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Climate Action 15: 2024's top global innovators powering green solutions

<keyword id="19955648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Adani Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Adani Group">Adani group</keyword> plans to invest about Rs 1.3 lakh crore across its portfolio companies in this financial year, as it doubles down on its $100 billion investment guidance over the next 7-10 years to grow businesses, the group's CFO said. The investment will range from ports to energy, airports, commodities, cement and media. 70% of this will met through internal cash generation and the remaining will be taken care through debt, group CFO Jugeshinder 'Robbie' Singh noted. The group will look to refinance $3-4 billion of debt maturing in the year and raise an additional $1 billion in project financing, he said, adding the annual $2-2.5 billion of equity infusion by bringing in new investors is also likely to continue. "This year will be more about asset completion," the CFO continued. <keyword id="34553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Renewable-energy" source="Orion">Renewable energy</keyword> firm <keyword id="19898586" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani" source="keywords">Adani</keyword> Green will complete 6-7 GW project, while the solar wafer manufacturing unit will also attain scale. Also, the new airport at Mumbai will be completed. The projected capital expenditure or capex for 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) fiscal is 40% higher than what the portfolio is estimated to have incurred in FY24. The group had previously guided a $100 billion capex over the next 7-10 years. Most of this investment is going to go into the group's fast growing businesses -- renewable energy, <keyword id="8411893" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-hydrogen" source="Orion">green hydrogen</keyword> and airports and infrastructure. As much as 70% of the planned capex will go into its green portfolio - primarily <keyword id="19904987" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-power" source="keywords">renewable power</keyword>, green hydrogen, green evacuation. Of the remaining 30%, the majority will be spent towards airports and ports businesses. Adani group companies posted a record 45% rise in pre-tax profit (Ebitda) to Rs 82,917 crore (about $10 billion) in FY24, Singh said. Emerging from a damning report of a US short seller <keyword id="191733" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindenburg" source="Orion">Hindenburg</keyword>, which hit the market value of its listed companies, Adani group in 2023-24 focused on containing debt, reducing founder share pledge and consolidating the business in core competencies. The five-year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for profit growth was 54% A school drop-out, group chairman <keyword id="19929098" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gautam-Adani" source="keywords">Gautam Adani</keyword> started out as a commodities trader and rose to be counted amongst world's richest with an empire spanning across ports, power generation, airports, mining, renewables, gas, data centres, media and cement. Today, Adani group is the world's second largest solar power company, it is the largest airport operator with 25% of passenger traffic and 40% of air cargo, the largest ports and logistics company with 30% market share, largest integrated energy player, and the country's second largest cement manufacturer. With strong emphasis on <keyword id="19895435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-energy" source="keywords">green energy</keyword> transition, it will be allocating more than 70% of this $100 billion to its green businesses including renewable power, green hydrogen, and green evacuation transmission lines. The conglomerate is building the world's largest renewable park at Khavda, Gujarat, spanning over 530 square kilometers, which is about five times the size of the city of Paris. A large portion of total investments is earmarked for expansion and development of its fast-growing airports business and ports business. With a portfolio boasting eight airports including the upcoming <keyword id="57321" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="navi-mumbai" source="Orion">Navi Mumbai</keyword> airport and 14 domestic ports, Adani wants to further solidify its presence in these sectors.

