KeynoteAddress by HonbleUnionMinisterfor Science&TechnologyandEarthSciences GovernmentofIndia ShriKapilSibal atthe INAUGURALFUNCTION of 1

95thIndianScienceCongress AndhraUniversity Visakhapatnam 3rdJanuary,2008 2

Dr. Manmohan Singh ji, Honble Prime Minister of India; Dr. nisterofAndhraPradesh; Shri Subbrami Reddy, Honble Minister of State for allam Raju, Honble Minister of State for Defence; Dr. Dasari NarayanaRao rofStateforCoal;Prof.Ramamurthi Rallapali,Presidentofthe95 IndianScienceCongres mediatePastPresidentoftheIndianScienceCongress, Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary of ment of Science & Technology and the Presidentelect of the 96 Indian ss, distinguished members of the scientific community, delegates,mediapersonne tees,ladiesandgentlemen. th th 1.

Sir,IhavehadtheprivilegeofaddressingtheIndianScience Congressthreetimes.This,a rth. TobewithIndiasbestandbrightestscientificmindsisagreat honour and kindl a keeping its tryst with destiny. 2.

Sir,everygenerationconsidersthatitstimesareunparalleled, itsachievementsunsurpasse ems/challengesit 3

confrontsinsurmountable.Sodowe.Science&Technology hasenhancedhumanwelfaretoenvia nted levels. New materials, new technologies, new production/distribution syste are continuously made and refined to render our lives more leisurely and ensome. S & T becomes part and parcel of our lives muchthesamewayas spiderasthefamousphysicistHeisenbergsobeautifullyput it. Technology enslaves it empowers us. Prodigious consumption, unbridled monetization,

untrammeled energy profligacy are threatening the sustainability of our civi ion. Today, human civilization is faced withthechallengeofglobalwarming.Global temaychangefasterthanourabilitytoadapt. Climate changeisthusanassaultonallev 3.

For years the world s leading atmospheric scientists have beencautioningust armingofglobalclimate wasunderway,butwepaidnoheed. Asmostofyouknow, the 19 cade of the entire century; perhapseventhemillennium,and1998,2001,and2002we hottest years ever recorded. The growing 4

scientificconsensusisthatthiswarmingislargelytheresultof emissions of carbon her greenhouse gases fromhumanactivitiesincludingindustrialprocesses,fossilfuel n,andchangesinlanduse,suchasdeforestation. Thescientificcommunityhasadducedevid ecreasegreenhousegasesemissions,mainlyCO2 and methane,by6070%fromthepresent, llrevolutionizethe supplyanddemandofenergy.We must do our utmost to develo for energy production which are not, or are to a much lower degree, l sionofgreenhousegases. Unluckily,in the past, decarbonization of the energy structedbythefactthatCO2couldbeemittedatzeroprice. Theenergypriceofthefossil aybeingheavilysubsidizedbynature,bythecapacityof theatmospheretoassimilate.The hasunequivocallyreiteratedthis.Asaresulttheinternational debatehasnowmovedbeyond techange towhatmustbedonetomitigateitandtoprepareproactively for its conseque quiringglobal solutionsbasedontheprincipleofcommonbutdifferentiated responsibiliti olution should be inclusive benefiting and encompassing all. Low carbon ec alone can 5

ensure global sustainability. What we do to achieve this globallyshouldbe annedandactedupon. 4.

InIndia,thereislittledoubtthatclimatewillbecomemore unstable in the years ness more unpredictable and extreme weather patterns. This is so as suffi housegasemissionshavealreadyenteredthe hemisphere to bring about such change little research has been conducted on how climate change will affectdiffer diaandwhatshouldbeourresponse toitlocallyandnationally. Governments,atallleve d efforts to meet the challenge of global warming. We must put in pla egulations, and modify them as we learn more of the science, and as t utions begin to manifest themselves. Industry andbusinessmustinnovate,manufactu rateunder a new paradigm. Climate change must drive their decision making. htoamoreclimatefriendlypathin ourchoices,purchasesandlifestyles. 5.

