Mahendra Singhi, Group CEO, Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd, represented the Indian cement industry during the signing ceremony at the UN headquarters last week. He speaks on the outcome of the proceedings and the specific steps his group is taking to combat climate change.
Congratulations to you for representing the Indian cement industry during the signing ceremony at the UN headquarters. Tell us about the event.
For the past one- to one-and-a- half years, the United Nations (UN) and the French government have carried out high-level interactions with various other governments, business houses and civil society on climate change. The signature ceremony was the result of all the hard work put in by many for the last nearly two years. I consider myself to be fortunate to witness the historic moment at UN headquarters on 22nd April, 2016. I shouldered the responsibility of carrying out press briefings. We all very well know that without involving business communities, the implementation of the Paris agreement is just not possible. Industrial houses have a definite role to play and specifically from developing countries. The UN has created a record this time by getting the signatures of 175 countries. The last record was of 119 signatures for an international agreement, set by the Montego Bay Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. This time UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was extremely pleased with the numbers. The day on which he assumed office, he had committed that he will have the climate agreement signed and he has done it. So far the US was not very actively involved in this agreement, but on this occasion, John Kerry, Secretary of State was present with his granddaughter for the signature ceremony, indicating that whatever he is doing is actually for the generations to come. This was very apt for the signature ceremony. He wanted to give a message to the world through his action.
Incidentally for the last 45 years, he has been associated with the sustainability movement and climate change initiatives. From India, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group and Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of TERI (and the former Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency) were present. Dr Mathur was also a panellist for various discussions. He highlighted the initiatives taken by the Indian government on LED bulbs, various energy efficiency improvement programmes and the steps taken by various energy consuming industries. He applauded the work done by Dalmia Cement in the area of energy efficiency. This shows how much concerned we are about climate as an Indian business organisation.
Is the deal within striking distance now? How soon do you think the required numbers can be reached so that the Paris Deal becomes operational?
Now almost 92-93 per cent countries have signed the agreement. But they have to get it passed in their respective parliaments for giving it a legal status; only then does the agreement become implementable. We expect around 60 per cent of the countries would get it ratified in their respective parliaments by December 2016. Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change was present there as a part of the commitment from government. He praised the business initiatives taken by various business houses in India.
What are the changes you expect in coming years on the technological front?
Maybe in a year or two, developed countries will start giving financial support to developing countries. A sizable fund of about $100 million has been earmarked which can be made available now. The projects which need large capex will be taken up with this financial assistance. It is a positive side of the agreement for our country. We showcased what Indian businesses are doing to lower the carbon footprint, improve energy efficiency, utilisation of waste (and the measures) specifically undertaken by our group. We have adopted sustainable development goals. We will be able to take the lead and share our best practices, experiences with others. We learn a lot by sharing our best practices and experiences. As an Indian business group, it is our commitment to ourselves.
Given our status of a developing country, should India focus on reducing CO2 generation per se or focus on reducing CO2 intensity (CO2 per capita emission)?
We should focus on both. While doing so, we must make sure that per capita emission will not go up, but it has to go down. At the same time, we need to grow and for growing we need to produce which will involve generation of CO2. Therefore we should not allow our total CO2 generation to go up.
It is very interesting to mention the speech given the Canadian Prime Minister, he said, ?We cannot punish developing countries but it is our duty to provide them low carbon technology so that the emissions do not go up.? It is the commitment of our Prime Minister and our Minister Javaderkar that our per capita emission number will not go up. I think the base line year for reference will be the year 2005. It is not legally binding on us; it is a voluntary commitment given by our country.
At Dalmia Cement, you have achieved one of the best numbers in the world on all parameters, so what?s next?
I am proud and happy about our achievements. But there is always room for improvement, like reducing our energy consumption wherever possible. We have invested in generation of green energy and 7.5 MW (generation) through solar power. In the next three years we are going to generate 20 MW of green energy. We are also going for WHR in a big way. By March 2017 we want to be water positive. That means we will harvest more quantity of water than what we are consuming. In short, we will return water to nature (more) than what we are taking from it.
We are a strong advocator of the principle ?Polluters pay?, and whatever support is required for abating pollution, we shall put our efforts for the benefit of society at large.