India & China

Current Energy Sources

China

China's dependency on nonrenewable energy is apparent; China is currently the largest consumer of coal, using 1,310,000,000 billion short tons, which constitutes 28.7% of worldwide coal usage (Coal). 70% of China's total primary energy consumption is provided by coal, followed by oil at 20.6% (China’s Primary). China is currently the second largest consumer of oil in the world, consuming 7,578,000 barrels per day. The Daqing grasslands, South China Sea, and Bohai Gulf have all provided China with their skyrocketing need for oil. In June 2009, China's oil consumption increased 2.6% from June 2008, at a total of 33.35 million metric tons (Platts). However, China's oil exports started to decline in 1993 as their oil reserves become depleted, increasing the need to find an alternative source of energy (Forney). Nuclear energy makes up 0.7% of China's primary energy consumption in China. China has eleven nuclear power reactors in commercial operation, 14 under construction, and at least 10 more under construction in 2009 (Nuclear). Despite their dependency on coal, oil, and nuclear energy, China has taken large steps to promote the use of renewable energy.

China has identified wind energy as being an essential component of its economic stimulus package (Gow). China currently has 12.2 gigawatts of electricity generated from wind turbines. On June 27, 2006 in Beijing, China introduced the Maglev wind turbine, a turbine which uses magnetic levitation which utilizes the energy from wind with speeds as low as 1.5 m/s, adding 1,000 hours of wind power annually (Li). In 2008 China became the leading exporter of wind turbines (China pioneers). The Chinese government plans to have 100 gigawatts of energy generated by wind power by 2020 (Shen). Because China is home to the Himalayas and several other mountains, the geography makes it possible for wind energy to become a major energy source in the future. As China becomes more industrialized, the production of wind turbines should increase accordingly. Because of China's geography and the increases in production of wind turbines, wind energy is a promising renewable energy source for China's future.

China's accelerating economic growth requires a great amount of energy; it is estimated that China's power output must rise 8% annually in order to keep pace with the 6% annual increase in GNP. As a response to this growing need and to control flooding, the Three Gorges Dam project was started in 1994. With a 1.2 million stretch of concrete and a 370 mile long reservoir and 525 feet deep, the Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric station and dam in the world. The Three Gorges Dam is projected to supply 84 billion kilowatt-hours a year, which is equivalent to a coal mine capacity of 40-50 million tons per year. The dam supplies power to the central China grid of Hubei, Hunan, Henen, Jiangsu, and Anhui (Three Gorges).

Because China is an emerging leader in the production of renewable energy, the technology is more available than it was in previous years, resulting in the ability for China to be more reliant on renewable sources in the future.

India

India mostly uses coal, oil, and natural gas for energy. More than half of India’s energy comes from coal alone from coal mines that make about 630 megawatts of power each year. Coal mines can be found all over India, whereas, many of the oil mines are located only on the southern coast. Gas mines are mostly found on the west coast of India (Geocommons). Recently India has been moving towards renewable energy. Six percent of India’s energy consumption is hydroelectric power (EIA). There are many sources from which India can get hydroelectric energy. One such example is the Narmada River Dam. The Dam serves as part water reservoir and part energy source. Three states receive the electricity that is produced at the Dam. But like much of the other hydroelectricity projects in India, the project received major opposition from environmental groups. One of the biggest issues was that thousands of people were displaced due to the project. Similarly the Farakka Dam on the Ganges River also faced much opposition (India's Greatest Planned Environmental Disaster: The Narmada River Valley Dam Projects).

India is also starting to build solar energy plants. Most of the owners of the solar companies are from foreign countries (Solar Power in India). India also has a goal of providing power to all parts of the country by 2012(Solar LEDs Brighten Rural India's Fut. Currently, solar power does not fuel many homes and businesses; there is only about 2 megawatts of power produced by the sun. Solar energy is also still unaffordable in India. It can cost up to three times as much to install and initiate solar energy as it already does for fossil fuels (Solar Power in India). But the case for wind power is the opposite. India has wind power providing energy in more than nine states. Similar to solar energy, wind power also has a plan to provide energy to rural areas by 2012. One of the problems of wind power is that monsoon season may interfere with the windmills (Wind Power in India).

