Video: Why New Coal

Switch ON India

Coal today meets 54.5% of India’s energy needs and 61.5% of the installed power generation capacity, and plays a key role in industries like steel and cement. India is set to more than double its coal consumption by 2035 and become the world’s largest coal importer by around 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. The cheapest of fossil fuels, coal is also the dirtiest in terms of carbon emissions and public health. Coal-burning power plants are the single biggest cause of climate change, way ahead of the burning of petroleum in transportation.

Perplexed by the inter-related problems India faces as it develops at the cost of 2/3 rd of its population living outside the economy, two young activists from Switch ON , rode their cycles across India, through the coal belt – to question India’s growth based on fossil fuel, and to seek and highlight alternatives for a sustainable and equitable development.

Why New Coal gives a new perspective to Coal in India – Addressing India’s growing energy needs, problems of energy security and Climate Change Vulnerabilities – from Energy Experts from across the country including S.P. Sethi (Planning commission), Dunu Roy (Hazard Centre), Vandana Shiva (Navdanya), Chandra Bhusan (CSE) Siddharth Pathak (Green Peace), S.K.Chand (TERI), Shirish Sinha (WWF) Ashok Agarwal (Jharia Bachao Sangharsh Samiti), Girish Sant (Prayas), Dr. Gonchowdhury (WBREDA), Sanjeev Ghotge (WISE), Nitin Desai (United Nations), Ambuj Sagar (IIT), Dr. M P Narayanan (Coal India)

Switch ON is a grassroot climate action project committed to climate action
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