Port infrastructure gets a boost in Chennai
Union Minister for Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday inaugurated new projects worth Rs 187.33 crore at the Chennai and Ennore Kamarajar ports.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday called for developing a roadmap for greening the shipping sector in India, reducing pollution intensity and evolving strategies to introduce renewable energy and green hydrogen in the shipping sector.
Addressing the World Sustainable Development Summit 2023 in New Delhi, he said that with ‘green growth’ being a priority area in the Union Budget presented in Parliament a few days ago, the focus was firmly on meeting the decarbonisation targets for 2030 as well as the net-zero goals for 2070.
He said this was applicable to the shipping sector as well. The budget had also put forth the need to promote coastal shipping as an energy-efficient and lower-cost mode of transport, both for passengers and freight, through PPP mode with viability gap funding, he added.
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Sonowal said that with the country taking over the G20 Presidency this year and working groups deliberating on clean energy and green transitions, India was reemphasising the significance of inclusive green growth as its development strategy. ”To enable this growth, we need to pay particular attention to technology transfer which is absolutely essential for green transitions,” he added.
The minister said there was also a need to mainstream green transition policies as well as carry out a proper assessment of emerging energy and fuel choices.
Sonowal said The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways(MoPSW) recently joined hands with TERI to set up the country’s first National Centre of Excellence in Green Port and Shipping at the institution’s field station at Gwal Pahari.
He said the shipping sector was both energy and resource intensive and needed an implementation roadmap to achieve energy and resource neutrality.
Sonowal said a green shipping sector was the most pivotal element in evolving a sustainable blue economy.
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