While India has not been able to install more hydroelectric, solar, and wind power plants, they have tried to reduce their carbon emissions. Most cars and motor rickshaws now run off of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. LPG does not completely eliminate gas exhaust from cars but significantly reduces it. Many have reported a difference in air quality since they have been put into use although the number of vehicles has increased. The disadvantages of using LPG, is that the tank must be installed after the vehicle is bought. Furthermore, it takes up a large amount of room in the trunk of the car.

Limitations

Both India and China are not yet as industrialized as the United States and other European countries. India and China feel that it is there time to fully industrialize and trying to reduce emissions by as much as the US would like for them to do is hindering their development. India and China feel that since the US first started contributed to the global energy crisis, it should start to use renewable energy first.

Population is a factor that both countries have to take into account. India and China have the two largest populations in the world. In India the cities take up so much of the energy that there is not much left for the rural areas. There are frequent power outages because India consumes more energy that it produces. While India is trying to convert from fossil fuel to renewable energy, they must first find a way to overcome that problem. Their energy shortage is only made more difficult because many people are now able to afford commodities which they did not have more. China has the same problem except they must improve their electricity grid so people in the rural area can have power as well. They need to find a way to transport energy from the west coast to the east.

India and China are still trying to fully develop and industrialize; building things such as roads also takes more time and money. Some of the renewable energy technology is not yet affordable to India and China, so they will still require more time to let renewable energy be available to the general public.

Transportation

China and India both utilize many different forms of transportation. Non-motorized transportation has historically been the most popular form of transportation in the two countries, particularly in rural areas and small cities. One mode of non-motorized transportation that has been commonly incorporated as a means of public transportation is bicycles (Pucher). Bicyclists in China have ideal conditions because of accommodations such as cycling lanes, traffic lights, and bike parking. Such accommodations are much more uncommon in Indian cities. Walking also remains a common form of non-motorized transportation in the two countries. Motorized transportation in both countries is important to the economy (Pucher). Recently, motorized vehicles in India and China have become increasingly popular due to improved roads and railways (Pucher). China has been much more successful in their endeavors than India, whose infrastructure remains for the most part outdated and the public is forced to deal with outdated technology, horrible management, and corruption and low worker productivity (Pucher). The improved roads in both countries have resulted in three times the number of car owners in India and ten times the car owners in China. Even though car ownership has increased, public transport remains the primary mode of transport in India. India's rail network is the longest and fourth most used in the world (Pucher). A massive increase in air pollution, congestion, and traffic accidents has occurred in these two countries as a result of the increase in car ownership and highway construction projects (Pucher). Tata Motors, an Indian corporate giant, unveiled a new car with minimum specifications called “the nano” in 2007 (Volti). This four-door sedan powered by a two-cylinder engine had a price of only 100,000 rupees, or about US$2,500 (Volti). Cars such as “the nano” are making motorized transportation available to a large amount of people (Volti). With this increase in motorized vehicle use, the proportional increase in fuel consumption and pollution production is fast becoming a serious political and environmental issue.

Formerly a nation dominated primarily by agriculture, China is growing increasingly more industrialized each year. Industry and construction account for about 46% of China's gross domestic product ("Major Industries"). China’s major industries have grown to include not only agriculture, but also high-tech, construction, transportation, postal services, telecommunications, retail, and tourism ("Biz China"). The growth of these industries has lead to an increased amount of energy consumption in China.

