As leaders from two of the world’s largest financial
institutions, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
met for annual meetings here Tuesday, a delegation of
activists from India called on the World Bank to follow
through with its proposal to dramatically cut funding for
coal-burning power stations.
Over the next few days, the delegation will travel from Washington to
West Virginia where, in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains,
activists from India will meet with local community members in that
state who oppose a form of high-impact surface strip mining called
mountaintop removal.
As part of its journey, the delegation will visit Kayford Mountain,
Blair, Fayette County, and Charleston, West Virginia.
In a ray of hope for activists, the World Bank issued a new draft
energy policy earlier this year that would, if approved, dramatically
cut funding for coal projects. If the World Bank, which has given
billions of dollars in funding to coal development projects in the
past, pulls funding for coal, the move could have a ripple effect.
Growth in India, much like China, is fueling an "insatiable" demand
for energy, said Shikha Bhatnagar, associate director of the South
Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.
The Atlantic Council sponsored a panel session Tuesday, along with
the Sierra Club and the Bank Information Center (BIC), a World Bank
monitoring group, to discuss India’s energy future and the challenges
posed by what coal critics describe as the country’s intensifying
coal bender.
According to the Sierra Club, India approved 150 new coal-fired power
plants last year alone and has plans to increase its countrywide
coal-fired power 600 percent over the next two decades.
But Ron Somers, president of the U.S.-India Business Council, said
India was inefficiently mining coal, forcing it to import from
Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa. Meanwhile, he said, India is
experiencing a growing demand for energy from a population of 1.2
billion, 54 percent under the age of 25.
He said that while Indians consume 700 kilowatt hours per person per
year compared to the average U.S. resident’s 14,000, there is
nevertheless a growing demand for energy, as well as for new
technologies such as cellular phones, 10 million of which are sold
every month in India.
"If you can jump that far in telecommunications, can we not leapfrog
out of coal power?" Somers said. "At some point to the government is
going to say ‘this is not sustainable’."
Coal critics also say coal mining and burning projects have
immeasurable costs for the communities and ecosystems that bear the
brunt of the environmental impact, from India to the U.S.
"There is not asingle country that has not increased its GDP quite a
lot without increasing pollution quite a lot," said Soumya Dutta, a
member of the India People’s Science Forum, based in New Delhi.
In 2009, mountaintop removal coal mining had destroyed 352,000 acres
and 135 mountains in West Virgina alone, according to study
commissioned by Appalachian Voices. Civil society activists from
communities facing environmental effects of coal mining, both in West
Virginia and India, have called for halts to projects they say
destroy quality of life, damage water sources, and irreparably alter
landscapes.
Vaishali Patil, a delegation member and activist from the Konkan
Coast region of Maharashtra, Gujarat, India, has organised local
youth and community groups in her region to oppose new coal
development projects. Her organisation is called "Ankur", which in
Hindi means "seedling".
"There is tremendous unrest," Patil said, referring to the impact of
the projects on her community.
The projects in Gujarat, according to a new report "Coal Narratives:
Voices from the Front Lines of the Global Struggle", published by the
Sierra Club, have been accompanied by a "violent onslaught of land
acquisition, displacement, corruption, and intimidation".
Patil said that the biodiversity hotspot where she lives is facing
the prospect of many more environmentally high-impact energy
projects, including 56 sanctioned iron-ore mining operations, slated
for the Western Ghatt Mountains, and 19 proposed coal thermal and
nuclear power stations.
Patil said she was looking forward to her trip to West Virginia to
meet with U.S activists.
"I am looking forward to seeing what the civil society advocacy
strategies are here," Patil told IPS. "I want to learn from them, to
share our struggle for community rights, for the right to natural
resources, to save the land and sea – we feel this struggle is for
our survival."
On Sep. 24, the Indian delegation and U.S mountaintop removal
activists will take part in "Moving Planet" day, a global day of
action organised by civil society groups and supporters of fossil
fuel-alternative energy, together in West Virginia. Events are also
planned in India.
institutions, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
met for annual meetings here Tuesday, a delegation of
activists from India called on the World Bank to follow
through with its proposal to dramatically cut funding for
coal-burning power stations.