Adani to invest Rs 1.3 lakh crore in FY25 across its companies

<div type="image" title="One Planet Banner Test" height="138" width="1100" msid="108470190" hostid="261" sizebytes="5076"></div>When Robert Howey joined the US Navy right after high school, he didn't expect to return home anytime soon.Howey, now 30, grew up in northwestern Georgia near Dalton, a small city known as the "carpet capital of the world." If he'd stayed in the area, he likely would have pursued a career in the carpet industry."That's one of the reasons why I wanted to leave," Howey told Business Insider.Howey spent four years as an aerographer's mate analyzing the conditions above and below the ocean. But after being stationed in Japan during the Fukushima earthquake in 2016, he realized the military wasn't his long-term career.He missed home and moved back to Dalton, where a job in carpet manufacturing was indeed the best-paying option. That was until 2018, when Howey heard about a new company moving into Dalton. A local staffing agency was recruiting for Qcells, a solar-panel manufacturing company owned by the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group."I didn't even know what a solar panel was," Howey, now a master training coordinator at Qcells, said. "In the beginning, it was just about getting a job where I could grow. Now I believe in the mission of completely clean energy."Howey is among the 1,800 employees Qcells has hired since opening a solar assembly plant in 2019. The company finished an expansion in October, and it plans to open another factory in Cartersville, about an hour south of Dalton, to make smaller parts of solar panels, including ingots, wafers, and cells. Those parts are currently being imported from South Korea and Malaysia.<div type="image" title="An employee at Qcells inspects a solar panel on the factory floor." height="3024" width="4032" msid="108470191" hostid="261" sizebytes="1120990"></div>Qcells is part of a broader transformation of Georgia's economy into a renewable-energy manufacturing hub, accelerated by tax breaks in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-heres-whats-in-the-manchin-deal-for-bidens-agenda-2022-7">Inflation Reduction Act</a> that President Joe Biden signed in August 2022. Since then, more than $15 billion worth of investment has been announced in the state – the second-largest amount behind North Carolina, <a target="_blank" href="https://e2.org/announcements/">according to E2</a>, a nonpartisan business group that advocates climate policy. Most of the money is for new battery plants to supply Georgia's growing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicles-ev-industry-only-sector-meet-climate-goals-2023-11">electric-vehicle sector</a>, while about $2.6 billion is set to go toward solar manufacturing, led by Qcells. E2 has estimated the projects could create 15,400 jobs statewide.All the activity has made Georgia a key testing ground for the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-laws-us-infrastructure-invest-funding-2024-3">Biden administration's promise</a> that tackling the climate crisis would create <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-jobs-career-grow-pay-well-high-salary-2024">good-paying jobs</a> and help reshore American manufacturing. Though companies have announced billions of dollars' worth of investments, efforts to build a domestic supply chain of solar panels and electric vehicles are still in their infancy and face stiff competition from China.<h2>Aggressive recruitment</h2>Experts in economic and workforce development say it's no accident this <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-climate-manufacturing-work-best-places-georgia-carolinas-2024-1">manufacturing is taking off in Georgia</a>.Bob Keefe, the executive director of E2, said southeastern states view economic development as "a blood sport." Attracting new companies is a priority for leaders in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and the states typically offer generous tax breaks.Keefe added that land and labor in the Southeast tend to be more affordable, in part because few workers are unionized. Many workers are also already skilled in manufacturing.Beyond Qcells, the German auto-parts maker Gedia opened a factory in Dalton to supply the burgeoning EV industry in Georgia and the broader Southeast. In nearby Cartersville, two South Korean conglomerates, SK On and Hyundai, are building a battery plant to supply the electric vehicles Hyundai plans to assemble at a massive new complex in Savannah; both sites are expected to open in 2025. India's Rayzon Solar, which makes solar panels, chose Atlanta for its first US factory. SolarCycle, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-action-30-global-leaders-climate-solutions-2023-11#pablo-ribeiro-dias-cofounder-and-cto-solarcycle-19">which reclaims old solar panels</a> to make new ones, in February announced plans for a glass factory.