Population and Electricity

The population in China is currently over 1.3 billion people. As China’s population has increased, China has become very concerned ("Background Notes: China."). In 2002, China implemented a population and family planning law that limits families to one child with a few exceptions. The increase in population was closely accompanied by an increase in both energy production and consumption. In 2003 as the demand for energy in China was increasing, China became the second largest user of primary energy in the world. China is also the second largest consumer of oil and the third largest producer of energy China’s electricity usage has been projected to increase by 4% by the year 2030. In order to produce that much electricity China will need more than $2 trillion in electricity infrastructure to meet this increasing need. As the need continues to grow, China expects to produce an additional 15,000 megawatts of generating capacity each year, with at least 4,500 megawatts of generating capacity coming in from various suppliers in foreign countries. China's electricity is found easily in the urban communities where the population is the most dense, but as large portions of China are extremely rural areas, a lot of central China doesn't have easy access to electricity ("Background Notes: China."). India and China’s population combined make up 37% of the world’s population ("Background Notes: China.").

Electricity Usage and Losses

As of the 2006, India has become the sixth largest oil consumer in the world. The budget cut crisis has actually slowed the significant economic growth particularly in the manufacturing sector. The GDP growth rates have declined from 9.3 in 2007 to 5.3 in the 2008. Though the economy has slowed down, India’s usage of energy continues to increase. The usage of energy in the transport sector has been particularly high as vehicle ownership has gained popularity especially four-wheel vehicles. As the population of India is rapidly increasing and having reached about 1,166,079,217 as of July 2009, and the government is trying to accommodate to this situation by setting up goals and projects that help this ever increasing population. In March 2009, the government set a program that installed power generation that held a capacity of 147,00 Mkw while the per capita power consumption stood at 612 kWh (India Envisages). The country's annual power production has now increased from about 190 billion kWh in 1986 to more than 680 billion kWh in 2006. Also on top of all this the Indian government has set an ambitious target to add approximately 78,000 MW of installed generation capacity by the year 2012 (India).

But with even with these changes the excepted demand of total electricity in India is to cross 950,000 MW by 2030. Though it is stated that 80% of the rural neighborhoods are wired to for electricity consumption, only 44% of the rural household population has access to the electricity. Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Uttaranchal, West Bengal are some of the states where significant number (more than 10%) of villages are yet to be electrified. Though most of the regions are wired to receive electricity, there is about 30% to 40% loss of electricity due to transmission and improper distribution (Gujarat).

According to the Wall Street Journal, “India is failing badly India is failing badly in its quest to improve electricity supply at a time when energy is crucial to the country's economic-growth ambitions, according to a new report by a parliamentary body.” The study implicates that India is suffering from significant deficiencies in the “implementation of the government program that is intended to reduce power distribution loss, cut chronic cut chronic outages and increase state utilities' revenue from selling electricity.”(Range) The report found the government's power initiative had failed in its primary objective, which was to cut a key zw3t measure of electricity distribution losses by 9% a year. Instead, between fiscal 2002 and fiscal 2005, losses were cut by only 1.68% a year. In addition to all this, the power loss record was not kept properly and many consumers don’t have their meters read leading to estimation (Chaliha). Many experts believe that this is hindering the growth of India’s economy. The “power for all” plan has not only started on a rocky start, but has it is not looking bright. But other ideas are looking up after like for example, nuclear and wind energy is looking up as a great alternative as India’s nuclear energy has increased since mid 2006 when it signed with the US and now provides about 3% of the nation’s energy with about 3577 mw.

Industrialization

India couple of decades ago was what today is known as the green economy or in other words, a fully agriculture based economy. But today, recently the news reported that there might not be another green revolution as Rajnath Singh stated “the gross capital formation in the farming sector had come down, nearly half the farmers had no access to banking and despite the widest agriculture extension service system in the world, and productivity for most crops was below the global average.” Today India is rapidly industrializing and is growing towards a more self sufficient economy in the field of technology. Planners are “aiming for two things: all-round development and generation of large-scale job opportunities.” As India is trying to reconstruct its economy, many multinational companies have established themselves and the field of computer software has churned out more Indian scientists everyday as the nation is trying to gain a steady footing in their economy. Another venture that India is planning is to involve the Non-Resident Indians in the expanding economy. Several attractive packages are thrown at NRI’s to keep them engaged in the stocks and wealth system of the nation like the accesses to fully invest in the companies and the business of the India. On the other hand, the infrastructure has been growing about 9-10% annually as the country and the key industry that has India growing is the software business. It has taken a rapid stride in the recent years quickly and produces electronic items worth over 200 billion rupees yearly. Software exports have also rose to about 70% since 1995. The software industry has also developed the skill and expertise in areas like design and has completed projects for about 43 countries. Other than software, steel and textile also produce many exports and are also a leading industry (Indian Embassy).

