President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said India faces a huge responsibility and challenge in meeting its developmental requirements while remaining committed at the same time to clean energy.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said India faces a huge responsibility and challenge in meeting its developmental requirements while remaining committed at the same time to clean energy.
Mr Mukherjee’s comments come at a time when a crucial climate meet is underway in Paris. “India supports around 17 per cent of the world’s population, but its energy and electricity consumption is just around five per cent of the world consumption,” he said.
While inaugurating “Umang-2015”, a festival of energy at Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya School, Mr Mukherjee said that India’s per capita consumption of energy and electricity is less than one-third of the world average. He declared the school, located in the President’s Estate, a solar-powered green school and also launched Sajag, an app on energy education.
In order to sustain a growth rate of over eight per cent through the next two decades, India will need to grow its primary energy supply by three to four times and electricity supply by at least five to seven times of its current consumption, Mr Mukherjee said.
“Therefore, we as a country, have a huge responsibility and challenge to meet our developmental requirements and, at the same time, ensure that we remain committed to clean energy.
“Through the contribution of each individual, we can achieve this task, which appears to be, if not impossible, but difficult,” Mr Mukherjee said.
He said that the theme for Umang-2015, “Nayi Zindagi ki Umang, Swachh Urja ke Sang”, holds significance when countries of the world brainstorm in Paris to halt global warming before the planet becomes two degrees hotter than it was in the pre-industrial days.
Energy production contributes to 35 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions followed by industrial production at 18 per cent, agriculture (14 per cent), transportation (14 per cent), deforestation (10 per cent), construction (10 per cent) and waste and water treatment (6 per cent).
“Today’s event addresses the most important component ofgreenhouse gas emissions, that is, energy production.
“Domestically, if we can switch to clean energy to the maximum extent possible by utilising the renewable energy potential in India, which is 8.89 lakh Mega Watt, then it will be our single-most important contribution to a clean and green planet,” he said. The President said Umang-2015 is a laudable initiative to educate our future citizens as ‘Energy Ambassadors’ and it should be replicated all over the country.The President said he would like to see many more government schools going “green through solar power” and contributing to the clean energy movements in the country.
The President, meanwhile, also launched an App, ‘Sajag’, on energy education, which is aimed at educating schoolchildren about energy consumption and conservation.
