Circular Economy and Climate Change by AnirudhGayathri
 V Ram Sep 3, 2015 05:19  | How about getting to the basics and consciously reduce the materialistic and consumer centric behaviour and adopt the more conservative life style involving recycling and less consumption? |
 Gayathri Anil Sep 3, 2015 09:30 | Proposal contributor Any idea as in such is easier proposed than implemented. Reducing the usage of resources completely is not a very feasible idea as the demands have only been increasing. We think adopting a circular economy might help us reduce our usage to a very large extent. Introducing a 'no ownership' policy over the products will definitely be able to make the consumers more conservative and environmentally sensitive. |
 Prasun Agrawal Sep 3, 2015 03:19 | Hey Guys, Would like to share an upcoming webinar related to your proposal. Here's the link https://www.linkedin.com/grp/post/67451-6044857670748381188 This is the message "Join the live debate, for free, on 8th of September at 10 am BST here: http://bit.ly/1FjbOQk" Thought might be helpful. Wish you best, Prasun |
 Anirudh Diwakar Sep 3, 2015 09:48 | Proposal contributor Explanation of the emissions scenario calculated in the Impact tab Our idea does not require any changes to be made to policy since the implementation begins once the product/service reaches the customer’s end. The responsibility for completing the cycle/loop is shared between the manufacturer and consumer simultaneously. The idea is founded upon effectively facilitating the closure of the cycle by empowering the consumers to practise a cradle-to-cradle system. The cradle-to-cradle systems inherently do not require a breakthrough in technology to effect positive change and we have leveraged this powerful simplicity of the system to our advantage. The idea is especially pertinent in India’s current energy scenario where even meagre gains in efficiency will scale up to a more tangible number, once the population of the nation is factored into consideration. Since the idea was modelled on a local scale, we believe that the baseline option is justified. As stated earlier, the idea does not require any breakthrough technologies but holds scope for betterment if technology can be applied to augment these systems. |
 Chandrashekar Shankar Sep 4, 2015 03:46 | As a person who has been linked to the Indian industry for years, I believe that the fundamental principles of this idea could not be brought out in a more elegant way than has been done in this proposal. This proposal is highly convincing and is possibly the best one I have come across after Ellen McArthur's ideas on the subject. I was especially impressed by the way this model was applied to the packaging industry. As an Indian, I am convinced that this proposed model would definitely work, with the cooperation and understanding of the immense profitability that could arise of this model, in terms of both economy and environment, by the industrialists and customers. |
Deepak Srinivasan Sep 6, 2015 08:47 | This sounds like a brilliant idea, Anirudh and Gayathri. Very well documented and clearly thought out plan. It would be a big step towards sustainability if implemented. I'm not sure how politically feasible it would be though. Rethinking the concept of ownership may be too much of a paradigm shift for governments to reach a consensus and sell to citizens. I am unsure of the political feasibility. India is a very coal-dependent nation and the world's fastest growing major polluter. Fossil fuels meet 85% of our energy needs. Reducing emissions could mean the loss of millions of jobs in various sectors. There's another layer to the problem. India's coal-based power plants are among the most inefficient in the world. Considering that India is still in the early days of the government’s aggressive industrial push, Indian emissions will keep rising in the coming years even as emissions by other major polluters continue to decline. Ahead of the 2015 Conference of Parties of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, each member nation is expected to submit a voluntary emissions pledge or Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, which usually includes a commitment to a future "peak emissions" date. Among major polluters, India alone is yet to submit its INDC. So my main question about your plan is about the political feasibility of it in India. |
Gayathri Anil Sep 12, 2015 10:28 | Proposal contributor Thank you Deepak Srinivasan ! The implementation of this proposal in India will very obviously take a long time as large number of changes have to be brought into every existing system, which will include the political system as well. In circular economy, where complete ownership of the product is no more there, the producers duty now doesn't get over at the supply stage. After supplying the product to the customer, the producer will be fully responsible for the product and its safe return. For an example, in case of the packaging industry, where the producer's job was once over post the packaging of the product, they will now have to take the responsibility of safely bringing it back and using it to pack another product after performing a few quality tests. With such extended procedures in each industry, the number of people employed to manage it all will also have to increase. So, even if the number of people employed in one sector decreases, there will be a compensating increase in the employment opportunities in another sector. Hence, we believe that reducing emissions may not actually mean the loss of millions of jobs in various sectors. And about India's INDC, PM Modi is learnt to have asked the officials and the environment minister Prakash Javadekar to focus equally on access to "affordable technology" and "adequate finance" in the report so that the country's transition to low carbon growth becomes natural and easy. It is also expected that India will take the 'energy efficiency' route of mitigation to deal with the threat of climate change where it may pledge to reduce the 'emission intensity' substantially by 2030. So, we believe that this system's political feasibility will just be a matter of time and determination. If a change for the good has to be brought in, paradigms will follow. And the day people agree to take an effort to incorporate these changes, we would've established a much more sustainable and less damaging society. |
Gayathri Anil Sep 13, 2015 01:24 | Proposal contributor Thank you for your valuable feedback Mr. Chandrashekar sir ! |