Energy Grid and Power Plant Map

In 2006, India was the sixth largest oil consumer in the world. The global financial crisis and credit crunch have slowed India’s significant economic growth particularly in the manufacturing sector, and GDP growth rates have declined from 9.3 percent in 2007 to 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Despite a recent slowing economy, India’s energy demand continues to increase. In terms of end-use, energy demand in the transport sector is expected to be particularly high, as vehicle ownership, particularly of four-wheel vehicles, is forecast to increase rapidly once the global economic crisis abates and domestic spending levels resume

These graphs shows the power plant energy production for the countries India and China and as the map details, the energy production produced all types of power plants in India is not concentrated in one region of the nation while in China, most of the energy is produced at the eastern section of the country with very minimal energy production in the western part of the nation in China. Due to the vast land and the various topography of China, it is doubtful that the energy produced in the east is shipped to provide the various rural populations in the west with enough energy to sustain, since electricity cannot be transported in large distances. Meanwhile in India, it can be seen that energy production in various power plants is evenly distributed throughout the country leading to the conclusion that it is easier for India to transport all the electricity it generates in the numerous power plants throughout the nation. Though at this point there may not be the proper mode of transportation in India to provide electricity generated in these power plants efficiently, the situation and the topography will not hinder its progress in this sector.

Developed vs. Developing

China and India are currently classified as developing nations. Each nation is individually trying to develop in both a social and economical sense. Developing in the midst of the current global energy crisis has put strain on the process itself, while also raising questions as to the implications that the development causes within the environment.

China and India feel that it is their turn to develop and further emerge into the global marketplace. While both countries currently rely on a carbon-based energy system, they feel that it is unfair to have to develop a “green” energy system, rather than using current methods of energy production. However unfair the situation may seem, the External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, of the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate sees the development as an opportunity: “This is all the more so for developing countries, where there is a large reliance on fossil fuel. It is our hope that this partnership will ensure that we collaborate to develop, deploy and disseminate appropriate and advanced clean technologies.” (Pranab for)

Pressure is being placed on developing countries by developed countries to expand renewable energy along with their advances in infrastructure. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first official visit to India and chose to focus on the issues of climate change and energy. Through diplomatic relations, the United States hopes to encourage India to control carbon emissions. The results of Clinton’s visit were mixed. Clinton emerged optimistic, yet India’s minister of the state for environment was quoted as saying, “There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have among the lowest per capita, face to actually reduce emissions”. Perhaps a lack of compromise and understanding is present between the developing and developed world. Although the United States and India met with good intensions, pressure could result in animosity between developed and less developed nations. (India sees)

India is focusing on saving the environment through a philosophy called "green design". Green design focuses on the design of the house as well as all of the appliances within the house. This attention to detail goes to the extreme that there are "green" building supplies that put less stress on the environment than their counterparts. The design of the house is also very important; it incorporates the heat of the sun and the coolness of the breeze to a point where the energy that goes into heating and cooling the house is greatly reduced. The best part of "green design" is that it is affordable and more accessible to the masses than other energy saving attempts. (Going Green)

Improvement in environmental friendliness is a little bit tougher to see in China. China is taking a similar approach to the environmental problem as the United States; they are addressing the ways of making "greener" energy sources rather than "greener" products and designs. Some of China's alternate energy sources are hydro-power and wind-power, as those are the most feasible alternates for China's climate and geography. China operates government agencies such as the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China in order to combat environmental issues. The effectiveness of this organization has yet to be tested; as the organization is very new. Only time will tell if China will triumph over their environmental challenges.

