NEWS BRIEF - New Delhi, Jan. 20, 2010

India must see renewable energy as security issue, says Nobel laureate Pachauri
By: Aaron Hochman-Zimmerman
New Delhi, Jan. 14, 2010 - Policymakers in India must do more to secure the energy supply to protect India's national interests, said Nobel laureate doctor Rajendra Pachauri, who won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with vice president Al Gore. He currently heads The Energy and Research Institute in New Delhi.
India is an energy importing country, he said and "we need to use energy much more efficiently."
There is "a multiplicity of benefits" in the renewable National Action Plan his organization, TERI, put forward to the Indian government, he said.
Too much of India's growth has been "short-sided" and too reliant on fossil fuels, he added.
Ever since 1985, when crude oil prices dropped from nearly $70 per barrel to $20 per barrel, with the exception of the 2008 spike, low process have "given us a false sense of security."
When government and industry around the world have shirked their environmental responsibility, "that [energy cost] has been the biggest factor," Pachauri said.
Now, the National Action Plan pushes for research and development of solar and wind energy programs. Small and inexpensive personal energy harvesting devices could one day be distributed to India's poor and remote countryside, "thereby empowering people at the grassroots level," the plan states.
Nuclear power is also part of the larger energy picture, but it is a technology that must be closely watched, Pachauri said.
"Not every country" has the right to nuclear power, he said.
The situation in Iran "is a consequence of arrogance and stupidity" and likely could have been avoided, he said.
He recalled a conversation with a senior U.S. diplomat. The American official could not see Iran beyond the funding of terrorism, he said.
"Iran is not a monolith" and has many more democratic characteristics than some of its Muslim neighbors, Pachauri said "and we need to build on that."
"If the U.S. reaches out, you will be able to strengthen those elements" which want greater democratic reforms and a stronger relationship with the West, he said.
If a true global effort is to be made to fight a truly global problem, the world must work together to build on what was accomplished at Copenhagen where "at least we had an accord," he said of the deal yet to be signed. "The major elements are quite promising."
And it will be governments that must lead the private sector.
"Governments have to lay down policies," he said, even though there is frequently not a lot of political gain in supporting green issues over business.
Still, China, South Korea and the Nordic countries have all demonstrated commitment to the environment and have made investments into new technologies and other energy initiatives.
A next step to bring the corporate sector into line should be "placing a price on carbon," he said.
If a system of trading carbon credits for, essentially, the right to pollute, "the market will respond," he said.
Even beyond what politicians or business leaders can accomplish, "this has to start at the grassroots level," Pachauri repeated from the National Action Plan.
The battle for the environment is a long one and must rely on the proper education of children who can be taught to be sensitive to the issue.
It will then be children "who shame adults into doing the right things," he said.