India has potential to make affordable electric cars for world: Erik Solheim

COIMBATORE: India has the potential to manufacture affordable electric cars for the world, Erik Solheim, former executive director of United Nations Environment Programme and governing council member of the Tamil Nadu Climate Action Committee, said on Saturday. India could lead the world in producing electric cars required to meet the increasing demand the world is witnessing, he said.
Solheim was speaking at the ‘Y20 Talk’ seminar (based on the theme ‘Youth in Climate Action’) at Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore.
He said the circular economy is the way forward and so much innovation can happen in the area. It will help in job creation as well. There are more valuable components in one kg of electronic waste than one kg of ore from which gold is extracted. “Increasing cloth trash is threatening the environment. They should be recycled and used to bring down the stress on the environment,” he said.
Energy, transport and the circular economy are the three major areas that need to be focused to bring down the carbon emission levels and to move towards carbon negative status, he said.
Speaking at the event, Coimbatore city police commissioner V Balakrishnan said the number of trees in the police facilities would be increased to meet the required oxygen for cops and their family members. He said there are 2,200 police personnel working for the city police unit. A head count would be conducted to ascertain the total number of people in their families to arrive at the quantity of oxygen required for them. The number of trees would be increased to a level that the available trees are adequate to meet their oxygen requirement.
He said although the powers to make policy decisions are vested with the governments, climate actions should be a decentralized one, where everyone takes part and plays their bit.
Coimbatore is witnessing IT boom as about three lakh youths are employed in the sector. Everyone should play their bit by planting trees, staying away from using disposable plastic and bringing down carbon emission levels, he said. Individual level and community level-based climate action could bring about a big change the country wants to achieve, he said.