New Delhi, November 2
A day after he pledged a new climate goal for India— Net Zero emissions by 2070 and higher NDCs based on clean fuel by 2030— Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pitched for ‘One Sun One World One Grid’, asserting that only solar power can help re-establish the natural balance of nature damaged during the industrial revolution in the race to prosper through fossil fuels.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the “Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment” event during UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, on November 2, 2021. Reuters
Speaking at the session on ‘Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment’ at COP26 in Glasgow, the Prime Minister said the creative initiative of ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ will not only reduce the carbon footprint and cost of energy, but also open a new avenue of cooperation between different regions and countries.
“I am confident that the synergy of ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ and Green-Grid Initiatives will lead to the development of a cohesive and robust global grid,” he said.
PM Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson today launched the high-level coalition for clean energy, the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid that aims to generate a solar grid connecting countries in different parts of the world.
Batting for “totally clean and sustainable” solar energy, PM Modi said with the help of the International Solar Alliance and the Green Grids Initiative, his many-year-old ‘parikalpana’ (vision) of ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ got a concrete shape today.
“The only challenge is that solar energy is available during the daytime and is dependent on the weather. ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ is the solution to this problem. Through a worldwide grid, clean energy can be transmitted to anywhere and anytime. The need for storage and carbon footprint will be reduced and association between other countries will increased,” he said.
The PM said space agency ISRO has also developed a ‘solar calculator’ application with which solar power potential of any place in the world can be calculated based on satellite data. “This application will be useful in deciding the location of solar projects and will also strengthen ‘One Sun One World One Grid,” he said.
Reminding developed nations of the damage caused during the Industrial revolution, PM Modi said: “The industrial revolution was fuelled by fossil fuels. Many countries have prospered by the use of fossil fuels, but our earth, our environment have become poor. The race for fossil fuels also created geo-political tensions. But today technology has given us a great alternative.”
Quoting from Surya Upanishad, the PM said if mankind wants to re-establish the balance with nature, the way will also come from the Sun.
“In the Surya Upanishad, thousands of years ago, it was said, everything has originated from the Sun, the source of all energy is the Sun, and everything is sustained by the energy of the Sun. Ever since life originated on Earth, the life cycle of all living beings, and their routine, has been linked to the sunrise and sunset.
“As long as this natural connection continued, our planet remained healthy. But in the modern era, man in the race to overtake the cycle set by the sun, disturbed the natural balance, and caused great damage to the environment.
“We have to walk along with the sun again to save the future of humanity,” he said, asserting that the quantum of energy that the entire human race consumes in a year is given by the Sun in one hour to the earth.