Development paired with the current global energy crisis is putting its strain on domestic and international relations. Yet together, all nations can contribute their share to a safe and green energy future.

Politics

Politics affect everything; the attitude towards becoming “green” is not an exception. Unfortunately neither China nor India has a government that is in a position to risk changing their infrastructures to become “greener”.

China is a communist institution. Communism comes with a promise that there will be no poverty, no unemployment, and no hunger. Currently the people in power know that they are not fulfilling these promises to the extent that is required to maintain a proper sense of pride and loyalty for the country by those who live there. With any sort of government, and especially a type of government that is greatly opposed by most developed countries, the satisfaction of the people is very important to the welfare of the country. The Chinese government is painfully aware of their position, as the 16th Congress of China in 2002 admits:

We must be aware that China is in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so, for a long time to come. The well-off life we are leading is still at a low-level; it is not all-inclusive and is very uneven. The principle contradiction in our society is still one between the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backwardness of social production. Our productive forces, science, technology, and education are still relatively backward, so there is still a long way to go before modernization. (Yong)

Considering how this is worded there might be a subtle hint that “modernization” just might be higher up on China’s list of initiatives than “addressing climate change”. You might argue that modernization could be addressed while addressing climate change. However this is not entirely true, old habits are certain while change is uncertain for much of the population. The unknown tends to scare people. Just the slightest scare or the slightest unrest of the people of China could have detrimental effects on the stability of China as a country. The idea of several million people revolting is not a comforting one, and may keep the Chinese from taking any more initiative than necessary to address environmental issues.

India is a parliamentary form of government. India’s Parliament consists of the president and two houses, giving the people more power by allowing them to elect the people in one of the houses. The concern for India is not mass revolt; rather individuals worrying about getting re-elected. Re-election is quite different from mass revolt, but they both urge the persons concerned to please, or at least appease, the general public.

As you can imagine, the politicians in India will stretch the truth and use heavy rhetoric to get what they want, just as politicians in America do. Due to this, many voters may choose to look at the results of reality rather than looking at what the candidate is saying. To keep reality almost as good as the picture the politicians paint for potential voters, it is necessary to keep any major problems from becoming worse. To do so, Indian politicians will most likely support what they know will keep the standard of living in India from declining; the result may be that Indian politicians will be hesitant to take unnecessary risks.

China and India may be countries in which the people of power have little concern for the well-fare of the environment. I suppose we should take comfort that they are countries in which the people of power take interest in the well-being of the general public, regardless of their motivation.

International Involvement

Organizations

Foreign involvement also plays a large and vital role in both development and improvement, since they can often supply resources that the developing countries cannot supply for themselves. Many various programs and international organizations exist in order to form cooperative bonds and improve the health and advancement of the global community.

One of such programs is BIMSTEC, or Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economical Cooperation. The fledgling program known as the Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation, BIST-EC, held its first meeting on June 6th, 1997. As countries were added, the cooperation eventually evolved into BIMSTEC consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as decided by the June 31st, 2004 Summit. This organization brought together several incredibly diverse nations into one group devoted to economic development and social progress. To be eligible for membership in BIMSTEC a country must be dependent on the Bay of Bengal for both trade and transportation. If a country desires membership, a written request must be submitted to the Chairman of BIMSTEC and all current members must approve the addition.

India leads several of the 13 "priority sectors" in BIMSTEC, specifically Transport and Communication, Tourism, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, and Environment and Natural Disaster Management. Energy is managed by Myanmar, which incidentally is the nation that will assume Chairmanship in 2009. India's participation in BIMSTEC is highly beneficial for several reasons. Working closely with other nearby nations fosters good foreign relations and lays the foundation for future cooperation which could be pivotal in such a volatile economy and global climate. It also deeply involves India in a cooperation that brings together 1.3 billion people or 21% of the world's population (Bay).

