The Digital Energy Solutions Consortium India (DESC India) and CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development released a report titled,ICTs Contribution to Indias National Action Plan on Climate Change. In June 2008,the Prime Minister had released the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC),outlining the nations strategy to manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. India has announced a goal of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 20-25% by the year 2020 compared to 2005. The Planning Commission is also in the process of defining a low-carbon growth map for the country. The DESC Report explores potential GHG reduction opportunities via ICT (Information & Communication Technology) solutions in the focus sectors of the three mitigation-related missions of NAPCC National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE),National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH) and National Solar Mission (NSM). While NMEEE and NMSH focus on reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency,NSM seeks to increase Indias solar energy generation. Based on these distinctions,the DESC Report quantifies the energy savings and GHG reduction potential via the use of ICT solutions. At the DESC Report launch,Rahul Bedi,Chairman,DESC India said: The DESC Report precisely that,allowing industries to quantify their potential energy as well as monetary savings by adopting ICT-based solutions. Said Seema Arora,Principal Counsellor & Head,CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development: This Report emphasises the urgent need to embed ICT in mitigating climate change in India,and calls for specific policy interventions to facilitate such embedding.
