Europe under Inflationary Shock says Navtej Kohli

Navtej Kohli see inflation as a penalty on the poorest that will further eat away the already low purchasing power of this section. Europe is going through a rough patch owing to inflation and the resultant rise in energy and food costs. A report published in the New York times, gives a closer look at this issue.

Europe is facing a “very strong inflationary shock” as a result of rising energy and food costs, the top European Union official for economic affairs said on Monday as the price of oil traded not far from $120 a barrel.

The European economic chief, Joaquín Almunia, recommended structural changes in national economies.
He said higher inflation was emerging as “a big punishment to the weakest sectors of society” eating away at the purchasing power of consumers who are struggling with stagnant incomes.

His remarks came as the European Commission revised its forecast for inflation this year to 3.2 percent, from 2.1 percent in 2007, well above the target of slightly under 2 percent that the European Central Bank aims for.
Mr. Almunia also said that governments should change laws and regulations that keep prices high. European officials have said that these measures include fostering greater competition in services and keeping down administrative fees and sales taxes.

“We need to be concerned not only because of economic reasons but also because of social reasons,” Mr. Almunia said, “and we need to ask the governments to step up their efforts of adopting structural reforms that can counter these inflation risks.”

Commodity price increases, amplified by rising demand from fast-growing Asian economies, have contributed to higher inflation. On Monday, oil touched a high in New York trading of $119.40 a barrel, settling at $118.75, after a weekend strike closed a pipeline that delivers crude oil to British refineries from the North Sea and violence reduced production in Nigeria.

Mr. Almunia acknowledged that inflation was biting hard in Europe because many incomes had not risen as much in the current economic upswing as in past expansions, amplifying a feeling of being squeezed.
“The disposable income of households is not increasing as much as in previous recoveries,” he said, “and this means wage increases have not increased so far as much as in previous recoveries.”

Mr. Almunia also said that the strong euro, which so far has shown little sign of pinching European growth, would eventually affect a weaker world economy. The euro settled in New York Monday at $1.5645, below its record just over $1.60, but is probably still overvalued, he said.

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Estimated carbon dioxide emissions for freight transport

India Government Taking Renewable Energy Seriously

According to the 11th New and Renewable Energy five-year plan recently proposed by the government of India, from 2008-2012 the renewable energy market in India will reach an estimated US $19 billion. Investments of US $15 billion will be required in order to add the approximately 15,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to the present installed capacity. The government of India has planned a subsidy support system of approximately US $1 billion in government funds. This amounts to adding renewable energy capacity at 1 Watt per US $1, with potential subsidy support of US $0.07/Watt.

The Indian government by 2012 expects renewable energy to contribute 10% of total power generation capacity and have a 4-5% share in the electricity mix. This implies that growth in renewable energy will occur at a much faster pace than traditional power generation, with renewables making up 20% of the 70,000 MW of total additional energy planned from 2008-2012.

Financial assistance is available in various forms, such as direct installation subsidy, feed-in tariffs, tax rebates, and low interest loans. Increasingly Indians are seeing a shift away from subsidizing installed capacity and towards subsidizing power generation with feed-in tariffs and tax rebates. For example, wind energy developers can take 80% accelerated depreciation, sales tax exemption, excise duty exemption and income tax exemption for up to 10 years. Preferential tariffs are being worked out at the state level. While the new framework for supporting renewable energy generation is evolving, most of the direct subsidy has thus far been designed for installed capacity.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India has also provided funds for town and city level renewable energy planning. This local information infrastructure, comprising of local awareness, urban design, laws and smooth functioning processes, is an important step towards integrating renewable energy into economic life, and improving power delivery in the last kilometer. In addition to improving investment opportunities, this may also bring about greener, better designed and less polluted cities. With the expected growth in this sector, the availability of technically trained personnel may become a hurdle for further growth in the coming years. Thus, an opportunity exists for educational and training institutions to introduce new courses, curricula, and training for students to work in this emerging job market in urban and rural areas.

This move from the Indian government is a very wise move considering the increasing global warming threats. It will surely help to improve the energy shortage and reduce pollution.

The Melting Globe- Navtej Kohli

Navtej Kohli raises concern about the hottest issue which is sweating the hell out of all leading economies of the world - Global Warming. Navtej Kohli blogspot conveys Mr. Kohli’s views about this continuously thickening problem, which has placed entire human race on pins and needles.

Global warming has become the part and parcel of this era. If you are breathing, I’m sure you must have at least a hint about what global warming is. Global warming refers to the unusual changes in the general climate causing rise in the average temperature of the environment.

The phenomenon has grown so rapidly that it may turn into a life-threatening danger soon. Today, there is a need to wake up and take some radical steps to curtail the impact of global warming.

Scientists blame high emission of carbon-dioxide and several other poisonous gases for this odd increase in global temperature. Scientists also commend that recent incidents of natural disasters are also a prelude of global warming’s catastrophic consequences. Thus, its time for all global communities to come around and immediately take some measure before situation go out of control.

Navtej Kohli on Geothermal Energy

Navtej Kohli President and CEO of Granox Explorations has given an insinuation of Granox's policy transformation from Exploration to Sustainable Energy productions.

In a seminar on Geothermal Energy Generation at Kent, he said that he has a vision for Granox to become world's largest producer of geothermal energy, a renewable resource that captures the natural power of steam from the earth to generate electricity while producing almost no greenhouse emissions.

Mr. Navtej Kohli said. "The only resource unavailable in Kent is geothermal energy. All other technologies and resources are available and overall renewable energy technologies are in a period of rapid global growth and cost reduction. For similar development in Kent, as seen across Europe and the world, there is an initial need for public demonstration and acceptance." He added.

Once the first successful demonstrations of the more innovative technology have been delivered in Kent there is an opportunity to replicate a greater number of more commercial installations in the medium term.