LPG connections move will have a huge impact: Modi Govt

New Delhi, Mar 15: The decision to provide five crore LPG connections to BPL households will have a "huge impact" as it will reduce biomass burning and associated health hazards, the government today said.

"This would have huge co-benefit impacts by reducing biomass burning in inefficient cookstoves and associated health hazards," Union Environment Secretary Ashok Lavasa said while speaking at 9th India Climate Policy and Bussiness Conclave.

It was organised by FICCI in partnership with the Environment Ministry and Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservative, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the World Bank Group.

Lavasa also lauded the globa lclimate change agreement in Paris and India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) and said the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris accord reinforce two realities.

"First, that the world would continue to grow and second, that it needs to grow in such a way which doesn't jeopardise the future of the planet," he said.

He said the government's initiatives as announced in the budget of 2016-17 underscores a strong cross-sectoral focus on sustainable development. He also lauded the Railway Ministry's efforts to restart the ring rail network in Delhi to reduce pollution from the transport sector.

Silke Karcher, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and Head of Division for European Climate and Energy Policy, New Market Mechanisms, said the private sector needs to play a proactive role with a cooperative approach.

"A strong accountability was required for achieving the desired outcome from the INDCs. Germany was determined to become a greenhouse gas neutral by 2050. To achieve it, the country was updating its legislation on renewables, adopting new strategies for energy conservation and transportation," she said.

PTI