China and India are both members of the IAEA, or the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. One of the main pillars of this organization is “Science and Technology”; the IAEA helps countries assess and plan their energy needs, especially nuclear energies. The IAEA encourages innovative and advanced technologies that are necessary to meet the world’s rising energy needs as well as supports research and development on critical problems facing developing countries (Pillars). Not only does the IAEA affect the governmental decisions of both China and India regarding energy usage, namely nuclear energy, it also promotes the search for advancements that will benefit the countries as their populations grow.

India is a member of the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, or SACEP, which is an intergovernmental organization of the South Asian region whose goal is to promote and support the protection, management, and enhancement of the environment in the region. The SACEP has helped India implement a number of projects and programs in areas such as environmental education, environmental legislation, biodiversity, air pollution, and the protection and management of India’s coastal environment (An Overview).

China and India are also members of the World Meteorological Organization, an international organization dealing with meteorology, hydrology, and geophysical science. WMO plays an important role in contributing to the safety and welfare of humanity. It also has established programs to enhance the economic and social wellbeing of all sectors in society, such as food security, transportation, and water resources, all of which connect to the environment and geology of a country. Most importantly, WMO plays a leading role in international efforts to monitor and protect the environment by providing advice and assessments to governments, which is makes it essential for nations such as China and India to be a part of this organization (WMO).

UN Conferencing

One high-profile and upcoming event in terms of international involvement is the next UNFCCC, or United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
It was created with the goal of framing a successor to the Kyoto protocol in order to prevent climate change, when 350 scientific personnel from India prepared a Communication outlining their plans and standards for the upcoming convention. They admitted that there are significant obstacles but believed that it is highly important that they participate fully in the summit (Natcom Foreword).

China, however, is opposed to strongly cutting her own emissions. The New York Times claims that China also requests the US reduce her emissions by a significant amount of ten times the percentage presented in the current bill that Congress is voting on (COP15). The national circumstances of each country play a huge role in how ideas will be received. India has one of the most highly varying terrains on the planet. As the seventh largest country in the world, it has high mountains, multiple surrounding seas and bays, and a variety of climates. Any significant climate change could be significantly damaging to ways of life and fragile ecosystems. India’s economy is also founded in agriculture and other natural resources, placing even more emphasis on maintaining stable weather patterns.

Additionally, India has the second largest population on the planet. This human element could, in a more financially stable future, indicate a major pull on resources rivaling that of the US. Therefore, India has realized the necessity of monitoring environmental impact to prevent further damage and rectify dangerous habits of the world’s developing counties (National Circumstances). As a developing country, India believes that it is important to set an example in their industrialization process. Instead of rejecting the agreement that will be the final product of the UNFCCC, India intends to aid in its creation in such a way that it can be healthily bound to its terms. In reflection of Hilary Clinton's recent visit, India has been pushed to cut their emissions and is not particularly interested in mitigation. The issue of a Cap and Trade Bill with the threat of tariffs as a form of encouragement in compliance is a major one with the Indian government (Edge).

“Without China, there can be no success this year on a new global climate framework.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon casts the situation in a very stark light. China, as one of the significant CO2 emitting countries along with the US, admits the need for a new outlook on emissions and Climate Change. However, it will be a long labor to convince the newly developed modern China to wean itself from coal and oil and move towards greener sustainable energy (von Bülow).

In February of 2009, Secretary of State Clinton visited Beijing to discuss CO2 emissions and global warming with the Chinese government. While most words exchanged were positive, the largest issue comes into play when China claims that US attempts to reduce emissions are not rigorous or thorough enough while rejecting caps to their own pollution claiming that their per-capita emission level is one sixth that of the typical American. This will be a focal point for both Indian and Chinese ambassadors to the UNFCCC conference (Bodeen).

Possible Solutions

Creating solutions for the energy and environmental crisis that can be ratified and followed by a broad international community is extremely difficult. Any large scale changes in a countries economy have to bring about fiscal gains, and in general green technologies are more expensive and costly to implement. Simply rebuilding all the fossil-fueled power plants in India and China is not even an option, since the private investment sector would never follow behind this expensive endeavor. Some also suggest giving money for improvements to developing nations. This would definitely improve the situation greatly, however would never be approved by the people of the developed nations who get to pay for the new improvements in other countries; improvements that are not directly benefiting them. Thus, it is necessary to create such a plan which introduces 'green' ways of producing and using energy in a financially beneficial way. This way it will not only be easier for the government to approve of such a plan, but the private sector would jump on board quickly as the promise of making more money emerges.

