Cement and Energy

The sectoral suo-centres for Industry will be FICCI, National Productivi ty Council , Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, Hindustan Lever Ltd., Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association and user centres wil l be National Council for Cement and Building Materials. Association of Indian Automobile Manuracturers, TISCO, Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association and Fertiliser Association of India. Dr. Maudgal will head the host centre set up in the Ministry which will interact with Government Ministries Hindus/an Times: 22 May, 1998 and Departments for providing inputs on cleaner technologies. The software and hardware for creating database will be provided by the World Bank for which they have already given Rs. I0.50 crore. The Government of India is to giveRs. 30 crore for the first three years which is awaited at the moment. The Centre is expected to take off in another three months. CONCEPT OF TWIN FOCAL POINTS MAY BE CHANGED T he Chief Executi ve Officer and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Mr. Mohamed EI-Ashry, has said the working scheme of having twin focal points in each country may be overhauled as it had caused power-play conflicts in some countries, leading to delays in the implementation of environmental projects. In every coun try the GEF has two types of focal points : A poli tical and an operational. !he latter interacts with non-governmental agencies, technically evaluates and prepares the project proposals. The former gives the final approval for release of funds. GEF, however, docs not require that the two rocal points should he two di fferent departments or ministries. Only, India had chosen the political foca l point as the Economic Times : 2nd April, 1998 Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the Ministry of Finance and the operational focal point as the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). DEA takes part in council meetings while MoEF handles international environmental treaties and conventions. The MoEF had complained to the GEF that many bio– diversity projects went directly to the DEA wi thout consulting it, though, as the operational focal point, MoEF provided the financial and technical overview of GEF projects. Mr. El Ashray said there was a mixed experience of the twi n focal schemes. Whi le it had failed 111 many countries, it improved GEF projects implementation in others. WORLD BANK PILOTING FUND FOR EMISSION TRADING I n a major push to carbon emission trading, the World Bank has said that it is piloting a 'carbon fund ' wh ich seeks to place a mechanism that will partiall y compensate developing countries for adopting technologies that check carbon emission, a major cause or global warming. As most carbon emissions come from power plants and refineries, crucial to industries in developing nations, various developed countries are suggesting market mechanisms that will cap cumulati ve emissions while allowing an 'acceptable' industrial growth rate. 15