<div type="image" title="SK On and Hyundai's battery factory under construction in Cartersville, Georgia." height="1660" width="3590" msid="108470192" hostid="261" sizebytes="324146"></div>Pat Wilson, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told BI that recruiting solar and electric-vehicle companies was strategic. Wilson said that on a trip to Germany his department organized with Gov. Brian Kemp shortly after he took office in 2019, executives they met with at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/porsche-unveils-mission-x-new-electric-hypercar-ev-electric-vehicle-2023-6">Porsche</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercedes-benz-ev-2030-electric-car-market-trends-2024-2">Mercedes-Benz</a> talked at length about electric vehicles.Qcells had already selected Dalton for its new solar-panel factory by the time Kemp was elected. Wilson said that was partly because of Georgia's decadeslong business relationship with South Korea, where the state established an office in 1985.Wilson said he met with SK On's officials several times before it looked to open a battery factory in the Southeast. SK On opened two battery plants in Commerce, Georgia, in 2018 and hired some 3,000 workers, though it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/9453dc6b-be15-4a54-8e26-fffdc7a3c9eb">recently laid off</a> more than 100 employees as automakers slowed EV investments, the Financial Times reported.Beyond the ties to South Korean conglomerates, Georgia invests more than $100 million dollars a year in workforce training, budget documents show. A state-funded program known as Quick Start can be tailored to the technical skills companies are looking for and offered for free to workers. Georgia's network of 22 technical colleges also partners with local companies to prepare students for work.Heidi Popham, the president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College, said the state agency that oversees that network of technical colleges developed an electric-vehicle-technician certificate, given the massive growth of that industry. She expects her college will offer that certification soon."The students in our automotive-technician program that work on the vehicles will have to have those skills," Popham told BI.<h2>China looms large</h2>Georgia's strategy in recruitment and workforce development is only part of the reason for the boom in renewable-energy-technology companies.In 2018, President Donald Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-solar-tariffs-solar-panels-thousands-of-job-losses-2018-1">slapped tariffs on imports</a> of solar panels and cells, with the goal of helping US manufacturers compete with cheaper imports from China and Southeast Asia. The tariffs were requested by two American companies, including Suniva, which had once been the fastest-growing solar company in the US before filing for bankruptcy protection in 2017.Foreign companies shipping to the US, including Hanwha, were forced to reevaluate their supply chains."We have factories in Korea and Malaysia that were impacted by that duty," said Scott Moskowitz, the director of strategy and market intelligence at Qcells. "The US was our largest market, and we had long wanted to build a factory here. But that trade policy jump-started us making the investment."Qcells' latest expansion plans were buoyed by the Inflation Reduction Act. The law authorized big tax credits for companies making renewable-energy technologies, including solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles, in the US.Those subsidies could increase if companies use what's known as domestic content: components of those technologies that are also sourced from the US. The Treasury Department is still working on final guidance for which components would qualify. An initial draft covers solar modules and cells but not wafers and polysilicon. In February, a dozen senators, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/24.02.28_Sen.-Ossoff-Domestic-Content.pdf">asked the Biden administration</a> to include wafers and polysilicon to help reshore more of the solar-panel supply chain.That change would benefit Qcells. Its parent company, Hanwha, invested in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kedglobal.com/energy/newsView/ked202311160013">polysilicon factory in Washington state</a>, reviving operations after a nearly five-year hiatus.Moskowitz said that though the law has spurred the most investment in US manufacturing in decades, these renewable supply chains still face headwinds, primarily from China. He added that China had compensated for its cratering <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-crash-real-estate-collapse-property-market-evergrande-bass-2024-2">real-estate sector</a> by rapidly investing in export-oriented manufacturing inside and outside its borders.According to BloombergNEF, China spent $676 billion on the green-energy transition in 2023, while the US spent $303 billion. The year prior, China spent $546 billion while the US spent $141 billion.As a result, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/renewable-energy-how-much-added-wind-solar-evs-2023-12">China dominates the renewable-energy supply chain</a>, from metals to polysilicon to solar components to batteries. The investment has also led to a global oversupply of solar panels and components that's sent prices plunging, and it's made <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-xi-jinping-crush-tesla-elon-musk-american-ev-industry-2024-2#:~:text=BYD%20eclipsed%20Tesla%20in%202023,on%20threats%20from%20Chinese%20automakers.">China a major player in the EV market</a>.While the US doesn't import solar panels directly from China, the Biden administration <a target="_blank" href="https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2023/08/department-commerce-issues-final-determination-circumvention-inquiries">last