Sir, today, virtually nothing is made without the use of commercialenergy rdableandreliableenergy 6

suppliesisanessentialingredientforoursurvival,progress andprosperity.Economicdeve nergy.Human povertyisdirectlyrelatedtoenergypoverty. Theavailability ofaffordabl onmentallyresponsibleenergy supply is key to reach the Millennium Developmen (MDG) and to decrease the welfare gap globally. Sir, our economyhasgrow lrateofalmost9%. Wehopetoachieveagrowthrateofaround10%inthe11 th

FiveYearPlanandforthedecadeahead.Thiswillrequirea minimum annual energy gro % for the foreseeablefuture. Energyshortageshavehithertoplagued Indiasgrowthr sputtheshortageas highas10%. Thisenergydeficitwillworsenwithincreasing popula industrial production, transport and generalriseinlivingstandards. 6.

Presently, we in India consume a mere 0.19 kg of oil equivalentperdoll npurchasingpower parity terms. This is equal to the energy intensity o for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)countriesandcomparesfavorably .21) and USA (0.22) andthe World average of 0.21. However, 7

thereareseveralcountriesinEuropeatorbelowthefigure 0.21kgofoilequivalentwithB . Sir, we need to be striving for these levels as the gains achieved encyinIndiaareonlythetipof theiceberg.Weneedtoachievemuchlowerenergyintensi 7.

This should not be difficult. Our technology inefficiencies makeussquanderan ngamountofenergyeach day.Inourkitchens,lessthan25%oftheenergyusedinthe sta d.Ourthermalpower plantsdiscardmoreenergyinwasteheatthanisneededto runthe .Inagriculture, barely15%oftheenergydeliveredtoapumpisactuallyused to pump ressed properly, technology efficiencies will completely eliminate the present ectricity powershortagesinthecountry.Thereneedstobeanational drive on two f : first, in the short term to conserve energy and to increase the ef xisting energyresources,andsecond,inthelongtermtoinvestfor switching the ene existing fossil based energy resources to renewables that are clean and e tfriendly.Indoingso,wemaybeabletoenhance 8

nationalsecurity,personalsecurity,financialviability,human comfortandenvironmentalv ethrustthenshouldbe onconservationoffossilfuelresourcesandintheirplaceto inte renewable energy sources into the energy strategy of our industry and s. The Government on its part is giving special emphasis and incentives ion of grid quality power from non conventionalandrenewableenergysources.I he scientific community to increasingly assist and partner industrytodevelop ortheiroperationsalternate andrenewablesourcesofenergy. 8.

Globalenergyconsumptionhasrecordedmorethanasixfold increase in the past 55 1, when the global population was around 2.6 billion and per capita co t consumption of slightly over 1 tonne to currently withapopulationof6.5bil lequivalent consumption of around 2.5 tonnes. Of the global energy suppl eenmetthroughfossilfuels.The extensiveuseoffossilfuelshastwomajorconcernsname ctanddepletionofresources.Avarietyof stresses impacting the environment, emer 9

extractionanduseoffossilfuels.Someofthesehaveglobal implications,likeglobalwarm acthuman health and the ecology. Take the case of coal mining in I radationthroughsubsidenceand mine fires. The impact of mining, especially in forestareasisalsoofparticularconcern. Similarly,onshore oil and gas pr s drilling waste fluids and solids,produceswaterandvolatileorganicsthatcontam ndingwaterbodiesandtheair. 9.

We have plenty of reserves of fossil energy sources especially coal a hich lie beyond the reach of conventional mining techniques. But, there al seriousproblemsintheirexploitation,namely,relativelylower heatvalue,highashco tiesintransportationand disposal of residues and last, but not the least, ideemissions.Obviously,therearetechnologysolutions to all of these. Take th face gasification technologies for coal. These have been improved to sign educeemissions.Withundergroundgasification, the problem of ash disposal is e and the gaseous pollutants,primarilyCO2,canbesequestered.Lowpressure 10

methanesogeneratedcanbeusedforpowergenerationwith reasonably high efficiency egrated Gasification CombinedCycle(IGCC)routeatthewellheadorpitheadas thecase dgasificationoffersthe additionaladvantageofcompleteconversionofcoalintogas, eli oleaveoutconsiderablequantitiesasin conventional mining processes. Thus, coa ion to IGCC power generation to High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transm n deliver clean, reliable, affordable electrical power. A mission, with ad investments in R&D and its utilization, is needed for coal gasification ower generation. Another advantage of pursuing undergroundcoalbed gasificatio sand when Gas Hydrate recovery technology is mastered, we will be technolo pared for exploiting a new source, as indicationsare,thatitisalmostentirel s anestimatedgasreserveof40to120trillioncubicmetrein gashydrateslocatedinwat long our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). When we are successfulinexploiti tcantakecareofIndias energyneedsforseveraldecades. Butwestillneedtofully u al implications in utilizing this sourceachallengeforthescientificcommunity 11

10.

