A combined effort towards a greener world
The British Deputy High Commission Kolkata in partnership with HIDCO, Government of West Bengal organised a Green Adda on E-Wheels – An electric bus ride to commemorate the World Environment Day 2019 at New Town, Kolkata on June 4, 2019.
British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Bruce Bucknell and Debashis Sen, Chairman, HIDCO engaged in a lively interaction with a group of energy experts, environmentalists, and entrepreneurs on board an electric bus. In the event, Bucknell and Sen discussed enabling policies, infrastructure, and technology partnerships needed to scale up the adoption of electric vehicles.
The theme for this year's World Environment Day is 'Air Pollution', which is one of the biggest threats to public health facing our planet. The UK and India are working in partnership to address climate change and encourage e-mobility.
On the occasion of World Environment Day, Bruce said: "Air Pollution is one of the biggest global threats. We need our cities to be greener and cleaner places to live, work and visit. That is why the UK Government is promoting an exciting scheme in the UK called the 'Go Ultra Low Scheme'. The aim is to attract investment into cities to support the use of electric vehicles. Indian cities are adopting electric mobility in their public transport systems. Let us all join hands for this plug-in revolution!"
Whereas present at the event, Debashis Sen said: "Newtown Kolkata is India's first satellite city to have received a gold certification from the Indian Green Building Council for its innovative steps on sustainability. We are now aspiring to be platinum rated soon".
Today's electric bus journey covered a number of eco-friendly destinations of Newtown Kolkata—canal-top solar plants, organic waste management, tall tree nurseries, electric vehicle charging station, smart low carbon street lighting, floating solar. The passengers on the bus discussed innovative ideas around the introduction of new technologies, policies and regulatory frameworks.
The UK is setting out a new direction for ensuring a cleaner environment based on rigorous research underpinned by robust legislation and technology advancement. Earlier this year, the UK introduced the Clean Air Strategy. It has adopted ambitious, legally-binding international targets to reduce emissions of five of the most damaging air pollutants by 2020 and 2030. The UK is also proposing tough new goals to cut public exposure to particulate matter pollution, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
On the other hand, India is driving towards a "shared, connected and electric" mobility system and is exploring innovative ways to increase the share of low carbon vehicles in its transportation fleet.
The two countries are already working together on policies, research, technology partnership and knowledge exchange in a wide spectrum of areas related to the development of clean energy. To address air pollution and energy security, progressive Indian States are taking leadership roles towards ushering in a vibrant environment on future mobility.
The Department of Environment, Government of West Bengal and the University of Strathclyde have signed an MoU at Bengal Global Business Summit earlier this year to work towards developing an emission reduction strategy for Kolkata.
