Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Minister and CEEW Chairperson, released a Report on ‘Shaping a Prosperous and Sustainable India: Action Plan for Energy, Environment and Water’. The report prepared by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), an independent and India’s top-ranked climate-related think-tank, was released on CEEW’s fourth anniversary. A wide range of luminaries including senior government officials, captains of industry, heads of civil society organisations and the media was in attendance.

CEEW’s reportdraws out a clear plan of action. Drawing on extensive, independent and peer-reviewed research conducted by CEEW in more than 60 research projects, the policy report crystallises its findings and recommendations in various areas: India’s energy mix for a low-carbon future; coal and natural gas; grid-connected and decentralised renewable energy; water governance for agricultural, industrial and household use; critical mineral resources; and resource security and resource diplomacy.

Applauding CEEW’s efforts, Mr Suresh P Prabhu, said, “Over the last four years, CEEW has successfully scaled up into a centre of research excellence, with demonstrated capacity to convene partners across government, industry, civil society and academia; and deliver robust policy insights and alternatives on energy, environment and water issues. I would also like to congratulate the entire CEEW team for being recognised as India’s number one climate think-tank for a second consecutive year and am confident that they will keep raising the bar as always.”

Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEEW’s CEO, added, “At CEEW, we have only one mantra: unbiased, evidence-based, world class research. As India’s leading think-tank, our focus is on solving real problems. We hope that the new government and all other key stakeholders in India’s development will consider the recommendations in this policy report as our contribution to a national and global dialogue on prosperity and sustainability.”

Some of the key recommendations that have been highlighted in CEEW’s policy report include:

• Establish a Green Growth Unit within the Prime Minister’s Office to periodically assess the alignment of policies to maximise co-benefits of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and meeting developmental needs
• Institute a reporting authority to ensure inter-ministerial coordination on issues of national security (such as coal transportation, cleaner coal technology, gas terminals, etc.)
• Strengthen the finance ecosystem for utility scale renewable energy and invest in energy storage technologies and infrastructure for grid stability in the long term
• Use the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) to capitalise a Decentralised Energy Risk Guarantee Facility
• Establish a National Water Commission to function as the guardian and overseer of a National Water Strategy
• Establish a Bureau of Water Efficiency to implement and enforce water efficiency targets under the National Water Mission
• Promote progressive water pricing for households and industry to encourage efficiency but demonstrate improved service delivery before raising tariffs
• Develop a framework to identify and secure a set of critical nonfuel minerals for India’s industrial development
• Establish a ‘one stop’ information portal and create target-based competitions to channel R&D funding and promote technology development for resource efficiency
• Create an Indo-Pacific Forum for coordinated action on energy, increased transparency of energy-related trade, building strategic oil and gas reserves, protection of key energy supply routes, and arbitration on energy-related disputes and protection of overseas investments.