VZCZCXRO4216
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHNE #3603/01 2200503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080503Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7393
INFO RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0599
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 1111
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0271
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 8028
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 4076
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0259
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0496
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 4823
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0186
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0272
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003603 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT OF ENERGY FOR TOM CUTLER, MARK GINSBERG 
DEPT OF COMMERCE FOR DAVID BOHIGIAN, JOE NEUHOFF, WILLIAM ZARIT, 
GREG LOOSE, LINDA DROKER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON ENRG TSPL TRGY EFIN BEXP IN
SUBJECT:  INDIA: REMOVING CLEAN TECHNOLOGY BARRIERS 
 
REF: A) 2007 NEW DELHI 3262, B) 2007 NEW DELHI 2078, C) 2007 NEW 
DELHI 2085 
 
NEW DELHI 00003603  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Clean technology transfer to India faces several 
market and policy challenges. (Ref A)  By raising awareness on the 
anthropogenic causes of climate change via television and reviving 
eco-labeling, a viable market can be created.  In addition, 
manufacturers should look to partner with microfinance institutions 
involved in clean technology financing.  Finally, from a policy 
perspective, more effort is needed to inform the Government of India 
(GOI) on the public costs of conventional energy and to emphasize 
the power of cooperatives.  End Summary. 
 
Raise Climate Change Awareness via Television 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.   (SBU) From a market perspective, the first step will be raising 
awareness among consumers and businesses on the impacts of climate 
change.  The Times of India recently reported on a survey conducted 
by HSBC, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which found 
that Indians are more aware of the anthropogenic causes of climate 
change than the people of any other developing or developed country, 
citing a 60% awareness rate.  However, the article clearly stated 
the findings were based on a sample size of 9,000 respondents across 
four continents, of which the Indian population was described as 
"urban mass affluent" - indicating those surveyed were not 
representative of India's population as a whole.  These types of 
misleading figures give the public, or at least the urban affluent 
and middle class English readers of the Times of India, a false 
sense of complacency about India's eco-friendliness. 
 
¶3.   (SBU) In order to raise awareness among the population at 
large, New Delhi SciOffs are consulting on a project with award 
winning Indian documentarian, Nila Madhab Panda, to develop a 
multilingual television series on the potential effects of climate 
change on local communities.  Panda had success in raising awareness 
on feticide in Orissa via a televised series in 2004, sponsored by 
USAID.  The New Delhi Environment, Science, Technology and Health 
(ESTH) Office plans to develop a grant request to fund thirteen 
episodes of Panda's climate change series in seven local languages. 
While there are countless local and national newspapers, television 
is the one unified medium that is far reaching, with even the 
poorest households of the slums owning a set.  Moreover, with 
India's literacy rate of 61%, television will be able to reach an 
audience much broader than print. 
 
Revive Eco-Labeling to Create a Market 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) To help create a market for eco-friendly products and 
business practices, the GOI should look to better publicize its 
EcoMark scheme (Ref A), as the initial launch had virtually no 
publicity leaving consumers unaware.  In addition, EcoMark differs 
from other foreign eco-labeling initiatives in that it requires 
quality standards in addition to environmental standards.  At a time 
when the eco-friendly market is in a nascent stage, manufacturers 
will be reluctant to endure such a rigorous selection process.  More 
importantly, Ecomark's steering committee lacked representation from 
environmental groups and the private sector, which were hallmarks of 
the successful eco-labeling schemes of Japan, Germany, Canada, and 
Sweden.  To spur manufacturer interest in EcoMark, the GOI should 
look to financially reward companies that produce EcoMark products 
with incentives such as tax and excise duty concessions.  For larger 
appliances such as washers and refrigerators, the GOI should look to 
offer rebates to customers to help with higher prices.  Finally, for 
manufacturers doubting the potential of an eco-friendly consumer 
base in India, greater emphasis should be put on the value of green 
products in export markets, where developing country manufacturing 
practices are constantly scrutinized. 
 
Tech Firms Should Build Relationships with Indian Banks 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) While financing options for the average Indian consumer 
have been limited, microfinance institutions and international aid 
 
NEW DELHI 00003603  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
organizations have moved in to provide their services. 
Historically, microfinance loans were geared towards those that have 
an entrepreneurial spirit and were awarded based on an individual or 
group's business case.  Today, more and more initiatives are 
combining microfinancing with clean technology proliferation, such 
as Selco India. (Ref A)  In another example, the United Nations 
Environment Programme has aided over 100,000 people in 18,000 
households in financing their solar photovoltaic electric home 
systems through the Indian Solar Loan Programme.  The success of 
this initiative, based on innovative interest subsidies, has helped 
the growth of a credit market among India's poor and today there are 
20 mainstream banks with over 2,000 branches providing solar 
financing to this previously ignored customer base.  These 
initiatives typically establish an exclusive list of qualified 
vendors to provide technology.  As the credit market flourishes in 
the vast rural and poor communities, both foreign and domestic 
technology providers should be vying for inclusion. 
 
Influence Policy through Public Costs of Conventional Energy 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) From a policy perspective, as the GOI has been well aware 
of climate change risk from a normative perspective, more effort is 
needed to show the true impacts made on society and the environment. 
 New Delhi SciOffs are working on an externality valuation 
initiative with the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE), 
based in Pune, India.  WISE has solid experience in policy advocacy 
studies and consultancy projects with the GOI, such as the drafting 
of the Model Renewable Energy Law for India that addresses the 
renewable energy gap in the Electricity Act of 2003.  SciOffs will 
work with WISE to assess the public cost, which is made up of the 
social and environmental costs, of conventional versus renewable 
energy.  The overall goal of the study is to help generate policy 
that is more favorable to renewable energy and clean technology 
growth and to eliminate the public perception that renewable energy 
is expensive since it may prove to be much cheaper in terms of 
long-term public cost.  The New Delhi ESTH Office plans to develop a 
grant request to fund this data-rich study. 
 
Address Scale via Large Scale Procurement 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) To address the issue of scale, the GOI could arrange for 
large scale procurement of clean technology which would bring down 
prices for end users as well as help manufacturers achieve minimum 
efficient scales.  An example of this is the Bureau of Energy 
Efficiency's recent announcement that they will make energy-saving 
compact fluorescent light bulbs available at the same price as 
standard light bulbs, with the lost revenue offset by carbon credits 
under the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. 
 
Cooperatives Create Economies of Scale 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) If large scale procurement of clean technology is not 
feasible, the GOI should look to promote the formation of 
cooperatives among consumers and businesses.  These cooperatives 
will increase buying power, open up financing options, and also 
serve as a platform for the sharing of best practices in energy 
efficiency.  The Warana Cooperative, formed in 1978 in Kolhapur, 
Maharashtra, is illustrative.  Still functioning today, Warana 
empowers the rural interior by bringing agricultural supplies such 
as farm equipment and fertilizers to farmers and consumer packaged 
goods to households at reduced prices.  The Warana Wired Village 
Project, started in 1998, was a joint initiative between Warana, the 
GOI, and technology providers to build an IT infrastructure for 70 
rural villages via internet-equipped 'facilitation booths'.  By 
pooling orders these cooperatives are able to bring cost-prohibitive 
technologies to the masses and could be used as a model for the 
distribution of clean technology throughout rural India. 
 
WHITE