‘Tap solar energy, incorporate it in poll manifestos’
VARANASI : Climate activists demanded a full and timebound implementation of UP’s Solar City programme in all cities, including Varanasi, on Friday. They also released a people’s manifesto on solar energy, which demands tapping the potential of solar energy to deal with the issue of climate change.
Climate agenda, a non government organisation, is working for the cause of the environment. Addressing a press conference, Saniya Anwar, a climate activist associated with Climate Agenda, said that the people’s manifesto demands full and time-bound implementation of UP’s Solar City programme in all cities, including Varanasi. The manifesto focuses on increasing the solar energy consumption in the state in order to resolve UP’s climate crisis as well as to explore huge employment opportunities for the jobless youths of the state.
She urged all political parties to incorporate these demands of the people’s manifesto on solar energy while contesting the upcoming assembly elections.
The solar energy sector has potential to create millions of jobs and can resolve the climate and employment crisis, she said, and added that a largescale increment in solar energy consumption will attract major investments to UP, she said.
Social worker Satish Singh said that a rooftop solar installation plan in cities like Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra etc will create a large number of jobs for unemployed youth, and will also provide investment opportunities in the state.
Solar rooftop systems will make consumers self-reliant in terms of energy and the government can save billions of rupees every year which it provides to Thermal Power Plants annually.
Singh added that the manifesto demands an increase in subsidy on solar panels. Currently, the cost of solar equipment prevents common people from utilising solar energy as their main source of energy. If the government increases the subsidy up to at least 50%, the government may get rid of electricity requirements of the people as well as the employment and climate crisis will stand resolved in the long run.