year determined</a> that certain Chinese companies were shipping products through Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Vietnam. This allowed those companies to avoid tariffs, which the administration had waived for two years, through June 2024. According to S&amp;P Global, the US imported <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/extreme-dependence-us-solar-panel-imports-boom-to-record-54-gw-in-2023-80448513">more than two-thirds of its solar panels</a> from Southeast Asia last year.The moves reflect the delicate balance the White House is trying to strike between meeting its climate and renewable-energy goals — which rely on imports — and bolstering a domestic manufacturing base.Moskowitz said that despite the difficult market conditions, Qcells was committed to its US expansion plans. The tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act are in effect for 10 years, which he said reduced some risk for the company. Qcells also has an eight-year supply deal with Microsoft, which is building out renewable-energy projects to power its operations.Once the Qcells factory in Cartersville is finished, the company said it will produce about 8.4 gigawatts of solar power capacity a year, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.seia.org/us-solar-market-insight">about a fourth of what the US installed in 2023</a>.<h2>A new era in the carpet capital</h2>Qcells' arrival in Dalton marked a new era in Whitfield County, which was devastated by the Great Recession. The housing-bubble burst, rippled through the carpet industry, and cost the county <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailycitizen.news/news/local_news/carbondale-business-park-has-attracted-jobs-and-investment/article_3d4025a4-c81a-11ed-830d-e7ae46616883.html">more than 10,000 jobs.</a> The unemployment rate peaked at about 14% in early 2009 and the county's population, which had steadily grown for decades, plateaued. New housing construction halted.Carl Campbell, the executive director of the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority, said that while carpet makers like Shaw Industries and Mohawk Industries survived, <a target="_blank" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SMU13191403231400001">the industry never returned to prerecession employment levels</a> because of consolidation and automation.The decline led economic-development officials to try to diversify businesses in the area. Campbell said the local workforce already valued manufacturing because of the community's long history in carpet. This — combined with Dalton's proximity to Interstate 75, a freight-rail depot, and a generous 10-year property-tax abatement — helped close the deal with Qcells.Since Qcells opened its doors in 2019, Whitfield County's population has slowly started increasing, but not nearly as fast as Georgia's overall population, which grew by 1.7% between 2020 and 2022.Jevin Jensen, the chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, said part of the problem is a lack of housing. Each day, Jensen said, 30,000 people come to the county for work and then leave to go home."Surely some of those people want to live here but can't find a place they like or a place that's new," Jensen told BI. "We haven't had any new apartments in 20 years."<div type="image" title="Local residents stand outside Dalton Station, a new apartment complex in Dalton, Georgia." height="2841" width="3024" msid="108470193" hostid="261" sizebytes="694042"></div>But a lot can change in a year. Jensen said Dalton would have 1,200 new apartments by the end of 2024. In early February, he attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a chic new studio-apartment complex that's close to downtown and designed to appeal to young professionals. Amenities include a gym, a common area with a pool table, and cornhole on the patio.Afterward, Jensen gave BI a driving tour of three other developments around Dalton, including a multifamily apartment complex at an old jail site."The younger generation doesn't want to spend time on a remodel," Jensen said. "They want move-in-ready, mixed-use, with retail and restaurants in one area. We had nothing like that for young professionals."Howey, the Qcells employee, lives about 30 minutes outside the city, in Calhoun. He's noticed the new housing popping up in the area, along with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investors-ev-truck-electric-charging-stations-2023-10">EV chargers.</a> When he sees solar panels atop the chargers, he feels pride in his job."We are helping power our vehicles and homes in a way that isn't going to kill our planet," Howey said.He's also a father to two stepchildren — he said he's glad they'll have more job opportunities than he did when he graduated."I think the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-panel-industry-electricity-generation-us-eia-tariff-prices-trade-2024-2">solar industry</a> has created a whole new atmosphere in the area," he said, "where people want to come here to succeed and move forward."This article is part of "<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/the-great-transition">The Great Transition</a>," a series covering the big changes across industries that are leading to a more sustainable future. For more climate-action news, visit BI's <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-planet">One Planet</a> hub.

