I am writing this article by the light of a gas lamp in my home in the forest sanctuary of Binsar in the hills of Kumaon. The sun has set and the pinpricks of light in the valley below testify to the march of development. Every year the valley is brighter than the year before. But the blanket of darkness that swaddles the area exemplifies the distance yet to be covered.

The majority of the villages are not connected to the grid; the LPG cylinder is a promise that is seldom kept; the subsidised kerosene finds its way more often into the generators of the relatively wealthy than into the lanterns of the poor; solar lighting system has disappointed because of poor and erratic service. The forests of Binsar are thick and replete. But if the energy situation remains as it is today, it will inevitably degrade. What is now required is a multi-pronged energy solution within an integrated and holistic framework. And someone who can galvanise action across all fronts.

Against the backdrop of a $100 plus price of oil and the associated challenge of global warming, many energy import dependent countries have enunciated their vision for an energy future. The United States has promulgated a new Energy Security and Independence Act. The Act mandates that by 2022 the country must replace 1 million barrels of transportation gasoline per day by its equivalent in bio fuels. And that the average fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks sold in the US must be 35 miles per gallon (mpg) as against the current standards of 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for light trucks. The European Union has prescribed a 20:20:20 vision. It has targeted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent over the 1990 levels; to improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent over current levels and to increase the share of renewables in the energy consumption basket to 20 per cent — by 2020. China has announced ambitious targets to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and to weaken the link between economic growth, energy demand and environmental pollution.

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