July 17, 2006

Remarks of U.S. Consul General Henry V. Jardine
at a seminar on

Source-level Emissions Quantification Tools:
Customization for the Power Sector in India

Organized by
U.S. EPA - CPCB
The Grand (Oberoi), Kolkata
July 17, 2006

CALCUTTA -- Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I feel privileged to have an opportunity to participate in today’s inaugural event for the Stakeholders Briefing on the Development of a Green House Gases (GHG) Measurement Tools specific to the needs of India’s power industry.   This discussion clearly serves an important role in providing an opportunity to review approaches to measuring power generation emissions with the hope of their reduction.  It also provides an opportunity for the United States and India to exchange information on this critical subject and is another demonstration of our two countries’ extensive cooperation and technical engagement.

India has experienced rapid economic growth between 7.5 to 8.4 percent in the last few years and the Government of India hopes to increase that growth to 8.5 percent annually in the 11^th  Five Year Plan.  A natural result of this effort will be an increase in energy needs and generation of greater emissions.  At present,  66 percent of India’s total power generation comes from coal-fired power stations.  Though the Indian government is keen to encourage the use of hydroelectric, wind and other clean energy sources to avoid carbon emissions, thermal plants will continue to be India’s primary source of power generation for the foreseeable future.

Here in West Bengal, we are also seeing strong economic development.   In fact, the state’s average annual percentage of economic growth exceeds the average national growth over the last five years.  The average rate of growth of West Bengal’s State Domestic Product (SDP) was 7.38 per cent, which was higher than the average rate of growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6.71 per cent during the same period.  In addition, West Bengal and much of East India is home to a large portion of India’s coal reserves and other mineral wealth.  East India has 71 percent of India’s coal, 48 percent of its iron-ore, and 62 percent of its bauxite.

India’s coal belt in East India, has led to the concentration of large number of thermal power plants in the region.  CESC, which is a partner in this EPA-TERI-CPCB project, is one of the foremost private sector power companies in India with tremendous experience in running thermal power plants.

In 2004, U.S. EPA, in partnership with CPCB, TERI, and World Resources Institute (WRI) launched an initiative to develop country specific quantification tools for industrial sector air emissions.  Measurement and monitoring are the fundamental building blocks of any air quality or emissions management program.  A well-designed and maintained corporate emissions inventory monitored by these new tools can serve several business goals for Indian companies, including:

• Managing air emissions and identifying reduction opportunities
• Forming compliance strategies for air emission regulatory programs
• Public reporting and participating in voluntary air emissions programs
• Participating in market-based mechanisms
• Recognizing early voluntary Air Quality Management (AQM) action

In this workshop experts from EPA and WRI will discuss the possibilities of developing a simplified emissions measurement tool adapted to the Indian context to address both global climate change and local air quality considerations.  In addition, this approach should help with more consistent and accurate measurement of source-specific emissions by local businesses and stakeholders. 

This effort is a continuation of U.S. EPA’s cooperation with CPCB, WRI, and TERI.  It builds on the EPA’s earlier successful experience in developing tools for the cement industry and marks an expansion of that experience into other industrial sectors. 

I am very glad that we have been able to sustain our dialogue with our Indian partners in this region with regard to introducing environmentally friendly technologies and procedures.  For instance earlier, our U.S. Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP) office helped the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business management (IISWBM) sign an MoU with WRI to work together to incorporate environmental management principles in business management curriculum, and to have faculty and student exchanges.  The USAEP also worked with the Energy Wise project of USAID to establish GHG Accounting Cell in IISWBM in 2004/05.  The Cell is working with a number of private industries to help them identify strategies to achieve energy efficiency and GHG mitigation.

In closing, I wish the participants in this continuing dialog on measuring power emissions the greatest success in their discussions.  Their efforts can have a significant impact on the quality of life of the hundreds of millions of people here in India and ultimately for the rest of the world.  This interaction will also help in furthering the close and developing partnership between India and the United States.

Thank you again for the opportunity to have a small part in this exchange.