profit organisations about a possible underhand deal. For, the project was approved despite a recommendation against it by none other than a statutory body, the forest advisory committee (FAC) of the ministry.