A mention of Cap and Trade has been made in the debates concerning reducing emissions in the China India region. Such a plan, however effective it may be in a developed nations such as the US or Europe, would not be enough in large developing nations such as China and India. To curb emissions to acceptable levels the cap would have to be set incredibly low, a move which would never pass through the countries respective legislatures. Measures to curb emissions have to be combined, each being modest enough not to have a significant negative impact on the economy, and yet being comprehensive enough to decrease emissions.

One such plan could include cap and trade as well as tackle India's and China's deficient power grid by expanding and modernizing it, effectively adding more consumers and money to the system. This expansion and modernization would provide the fiscal motivation. Along with this would be coupled a new energy production initiative, which would create new 'green' power generation facilities to power the improved grid infrastructure. Instead of providing cash, developed nations could help by giving China and India technology necessary to create efficient 'green' power stations. Given China's and India's diverse geological features and climate, a wide range of renewable energy sources can be found. Solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal, are all viable choices when powering a new 'green' energy grid with new 'green' power.

India's 'green movement' has even extended into transportation. This past year, electric vehicles, especially battery-powered scooters, were popular in India; however, like the United States, India has entered an economic recession, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to find the 'green' cars appealing (Chauhan). Though the EV (electric vehicle) sales have not been recorded, it has been estimated that electric scooters make up ten percent of the total market, a significantly higher percentage than that of the United States (Johnson). To encourage sales, the government is being pressured by EV companies and environmentalists to provide incentives for buying fuel-efficient vehicles, as the United States does now (Johnson). China is taking a more aggressive approach by aiming to produce a large amount of hybrid and electric vehicles in order to lessen its dependence upon foreign oil and reduce urban pollution (Bradsher). Another environmentally-friendly form of transportation known to be popular in both China and India is bicycling. Urban streets have been overrun by bicyclists since the beginning of the century, yet with growing consumption rates, EVs, especially mopeds, are beginning to take over. According to the Associated Press of the New York Times "the e-bike [or, electronic bike] doesn't emit greenhouse gases, though it uses electricity from power plants that do (Bradsher). The larger concern is the health hazards from production, recycling and disposal of lead-acid batteries." For such reasons, it is apparent that bicycles still remain the most 'green' and cost-effective form of transportation for both urban and rural dwellers of China and India.

India's harvesting of alternative energy resources such as hydroelectric, solar, and wind is ever-increasing. Due to the nature of India’s poor power grid, more energy resources should be pursued to receive maximum energy coverage for the nation. The country of Iceland uses hydroelectric energy to produce hydrogen at a newly developed hydrogen station to service buses inexpensively (Brown). By replacing cars with hydrogen powered cars, India could replace fossil fuels completely. Recently, India has built solar panels in order to pump water, replacing the previously used diesel motors. In addition to this, India has proposed to increase its solar energy production to 20 megawatts by 2020 (Kanter). In this proposal there would be one million rooftop systems with an average capacity of three kilowatts by 2020 (Kanter). This would allow for maximum solar potential and cut the use of diesel for daytime power (Kanter). The best place for India to expand would be in the southern region of the country because it has the most solar activity. India is ranked as the world's fifth largest wind and solar energy producer (Roosevelt). India's wind energy has significantly increased in the past few years, but In future generations India will need to expand to reach their maximum potential of energy. A good place that India could expand their wind energy would be in the Himalayas, since they are the tallest mountains in the world and have lots of wind activity among them. Although India is expanding in wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy this is still not enough to fix the country's energy crisis. The main goal India needs to concentrate on is repairing and further connecting its energy grid in order to make energy more readily available for both rural and urban areas, alike.

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