How Georgia became America's green-manufacturing capital 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Realtors Eric and Beth Ann Mott relocated from Denver to Thousand Oaks, California, in May 2022.</li><li>The Motts attribute their move to a growing preference for California's weather and lifestyle.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with married realtors Eric Mott, 59, and Beth Ann Mott, 57, about their experience moving from a suburb in Denver, Colorado, to Thousand Oaks, California, in May 2022.Eric: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-to-denver-colorado-and-regretted-it-2023-11">Denver</a> used to be a really great place to live.I was born in California. But my folks and I relocated to Denver in 1977 when it was still a cow town.Beth Ann: I ended up in Colorado because of Eric. We did long-distance dating between Kansas City and Denver. When we got married in 1996, I moved with him to the Denver area.Eric: We're both full-time realtors with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. We bought some investment properties in Denver, and in 2009, we <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/1031-exchange">1031-exchanged</a> three of those properties for a place in Thousand Oaks. So, we've actually owned our current home here in California since 2009.Beth Ann: We planned on getting to California at some point. But it took us about 14 years to see that come into being.<h2>Denver used to be a great place to raise a family</h2>Eric: Colorado was one of the first places to legalize recreational marijuana, which we did not vote for. In our opinion, that's when things started turning in Denver.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubi-cash-payments-reduced-homelessness-increased-employment-denver-2023-10">homeless</a> population in Denver is pretty insane, even in the suburbs. It really started to affect our quality of life. We started feeling uncomfortable going downtown.The traffic got really bad, too. Twenty years ago, it was much easier to go up to the mountains and ski for a day. But now, the traffic is just hideous. If you want to have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disappointing-photos-show-skiing-in-colorado-2023-2">ski day</a>, you'd better be willing to get up at 5 a.m. and not get home until 8 p.m.We liked to take cruise vacations to escape Denver during the winter. Over time, we realized we are more ocean people than mountain people. We just got sick and tired of the snow in Denver.<div type="image" title="A photo of Eric and Beth Ann Mott's car covered in snow in Colorado" height="1500" width="2000" msid="109842007" hostid="261" sizebytes="275144"></div>It was really a combination of different things that changed the environment. It's just not what we used to enjoy.Beth Ann: We first started considering a move to California during COVID when we were sitting at home and couldn't go anywhere. We had always talked about ending up in California someday, and we thought, "Why can't someday be now?"COVID also forced everyone to do things remotely. We started doing a lot of client appointments via Zoom. So, the seed of the idea was born out of the possibilities that COVID created. We said, "Why wait?"We tested it out in 2021, doing a lot of traveling and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-remote-work-changed-economy-pandemic-2023-4">working remotely</a> with our real estate team in Denver. It worked. So, that's when we pulled the trigger for the actual move in May 2022.<h2>We moved into the house we already owned in California</h2>Eric: The moving process wasn't too bad. We did a bit of downsizing. And we're renovating now.Beth Ann: We still have our business in Denver. I commute and manage our team there a couple of times a month. We both got our California real estate licenses, too. Ultimately, the goal is to split our resources about 75% in California and 25% in Colorado.Eric: For me, moving to California was like coming home.We can get to the beach in 20 minutes. We can access hikes in the Santa Monica mountains at the end of our street. The Conejo Valley is like a small town. There are orchards and farms. And wherever you drive, there's green.Beth Anne: It's beautiful, plus we have nice weather. I love things that bloom, and it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-superbloom-spring-flowers-space-satellite-pictures-2019-3">blooming here all the time.</a><div type="image" title="Eric and Beth Ann Mott pose at the beach" height="1368" width="1824" msid="109842008" hostid="261" sizebytes="281934"></div>Eric: We're also both golfers, so it's nice being in California where <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/golf-courses-rent-real-estate-more-expensive-parks-cost-taxpayers-2023-11">you can golf year-round</a> and don't have to worry about snow on the course. We joke in December, when it's a high of 60 degrees, "Oh it's cold!" But it's really not.Beth Ann: The traffic here is tough, though. Anytime you have to go near downtown, it's definitely not a pleasure. But the traffic in Denver was nearly as bad.