CEE Oct-Dec 2002

. , ,. CONSERVATION FlJND •OR r ' I< JH. ~OON The Economic Times, 27 September 2002 The steerin g committee co nstituted under the Power Ministry to oversee the implementation of energy auditing has decided to create an energy conservation fund with a corpus of Rs. 500 million. The proposal will be prese nted to the Finance Ministry shortly. This was stated by the Power Secretary, Mr. R. V. Shahi , whi le speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 55' 11 Annual General Meeting of the Indian Electrical and Electronics 11 1anufacturers' Association. Courtesy: TERI Newswire 16-30 Sep.2002, P4, E-mail: outreach@teri.res . Web: www.teriin.org I~ LECTRIFICATION RATES FOR SELECTED DEVELOPING WORLD COUNTRIES World Energy Outlook 2002, lEA Electrification rates tn deve loping countrie s vary significantly. Some countries in Asia have electrification rates that are higher than the world average. Chin a, for example , ha s expe ri enced a rapid rate of electrification over the last 5 years, reaching a rate of more than 98% in 2000 (84% of electricity in China is coal-fired). Sub-Saharan Africa, IN % 100 75 50 25 0 .. c: :c u "' ., c: ·a c. .<::: 0.. 1::1 .. .. c: ·;;; :0 .. .. .s "jij c: 0 .<::: 1::1 1- .s in comparison, is suffering from acute energy poverty , with an average electrification rate of only 23%. This figu re disguises th e large difference between South Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. A National Electrification Programme (NEP) in South Africa has raised the electrification rate to 66.1% (92% of electricity is coal– fired). The ultimate goal ofNEP is to achieve universal access to basic domestic electrical services by 2010. Courtesy: Ecoal, Sep. 20.02 Journal ofthe WorldCoal Institute, P8, Fax: +44 (0) 208246 66222 , Email: info @ wci-coa/.com Weh:www. wci - coal. com ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL COST ACCOUNTING Editor , Nati onal Produc tivity Council Environmental Cost Accounting (ECA) is a management tool intended to help business to reduce costs and improve environmental performance by adeq uate ly incorporating environmental costs into decision making (courtesy: Env ir onmental Management Navigator, COG, UNEP, UNIDO, WI). The traditional cost accounting systems often overlook environmental costs -altogether or .. u ~ .<::: ; 0 t/) 99.2% OECD Average 72.8% World Average 64.2% Developing Countries 23% Sub-Saharan Africa Avera ~ .. ., .. .. c: :::l a 1::1 G; .. .,. 0 c: "' 3 :0 :c .. z liJ "' E UJ ::J 0 .. CD N 0 :::. 59 cove r them under overheads. Envi ronmental costs can be costs incurred by an organi sati on, an individual or by a society resulting from activities that affect environmental quality. • • • • • The main functions ofECA are: Promote more accurate costing and pricing Provide informat ion on environmental costs Help identify potential for cost reductions Support decision making Promote environmentally sound processes, products, etc. Data generated with an ECA system ca n benefit decisions pertain ing to product design, process design, siting ofan industry, purchasing and processing, waste management, capital investments, product pricing, cost allocation, etc. The benefits of ECA therefore are: • • • • • • Improvement ofenvironmental performance Profitability enhancement Increased product quality Better dec is ion-maki ng including env ironmental aspects Satisfying information demands Staff motivation Courte~y : National Productivity Council, Jun. 2002, Utpadakta Bhawan, 5-6 Institutional Area, LodhiRoad New Delhi - 1I0003 Tete Ph: 4690331 E-mail: npc(ijJ,ren02. nic.in , Web: www.npcindia.org . OZONE LAYER ON ROAD TO RECOVERY The Statesman, 17 September 2002 The damaged ozone layer, the shie ld that protects the earth from harmful so lar rad iation, is s howing signs of recovery , according to a new study. The summary of a repo rt by sen ior scientists indicates that levels of zone-deple ting chemicals in the