What is the Green Quotient?
- GQ is the degree of environment consciousness.
- GQ determines how much we care, understand and are determined to do something favourable for the environment we live in.
- A recent analysis showed that it has done well when it comes to allocations to ministries that are engaged directly in the management of environment and natural resources.
- Compared to the last Budget, allocations are up by about 6.6%.
What is the major issue?
- The allocations for the MoEF is increased by about 10%, but this increase is much lower than last fiscal year and hence does not reflect any stepping up of efforts towards meeting our Nationally Determined Contributions.
- It is estimated that Rs 100,000 crore would be required annually for conservation and afforestation measures to achieve the 3 billion tons of additional carbon sequestration.
How to increase the investment?
- Large a scale of investments cannot be met from the central Budget alone.
- The National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF), funded by cess levied (Rs 400 per tonne) on produced and imported coal can be used.
- It can be used for the purposes of financing and promoting clean energy initiatives, funding research in the area of clean energy, etc.,
- Of the aggregate amount collected between 2010 & 2017, only about 35% has been transferred to the NCEF, which itself remained underutilised.
- About 70% of NCEF fund has went to the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) and it has been used inefficiently till now.
- It is essential that the NCEF be more efficiently and strategically employed as an enabler of large-scale change in the renewable sector.
- The fund can also be deployed in applied research and development of viable technologies and business models for clean energy services in India.
Source: Business Standard