<h2>California is financially comparable to Colorado</h2>Eric: Everybody always says the taxes in California are so much more, but they're really not when you look at them. The sales tax rate in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx">Thousand Oaks is 7.25%,</a> whereas where we lived in Colorado, it was 2% more. That adds up.Beth Ann: Insurance rates in Colorado are really expensive, too. So, it's actually not that much different cost-wise living here. In fact, it's a bit cheaper. For example, we're paying less for homeowner's insurance in California than we were in Colorado. Same with property taxes.Eric: The value of our home here in California was the approximate value of our home in Denver, dollar-wise. Our insurance policy there was around $2,300 a year. Out here, it's only $1,400. I also added on earthquake insurance, which is another $900. So it's about the same price even with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/earthquake-insurance">earthquake insurance</a> as in Colorado.The utilities here are a lot cheaper for us as well. We haven't used our air conditioner since September, and we didn't have to turn our heater on until January. That's savings in my mind.Beth Ann: The prices at grocery stores in California, however, are a little bit higher.Eric: But in California, there's no tax on food. That was a pleasant surprise when we first got here.There's so much <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-californians-are-leaving-the-state">propaganda out there about California</a>.<div type="image" title="Eric and Beth Ann Mott pose in front of a Mickey Mouse statue" height="1500" width="3000" msid="109842010" hostid="261" sizebytes="432384"></div>Beth Ann: You can't paint California with just one brush. I wouldn't have wanted to move to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-family-from-los-angeles-to-small-town-illinois-living-costs-2022-1">Los Angeles</a>. But living in a place like Thousand Oaks is a different experience.I think the only things we miss about Colorado are our family and our clients.Eric: There are still things we like about Colorado, but we visit. We're enjoying the lifestyle that we're living in California.Beth Ann: I think California will continue to be our long-term play.Eric: California has exceeded our expectations.

We left Colorado's cold weather and high taxes for California sunshine and a surprisingly cheaper cost of living

As part of his ambition to make <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> a green economy, Union minister <keyword id="19897455" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nitin-gadkari" source="keywords">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> wants to slash GST on hybrid vehicles and has vowed to rid the country entirely of the over 36 crore petrol and diesel vehicles. "One hundred per cent," <keyword id="19934966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gadkari" source="keywords">Gadkari</keyword>, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said when asked whether it is possible for India to get rid of petrol and diesel cars altogether. "It is difficult but not impossible. This is my vision," Gadkari said in an interview to PTI. He said India spends Rs 16 lakh crore on fuel imports. This money will be used for improving the life of farmers, villages will be prosperous and the youth will get employment, the minister said. Gadkari did not give any timeline to meet this ambitious target which even proponents of green energy believe is mind bogglingly difficult. The proposal to reduce GST on hybrid vehicles to five per cent and to 12 per cent for flex engines has been sent to the Finance ministry which is considering the requisition, Gadkari said. The minister said he firmly believes the country can end fuel import by promoting the use of biofuels. Environmental activists welcomed Gadkari's vision for increasing green mobility, but also struck a word of caution by flagging the use of fossil fuels in the production of electricity. "In India, we are still heavily dependent on a fossil fuel-based energy system to power electric cars, and this needs to be changed. There is urgent need to ensure 100 per cent renewable energy alongside electric vehicles to tackle the climate crisis," <keyword id="21152150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="avinash-chanchal" source="keywords">Avinash Chanchal</keyword>, a campaigner for Greenpeace India, told PTI. Gadkari said he has been pitching for alternative fuels since 2004 and is confident things will change in the coming five to seven years. "I cannot give you a date and year for this transformation to take place as it is very difficult. This is difficult but not impossible," Gadkari asserted. He said he firmly believes that given the speed with which electric vehicles are being introduced, the coming era will be of alternative and biofuels and this dream will come true. Gadkari said auto companies such as Bajaj, TVS and Hero are also planning to manufacture motorcycles using flex engines and auto rickshaws using similar technology too were on the way. "I roam around in a car that runs on hydrogen. You can see electric cars in every other household. People who used to say this was impossible, have changed their views now and started believing in what I have been saying for the last 20 years," the minister said. "Tatas and <keyword id="19906966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashok-leyland" source="keywords">Ashok Leyland</keyword> have introduced trucks that run on hydrogen. There are trucks that run on LNG/CNG. There are 350 factories across the country of bio-CNG," he said. "Definitely, a revolution is taking place. The fuel imports will end and this country will become self-reliant - <keyword id="19952544" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atmanirbhar-bharat" source="keywords">Atmanirbhar Bharat</keyword>. I strongly believe in this," Gadkari said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/ussd-based-call-forwarding-to-be-suspended-soon-to-curb-fraud/articleshow/108933705.