But there are other options. Consider biomass. It is used today to p fuels, such as alcohol, by fermentation. Inthisprocess,therearenogreenhou cause the carbon dioxide used to make the biomass comes from the atmos ver, only a fraction of the biomass becomes liquid fuel. Quantities of ombiomasscanbedramaticallyincreasedifwe couldconvertallofthebiomassintoahydro ntainssignificantquantitiesofoxygen,itcouldthen bethoughtofaspartiallyoxidizedh nergy valueperunitofcarbonsignificantlyincreased.Thisapproach to biomass utilizat p triple liquid fuel production per unit of biomass and also produce hig fuel. I believe this is what the scientific community and energy indus be striving for together as a short term solution. 11.

Wealsohaveabout63millionhectaresofwasteland,ofwhich about half has been ea plantation. Multi purposetreessuchasJatrophacangrowwellinwasteland withvery nt.Theplanthasfiftyyearsof 12

lifetimeandfruitingtakesplaceasearlyasintwoyearsto yield up to 5 tonnes eds that could produce 2 tonnes of biodiesel. Presently, the cost of ctioniscomparabletothecostfromhydrocarbon sources. But this can be substant through optimization of process technology and using high yield varietypl , biodiesel plantsgrown even on one thirdofthewastelandfortreeplantationcanyi biodiesel. Not an insignificant contribution to our energy pool, especia quid fuels. But we need to do more R&D on developing genetically mod a varieties with still higher oil content and devise optimal processingtec .Thisiswhatweshouldstriveforin the medium term. Also, we have the ab writethegeopoliticsofoilifweensurethattheefficiencyof transportation in the ally diesel transportation is improved and biodiesel substitution takes plac ing. 12.

Forusandforseveralothercountries,nuclearpowerprovides another viable alternativ fuels. Life cycle analysis studiesrevealthatnuclearpowerisequal,ifnotbette 13

other renewable energy sources in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The bu emissions for nuclear power arisesfrommining,refiningandpreparingthefissile romitsoperation.TheEarthhasinexhaustibleraw material to power nuclear plants levels of consumption. But we are short of uranium resources. As a resu eareabletoaddamere4,000megawatts capacityofnuclearpowerinadecadewhereaswes egawattscapacityperdecadeifwe aretocontinuewithourhigheconomicdevelopmentpace erallgreenhousegasemissions. 13.

What are the potential costs of cutting greenhouse gas emissions? Can th ns be reduced without sacrificingeconomicgrowthorourstandardofliving? Any e antly limit greenhouse gas emissions will requirechangesinbehaviorandinvestme logy inshort,changesineconomicactivitythatcouldimposecosts onoursociety.The ionreflect themagnitudeoftheemissionsreduction,thetimingofthese reductions,andt ation.Ofcourse,left unaddressed,climatechangewillimposecostsonsocietyas 14

well and so, the benefits of undertaking climate change mitigationmust d.Effectivelyunderstanding thepotentialcostsandbenefitsofmitigatingclimatechange cymakerstodeveloppoliciesthatachievethe greatest emissions abatement for the xpended, secure greater participation and compliance, and maximize theenvironm ffectivenessofthemitigationeffort. 14.

Theimpactofglobalwarmingisalreadybeingfelt.Cropsin Haryana and Punjab which k of our wheat productionhavefacedspellsofheatintheRabiseasonfor several past. A few paddyproducing areasdofacescarcityofraininthemonsoonseason. of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka,thatearlierhadmarginalmonsoonrain undance of water for irrigation. We all know that even a smallincreaseor aturecouldpushdown cropyieldsmuchfurtherfromwhattheyaretoday.Rainfed agricultu eas, in semiarid and subhumid regionsismostlyatriskandwecouldloseasmuch realproduction.Thisyearitselfit is estimated that floods have affected arou ion 15

people. More than 2 million hectares of cropland has been damaged, around welling units destroyed and nearly1500peoplefeareddead. 15.

