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India's Central Electricity Authority released its latest draft National Electricity Plan, which lays out intentions to more than double India's clean energy capacity by 2027, according to Climate Home. The plan also indicates that the country will not build additional coal-fired energy capacity from 2022 to 2027.

Protection of the natural world has been an integral part of Indian culture and heritage. The Constitution of India places responsibilities on the State as well as citizens for protection of nature and the living beings therein. The following two Articles of the Indian Constitution are noteworthy: Article 48A: The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country; and Article 51A (g): Fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. In the face of rapid industrial development, the environmental effects were not given much importance. However, with environmental impacts becoming detrimental for wildlife, biodiversity and people, the Indian Parliament has passed legislation to keep pace with changing demands. The British had passed the Indian Forest Act, 1927, mainly to regulate timber extraction for construction purposes. From production forestry, protection forestry principles were also considered. Later, wildlife (both flora and fauna) were considered essential for sustainable forest management. The Wildlife Act was passed in 1972. The Environment Protection Act was passed in 1986 as an umbrella act to consider environment in its totality. Since then, biological wealth started to be considered as an asset of the country just as other productive assets.

Ahmedabad, a rapidly urbanizing city in western India grappling with rising air pollution levels. In an innovative step, the city, along with NRDC and other partners, unveiled the draft Ahmedabad Air Information and Response (AIR) Plan. The first of its kind, the AIR Plan is a decisive step by Ahmedabad to protect local residents from the debilitating effects of bad air.

Earlier this month, the Narendra Modi government officially approved an incredibly ambitious plan for India's fledgling solar sector. From the current solar power generation capacity of 4 GW (gigawatt), it wants to produce as much as 100 GW by 2022-with a target of attracting a staggering $100 billion into the sector over the next seven years.

Gamesa announced plans to build a 40 MW wind farm in India for renewable energy developer ReNew Power.

Extreme heat can kill, as it did by the dozens in Pakistan in May. But as many of South Asia's already-scorching cities get even hotter, scientists and economists are warning of a quieter, more far-reaching danger: Extreme heat is devastating the health and livelihoods of tens of millions more.

India's renewable energy (wind and solar) sector's contribution to the overall power generation mix is expected to cross 10% in FY20 as the country will add 10 giga-watt (GW) generation capacity during the period.

The New Climate Economy launched the Coalition for Urban Transitions, a global initiative to bolster the economic case for improvements in urban development. The Coalition will work with countries - including China and India - to ensure effective urban infrastructure investment is a central part of their growth strategies.

While national leaders spout optimistic platitudes celebrating the great achievement of the globally unifying Paris Agreement on climate, environmentalists note that there is little in the way of substantial action plans behind the many promises made last December. Meanwhile, the most intense El Niño in history is leaving in its wake a world gripped by 7 months of record high temperatures; drought, water shortages, and famine (especially in India and Africa); wildfires (Fort McMurray, Canada); record coral bleaching; and a fast shrinking Arctic ice cap that set stunning early melt records this winter and spring.

India-based Carbon Clean Solutions has developed a technique to turn harmful carbon dioxide emissions into sodium carbonate. Several other companies want to acquire the technology and use the soda ash that's produced to manufacture baking soda, glass, detergents and sweeteners.

Air pollution contributed to a total of 80,665 premature deaths of adults over 30 years in Mumbai and Delhi in 2015, a two-fold jump from 1995, according to a new study at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In economic terms, air pollution cost the two cities $10.66 billion (approximately Rs 70,000 crore) in 2015, or about 0.71% of the country's gross domestic product. The study has said the impact on health and productivity as a result of exposure to pollution and the consequent burden of respiratory ailments rose with every passing decade.

More than 800,000 volunteers planted saplings in public spaces in the state of Uttar Pradesh hoping to reduce greenhouse gases and reforest the countryside

In a dystopian portrayal of the future, the landscape is rife with fires, rising seas, and thick clouds billowing from power plant smokestacks; humans must wear gas masks for their own survival. This apocalyptic vision is captured in a series of photos featuring 8 popular Vietnamese singers, actors and dance artists as part of a new anti-coal campaign. Pollution from coal-fired power plants already causes an estimated 4,300 premature deaths in Vietnam annually, yet the country has the third largest pipeline of new coal plants in the world - behind only China and India.

Palm oil shipments from Indonesia, the world's largest producer, climbed to the highest level in eight months in October as a decline in supplies of substitute oils in India and China spurred demand from the biggest buyers.

The protests included 20 activists displaying a giant banner from the top floor of P&G's Indonesian headquarters in Jakarta and dressing like tigers. Other protests were in the Philippines, India, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Violent tensions over water are on the rise, from India to Iraq. The solution lies in good governance and business has a key role to play

nvestors are expected to put at least $15 billion into India's wind industry by 2020, according to research firm CRISIL. The country is expected to add 4 gigawatts of installed wind energy capacity annually through 2020, said the report. The government has set a goal to increase its capacity by 60 GW by 2022

5 key takeaways from India's new climate plan

Toxic toys, contraband cigarettes and old sunglasses are among the waste products being burnt to manufacture cement by Holcim, Bloomberg reports. Holcim - the world's largest cement manufacturer - is increasing its use of waste in place of coal to heat cement kilns as a means of cutting costs. Holcim sites from India to Vietnam are now using waste in this way, the news service reports.