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/ussd-based-call-forwarding-to-be-suspended-soon-to-curb-fraud/articleshow/108933705.cms" target="_blank">USSD-based call forwarding to be suspended soon to curb fraud</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-april-2024/slidelist/108869757.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-april-2024/slidelist/108869757.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming cars and two-wheelers launching in India in April 2024</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/from-ai-photo-editing-to-international-upi-payments-here-are-upcoming-whatsapp-features/articleshow/108815797.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/from-ai-photo-editing-to-international-upi-payments-here-are-upcoming-whatsapp-features/articleshow/108815797.cms" target="_blank">From AI photo editing to international UPI payments, here are upcoming WhatsApp features</a>

Gadkari vows to eliminate petrol, diesel vehicles in India, bats for lower tax for hybrid cars

Oklahoma's lax marijuana laws made it a green utopia for the cannabis industry. Then came the mass murder.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to censure Ilhan Omar and boot her from her committees.</li><li>The reason: a speech Omar gave about Somali that's been misquoted online.</li></ul>Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is forcing the House to vote next week to rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar for a widely misquoted speech she recently delivered about Somalia.The Georgia Republican's <a target="_blank" href="https://greene.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20240201-omar-censure-resolution.pdf">resolution</a> would censure the Minnesota Democrat and remove her from the remainder of her committees. House Republicans voted last year to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.It's the second time Greene has tried to censure a Muslim member of Congress in the last few months.In November, she forced a vote on a censure resolution against Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for "inciting an insurrection" by speaking at a pro-Palestinian protest.Greene has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/08/16/marjorie-taylor-greene-how-outspoken-maga-fan-built-following-world-extremists">previously said</a> that Omar and Tlaib are not legitimate members of Congress because they were sworn in on the Quran, and on Thursday, she said that Omar, a Somali refugee who later became a US citizen, deserved to be deported from the US entirely.But Greene's Tlaib censure <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-republicans-voted-against-marjorie-taylor-greene-rashida-tlaib-censure-2023-11">failed</a> after 23 Republicans voted against it, and Tlaib was later censured via a much <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-democrats-voted-for-rashida-tlaib-censure-israel-palestine-2023-11">more narrowly-tailored resolution</a> days later.And this time, Greene's effort may fail again: The resolution is based on a misquoting of Omar's remarks to a gathering of Somali Americans in Minnesota last Saturday.Greene's resolution accuses Omar of making treasonous statements, arguing that the congresswoman is working on behalf of a foreign government while quoting Omar as saying she's "here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the US system."But that's not what Omar said, according to translations provided to the <a target="_blank" href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/02/01/republicans-smeared-ilhan-omar-over-a-faulty-translation-heres-what-she-really-said/">Minnesota Reformer</a>.According to The Reformer's report, Omar spoke generally about the political influence of Somalis living in the US, as well as her own voice in Congress, amid a dispute about Somalia's territorial integrity:Ethiopia recently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/landlocked-ethiopia-signs-pact-use-somalilands-red-sea-port-2024-01-01/">signed an agreement</a> with Somaliland — a breakaway republic in the northern portion of the country — to use a port on the Red Sea.The US government has not recognized Somaliland as an independent state and has itself <a target="_blank" href="https://somalisignal.com/us-reaffirms-support-for-somalias-sovereignty-raises-concerns-over-ethiopia-somaliland-port-deal/">raised concerns</a> about the agreement.But mistranslations of Omar's remarks have gone viral online, prompting fellow Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer to call for Omar's resignation.And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recently ended his ill-fated presidential bid, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1752351036914667642">said</a> that Omar needed to be expelled from Congress, naturalized, and deported.

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