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Sustainability
The three-day meeting of agricultural deputies of the G20 agricultural working group culminated on Friday as delegates discussed various issues, including sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition with a climate smart approach. Delegates from 19 member countries, 10 invited countries and 10 international organisations participated in the second agricultural deputies meeting (ADM) in Chandigarh. On the concluding day of the meeting, two consecutive sessions focused on drafting the communiqu by the member countries of G20 and was marked by elaborate discussions. Delegates from other invited countries and international organisations also put forth their viewpoints during the session and contributed towards an inclusive discussion on the communiqu drafting exercise, said an official statement here. After the session, secretary, department of agriculture and farmers welfare, Manoj Ahuja said he hoped the discussion on the draft communiqu and the deliberations will pave way fo
The European Union's executive arm proposed rules on Wednesday to protect consumers from businesses selling goods labelled as green which actually aren't. The European Commission said greenwashing was a notable problem, with 53 per cent of green claims on products or services making vague, misleading or unfounded information. About 230 sustainability labels are in use across the 27-nation EU, with vastly different levels of transparency, according to the commission. With its green claims directive, the commission wants to set common criteria that would bring more clarity. The European Parliament and EU member countries need to approve the initiative for it to take effect. Under the proposal, companies that claim the packaging for their products is made of 30 per cent recycled plastic would have to prove it with scientific evidence. EU countries would be in charge of setting up verification processes overseen by independent bodies. Businesses based outside the EU making environmen
The government is making holistic efforts to ensure wildlife sustainability and protection, with the strategy focussed on four key pillars, including infrastructure, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. Briefing reporters here on the Union government's initiatives for wildlife conservation since 2014, Scindia said a 360 degrees approach has been adopted and emphasised the importance of "animal passage plans" along with development. With such plans, the effort is to ensure a safe environment for wildlife animals, the minister said. The strategy for wildlife conservation is focused on four pillars -- population, policy, people and infrastructure, Scindia added. He is in charge of ministries of civil aviation and steel.
The government has given priority to farming sector and adoption of sustainable technologies in the Union Budget 2023-24, industry players said. In her budget speech on Wednesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made various announcements with respect to sectors like infrastructure, steel, power, railways, and agriculture, among others. "With India holding the presidency of the G20 till November 2023, the focus on adopting green energy, and efforts to enhance BioCNG bodes well. We are pleased with the focus that the Budget has had for our industry, in particular, especially from the point of view of scrapping old/polluting vehicles, stressing the need to segregate waste and more importantly...raise funds from the municipal bond market," Jose Jacob, MD, Antony Waste Management, said. Saurabh Shivhare, Director, Kapila Krishi Udyog, said the exemption of up to Rs 7 lakh on income tax will benefit the farmer families more. Farmers will get qualitative benefits from the far-reaching
The government is working on mandating blending of jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel as the country works on ways to reduce emissions, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Tuesday. "We are committed to reducing emissions by fossil fuels... the (civil aviation) ministry is working closely with the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on the issues related to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)," he said. He was speaking at the IATA Aviation Energy Forum here. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is an international grouping of airlines. Bansal said both ministries are working to mandate a certain percentage of blending. "... that is still work in progress. We do realise that unless we mandate over a period of time, demand will not be created," he added. Elaborating on SAF, he said there are two important things -- the feed stock and production. "Do we have as a country adequate feedstock for producing SAF? Are there technologies in place, proven, time-test