Government and Business Case Study

Green Trade: Can India Afford to Ignore the Opportunity?

OR

Abstract:
Global warming has a direct relationship with industrial development and dates back to the industrial revolution. There has been a marked increase in the emission of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide), in proportion to industrial expansion. Over the past 100 years the average global temperature has been increasing at a faster rate due to the rapid emission of greenhouse gases. The major contributors in terms of carbon emissions are China with 6.2 billion tonnes per annum followed by the US with 6 billion tonnes. Russia and India share third and fourth place with 1.5 and 1.34 billion tonnes respectively. It is estimated that India will surpass Russia by 2015. Although the developed countries are the major polluters they have resolved their emission problems to a large extent by exporting polluting sectors to developing countries. The biggest barriers in cutting emissions in developing countries like India are lack of awareness, technological barriers, and investment bottlenecks. However, global warming / climate change is not just a threat but also has huge prospects for green businesses in developing countries like India through the sale of certified emission reductions units. But how far Indian companies will make use of this opportunity is the big question.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the causes and consequences of global warming.
• To analyse the role played by businesses to curb global warming / climate change.
• To discuss the barriers for India to reduce its carbon emission.
• To analyse the opportunities for Indian companies to go green.

Keywords :  Global warming, Greenhouse gases, Greenhouse effect, Carbon emission, Climate change, Carbon disclosure project, Kyoto protocol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Green trade, Clean development mechanism, Certified emission reductions, Carbon disclosure project, Intergovernmental panel on climate change, National Thermal Power Corporation, Clean technologies