Onceagainyouwillaskmewhetherthisisonlyonaccountof climatechange.Myansweris: ncreaseintemperaturecanreducecropduration, increase crop respiration rates, al synthate partitioning of economic products, affect the survival and distribut f pest populations thereby altering the equilibrium between crops and pe en nutrient mineralizationinsoils,decreasefertilizeruseefficiencies,and increase spiration. Indirectly, there may be considerable other effects on land use snow melt, availability of irrigation, frequency and intensity of inter a sonal droughts and floods, soil organic matter transformations,soilerosion,ch stprofiles,decline in arable areas due to submergence of coastal lands, lityofenergy.Allthesecanhaveanadverseimpact on our agricultural production d security. Further in India, the poorest of the poor possess the most nddependheavilyonclimatesensitivefactors. 16

Theyarevulnerabletoflooding,soilerosion,droughtandcrop failure. Iftheseoccurmo ntensity duetoclimatechangeaspredicted,theburdenwillfallheavily onallthosewho ,therefore,to prepareourselvesforanysucheventualities. 16.

Fortunately,oureconomicriseistakingplaceatatimewhen crucial technological and l innovations are requiredforasustainedfuture;thesecouldhelptoovercome theene lytoresultfromdwindlingreserves anduseoffossilfuels.Theearlierwejointhesearch ttrajectories,thegreaterthechancesof sustainability. Development patterns in I d opt for innovations away from the energyintensive new world patternex edStates,Canada,Australia, andNewZealand.Indoingso,wecouldbecomeanimportant ac ed research and development, as the marketsfortheirapplicationshaveenormousp CleanDevelopmentMechanism(CDM),oneoftheflexibility mechanismsincorporatedintotheK ,offersgreat possibilities to India in helping mobilize foreign direct inve ovidingcommercialincentivesfortheprivate 17

sector to invest in mitigation projects and providing opportunities for th tific community to team up with Indian industry for affordable and susta mestic solutions. I therefore believe that appropriate publicprivate incentive kageswouldbenecessaryinordertobring the CDMinto full play.To thisend, I feel dtocomplementprivateinvestmentviatheCDM, thus enhancing market functions of ents. But evenmoreimportanttousisthechallengeofcarbondioxide capture and st from our coal based power plants. Several large experiments are under wa ld overforgeologicalstorageofcarbondioxide.Ifeelthatwetoo needtomountamajor sdirection. Another possibility for India is carbon sequestration by refores dafforestation. 17. Today, climaterelated and environmental aspects are an lan.Howeverinmost of the Plan projects, reduction of oduct but not the primary objective. But we need to ed to make conscious and deliberate efforts to move 18

integralpartofourEle GHG emissions is a be doing more th to a low carbon

economy. For its effective implementation both the Central governmentandStat entsneedtotogetherreinin localindustriesandenterprises.Thedegreeoflocalpolitica ther with our size and complexity, makes it difficultfortheCentralgovernme ourseof actions at the local level. State governments also face a confli omicandenvironmentalaims.Priorityto the economic development of their region, s environmentalrecoveryforafuturedate.Asaresult,climate policy implications much beyond central policymaking bodies. The core group of relevant pol xpertsisquitesmall.Thereisalsoalarge discrepancy between regulations and la plementation at the State and local levels. Responsible localinstitutionsa edwithsufficientresourcesto meet their tasks, for example, monitoring and . The decoupling between local and central environmental administrationshascr blemsforpolicycoordination and implementation. Strengthening climate capacities e environmental administration at all levels could help to improvepolicyfor dcoordination.Canthescientific communitytakeuptheroleofadvocacyandcapacitybuild tralgovernmentlevelsonclimatechange? 19

18.