Over the next few days, the delegation will travel from Washington to
West Virginia where, in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains,
activists from India will meet with local community members in that
state who oppose a form of high-impact surface strip mining called
mountaintop removal.
As part of its journey, the delegation will visit Kayford Mountain,
Blair, Fayette County, and Charleston, West Virginia.
In a ray of hope for activists, the World Bank issued a new draft
energy policy earlier this year that would, if approved, dramatically
cut funding for coal projects. If the World Bank, which has given
billions of dollars in funding to coal development projects in the
past, pulls funding for coal, the move could have a ripple effect.
Growth in India, much like China, is fueling an "insatiable" demand
for energy, said Shikha Bhatnagar, associate director of the South
Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.
The Atlantic Council sponsored a panel session Tuesday, along with
the Sierra Club and the Bank Information Center (BIC), a World Bank
monitoring group, to discuss India’s energy future and the challenges
posed by what coal critics describe as the country’s intensifying
coal bender.
According to the Sierra Club, India approved 150 new coal-fired power
plants last year alone and has plans to increase its countrywide
coal-fired power 600 percent over the next two decades.
But Ron Somers, president of the U.S.-India Business Council, said
India was inefficiently mining coal, forcing it to import from
Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa. Meanwhile, he said, India is
experiencing a growing demand for energy from a population of 1.2
billion, 54 percent under the age of 25.
He said that while Indians consume 700 kilowatt hours per person per
year compared to the average U.S. resident’s 14,000, there is
nevertheless a growing demand for energy, as well as for new
technologies such as cellular phones, 10 million of which are sold
every month in India.
"If you can jump that far in telecommunications, can we not leapfrog
out of coal power?" Somers said. "At some point to the government is
going to say ‘this is not sustainable’."
Coal critics also say coal mining and burning projects have
immeasurable costs for the communities and ecosystems that bear the
brunt of the environmental impact, from India to the U.S.
"There is not asingle country that has not increased its GDP quite a
lot without increasing pollution quite a lot," said Soumya Dutta, a
member of the India People’s Science Forum, based in New Delhi.
In 2009, mountaintop removal coal mining had destroyed 352,000 acres
and 135 mountains in West Virgina alone, according to study
commissioned by Appalachian Voices. Civil society activists from
communities facing environmental effects of coal mining, both in West
Virginia and India, have called for halts to projects they say
destroy quality of life, damage water sources, and irreparably alter
landscapes.
Vaishali Patil, a delegation member and activist from the Konkan
Coast region of Maharashtra, Gujarat, India, has organised local
youth and community groups in her region to oppose new coal
development projects. Her organisation is called "Ankur", which in
Hindi means "seedling".
"There is tremendous unrest," Patil said, referring to the impact of
the projects on her community.
The projects in Gujarat, according to a new report "Coal Narratives:
Voices from the Front Lines of the Global Struggle", published by the
Sierra Club, have been accompanied by a "violent onslaught of land
acquisition, displacement, corruption, and intimidation".
Patil said that the biodiversity hotspot where she lives is facing
the prospect of many more environmentally high-impact energy
projects, including 56 sanctioned iron-ore mining operations, slated
for the Western Ghatt Mountains, and 19 proposed coal thermal and
nuclear power stations.
Patil said she was looking forward to her trip to West Virginia to
meet with U.S activists.
"I am looking forward to seeing what the civil society advocacy
strategies are here," Patil told IPS. "I want to learn from them, to
share our struggle for community rights, for the right to natural
resources, to save the land and sea – we feel this struggle is for
our survival."
On Sep. 24, the Indian delegation and U.S mountaintop removal
activists will take part in "Moving Planet" day, a global day of
action organised by civil society groups and supporters of fossil
fuel-alternative energy, together in West Virginia. Events are also
planned in India.