15th Edition of Environment and Energy Conclave (EEC), 25th August 2022, Hyatt Regency, Kolkata
The COP 26 Presidency and the incoming−COP 27 Presidency are committed to ensuring a transparent and inclusive process in the lead−up to COP 27 to be convened in Sharm el−Sheikh, Egypt from 6 − 18 November 2022. COP 26 was held in Glasgow, UK in November 2021.
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented 15th Edition of Environment and Energy Conclave (EEC) on 25th August 2022 at Hyatt Regency, Kolkata. The theme, this year, was “Journey from COP 26 to COP 27 and beyond”. UK was the Country Partner.
Senior level representations from both UK and Egypt visited Kolkata for the Conclave. His Excellency Wael Mohamed Awad Hamed, Ambassador, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, New Delhi addressed the audience on “Towards COP 27” at the Conclave.
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“For climate action, we need finance, finance and more finance. When we talk about growth, we need to talk about global growth, not of just one country but the global economy. Growth of developing countries positively affect the developed countries.” said His Excellency Wael Mohamed Awad Hamed. |
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Mr. Nick Low, British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, who was present at the Conclave said: “I am delighted that the United Kingdom, as COP 26 President, is once again the Partner Country of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry's flagship clean energy event. We look forward to launching UK−India initiatives on electric mobility to accelerate clean energy transition. These will support decarbonisation of high emission sectors such as transport, which directly address climate change. Our dedicated UK session covered potential partnerships with West Bengal on sustainable finance, green hydrogen, asset monetisation for renewable energy projects, carbon capture and storage, cable monitoring for the transmission and distribution sector, energy storage, EV skills and lots more.
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UK participated with a delegation on Clean Transition Policies and Technologies. A Paper on “Roadmap for development of an Innovation Centre for Electric Mobility” was launched by Ms. Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner to South Asia, British High Commission, Delhi; Ms. Libby Green, Climate and Energy Lead, British High Commission New Delhi and Mr. Nick Low.
The innovation centre is an innovative, effective and sustainable solution for promoting brand neutral, unbiased facilities dedicated to providing free, non−technical education and information on EV technologies and encouraging EV uptake among all sections of the population. The innovation centre will lead to a series of positive impacts, including increased confidence among customers and hence increased adoption of electric vehicles, skill enhancement of staff and the development of innovative business models. During the Environment and Energy Conclave, the template for state level EV awareness portal was launched which is hosted under e− AMRIT. The prototype portal can be used by other states to develop EV awareness platforms for their respective states. This state web portal intends to complement the e−AMRIT portal on raising awareness on EVs at the State level.
The Bengal Chamber participated in COP 26 last year presenting a 90 minutes Session on Electric Mobility. A Delegation visited Glasgow, speakers joining from Kolkata and Delhi virtually. Hon’ble Transport Minister of Government of West Bengal addressed, virtually, from The Bengal Chamber as the Chief Guest.
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Mr. Abraham Stephanos, President of The Chamber observed, “The Bengal Chamber understands that to address the issues of climate change and achieve the mission of Sustainable Development Goals or SDG 17, the needs include:
Collaborations would be essential to enable these. Therefore, The Chamber focuses on B2B meetings with international participation.”
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Mr. Gautam Ray, Senior Vice President and Chairperson, Energy and Environment Committee, The Bengal Chamber said, “Our effort in the forum of The Bengal Chamber’s Environment and Energy Conclave is to add value to the ecosystem by disseminating knowledge, collating inputs for policy advocacy, facilitating B2B, promoting startups and innovations, aiding collaborations and similar such engagements.”
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Mr. Sudhendu J Sinha, Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity− Transport and Electric Mobility), NITI Aayog, Government of India mentioned, “Commitment to sustainability in manufacturing process is required for access to foreign markets.”
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Shri S. Suresh Kumar, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Power, Government of West Bengal
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The Conclave featured Exhibition by Startups in SDG space. The startups were the incubatees of Webel−BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre and also the ones who work closely with The Chamber, namely:
- Creatronics
- Horsemen Energy
- Janta Group
- QuicFind
- Schoppen Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
- Solaire Initiative Pvt. Ltd.
- Motovolt Mobility Pvt. Ltd.
- Sunanda Enviromental International Pvt. Ltd.
Australia has passed the country’s first climate target updates while India and Egypt have updated their Paris Agreement pledges in preparation for COP 27. The Australian House of Representatives moved to pass a new bill including legally binding emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2050. The United States and Egypt launched a joint group to prepare for COP 27. Focus is for concerted efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions by a minimum of 45% by 2030 to be able to reach a pollution−neutral planet by mid−century. USA and Australia were present at the Conclave to share their views. Ms. Melinda Pavek, Consul General, U S Consulate Kolkata and Mr. Daniel Sim, Acting Consul General, Australian Consulate−General, Kolkata were also present.
The other speakers in the Opening Session were Ms. Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, IAS (Retired), Former Secretary, Dept. of Empowerment of Person With Disabilities, Govt. of India and Former Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh; Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) (joined virtually) and Mr. Arun Kumar Mishra, Chief Executive Officer, EESL (joined virtually).
Mr. Aloke Mookherjea, Former President, The Bengal Chamber was felicitated for being a leading expert in the realm of Energy, Environment Sustainability.
This year, the Conclave featured discussions on :
- Energy Future and Resources Security
Session Chairperson − Mr. Subir Chakraborty, President Designate, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Exide Industries Limited
Speakers:
- Debashis Sen, Managing Director, WBHIDCO Limited & Chairman, New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA)
- Rajesh Mediratta, MD, Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (VIRTUAL)
- Ajeya Bandyopadhyay, Asia Pacific (Lead) − Decarbonization & Circular Economy, Senior Operations Officer, Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Services (MAS) Advisory, IFC (World Bank Group)
- Vijay Prakash, General Manager, (Engineering Services), NTPC Limited
- Video Address : Mr. Sourav Daspatnaik, Managing Director, Swach Environment Pvt. Ltd.
- Grid Stability, Renewable Integration and Cross−Country Connectivity
Session Chairperson− Mr. Arun Kumar Mukherjee, Mentor, Energy and Environment Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Speakers:
- Harish Saran, ED Commercial, Operations & HR, PTC India Ltd.
- Sanjoy Mukherjee, Executive Director (DT), CESC Limited
- Monali Zeya Hazra, Regional Energy and Clean Energy Specialist, Indo Pacific Office, USAID India (VIRTUAL)
- Sthitadhee Sarkar, Delivery Manager, TNCC, Electricity Transmission, National Grid and Dr. Xiaoyao Zhou, Operability Policy Manager, National Grid UK
- Promod Singh, President− Regulatory & Commercial, India Power Corporation Limited
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion− symbiotic relationship with Sustainability
Session Chairperson: Ms. Sonia Laul, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, US Consulate General in Kolkata
Speakers:
- Jayanta Chakraborty, Chairperson − Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Consultant, Indofil Industries Limited
- Jayanta Basu, Journalist and Environment Expert
- Shveta Verma, Inclusion and Diversity Leader− India and APAC, PwC India (VIRTUAL)
- Mollah M Amzad Hossain, Editor, Energy & Power (Bangladesh)
- Green Livelihood and Inclusiveness
Speakers:
- Ardhendu S. Chatterjee, President, Development Research Communication and Services Centre
- Arnab Chakraborty, Integrator, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)
The programme was streamed in multiple digital platforms simultaneously.
The conclave was participated by prominent stakeholders from different parts of the country. There were vibrant discussions. Around 350 audience were present at the Conclave.
EVENT GALLERY