Structural systemic changes in the past fifteen years have facilitated, an imes even created, incentives for the development of climaterelevant capaci conomic liberalization and openness have promoted enormous economicgrowthandpr onomic,technological,and scientific resources to build up capacities to addr manifoldcausesandconsequencesofclimatechange.Butit has also provided new con the positive side, economic growth has supplemented Indias financial resourc widened the financial scope available for climaterelevant measures. Foreign ies and competition have brought with them technology and knowledge transfe h have enhanced productivity and efficiencyandthusreducedtheenergyandresource production, with corresponding effects on relative emissions.Withincreasedinteg nintocompetitiveglobal markets,Indiahashadtoadopthighenvironmentalstandards requ in sectors, for example, the automobile industry.Therefore,theopportunitiesf ationof nongovernmental actors in climate policy making and monitoringneedt llyutilizetheirpotential. Indias reform process has had a strong impact 20

economic system, but little on the political system. Public awareness of change is still low due to the limited influenceonnongovernmentalorganizat a. Weneedtobuildonthisaspectthroughtheinvolvementof thescientificcommunity. 19.

Also,thepresentmodelofeconomicdevelopmenttheworld overisbasedonconcentrationsof esand peopleincitiesbecauseoftheavailabilityofrelativelycheap fossilfuels.Conce ryandpopulationincities aremanytimesgreaterthanwhatcanbesupportedbythe surrou lfuelsbecomelessavailable andcostmore,citieshavetodiminishinsize,eventuallyto heirsupportarea. Signsofthisare visibleintheWestwhereafewindustriesandenterp easwherethereismorespace,cleaner airandwater,andland.Reintegratingcitieswitht nfluencemayalsohelpsolvethesevereurban problems and lead to lessintensive n life styles.Decisionsontheseissueswillhavetobemadejointly by governments d transport industries worldwide.Theywillhavetoaddresstheproblemsofgrowing 21

pollution caused by continued use of fossil fuels and move towardssolutions ilitateasmoothtransitiontoa noncarbonbased global economy. Governments will o put in place mechanisms to finance and give economic incentives for nergy efficiency and conservation, more advanced energy technologies, and env ental cleanup. The global community will have to lookforwaysandmeansfor yfrom fossil fuels. Energy research and development and investment strateg need to be reoriented with changing consumer preferences and government p he global community must act quickly. Otherwise, the choicesfordeliveringsu ityforfuturegenerationswill befarmoredifficultandcostly. 20.

Sir,letmenowturntowhatweinthetwoMinistriesthatI havetheprivilegetohead,com are setting up a Group on Climate Change Adaptationcuttingacrossdepartme striesto proactively prepare for providing technology required to comprehensiv ressissuesrelatedtoclimatechange.A CentreforClimateChange,initiallytobelocated 22

campusoftheIndianInstituteofTropicalMeteorology(IITM), Pune will address the ssues related to Global Warming and Climate Change. Our steadfast efforts nize weather forecasting facilities in the India MeteorologicalDepartment(IMD) ftheartsystem willcommencebearingfruitfromthisyearthroughthelaunch of a ded nel and agroadvisories at the districtlevel.TheDepartmentofBiotechnology(DBT rentyear,theBiotechnologyIndustryResearch Assistance Council (BIRAC), which wil s an effective interfacebetweenacademiaandprivateindustryparticularly tailoredto MEsandstartups.Tospurthe arrivalandtofosterthegrowthoffuturisticBTtechnolog year, shall implement a novel Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme ). To further strength publicprivatepartnership initiatives, especiallyinnewar armark30%ofthewhole budgetoftheDBTforthisactivity.Thepresentdaycostof drug ond the capacityof most Indian pharma firms. A novel initiative of open so overyisbeingmountedbyCSIRtoaddresstheproblem andbringthecostofdrugdevelopment bring innovation at the centre stage of national 23

consciousness, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is mounting nging multipronged initiatives to foster,nurtureandpromoteinclusiveinnovationin ncluding availing assistance from the World Bank and partnership of countr e UK. Sir, in our endevour to involve the private sector in policy e have requestedFICCItohelpusdraftanInnovationLawwhichI hope to bring u of the Government withinthisyearitself. 21.

Sirtoconclude,Iwishtosaythatgiventheunprecedented supportthatwehavehadfromth confidence accorded by the Planning Commission to Science, Technology and tion in the 11 Five Year Plan,weinthescientificcommunityresolvetocontribut ndiainthecomityofnationsasaformidable player. th ThankYou! JaiHind. 24