Reducing carbon emissions is necessary to address the climate crisis. Investing in and transitioning to renewable energy plays a key role in communities reducing emissions and has the additional benefits of advancing economic development and improving energy security. This also includes advocating for sustainable mobility like electric vehicles, cycling, and sustainable public transportation. As part of the national Sustainable Mobility Network, the Move For Earth community is building awareness among the masses, while campaigning for the adoption of clean transportation modes including non-motorized transport in Kolkata, which involves advocating for lifting the ban on cycling on Kolkata primary roads and advocating for the expansion of the Trams system in Kolkata, which has been historically India’s oldest EV transportation system.The Move For Earth community’s renewable energy programming focuses on:
Supporting the financing of solar-based irrigation for marginalized and underserved farmers. Starting with 30 pumps that were financed through banks and the setup of an FLDG Fund (First Loss Default Guarantee Fund), the program has scaled to 1,000 pumps in 3 years and benefitted over 75,000 people.
Encouraging sustainable agronomic practices by focusing on increasing farmers’ uptake of solar water pumps (SWPs), encouraging them to make judicious use of water resources, and following improved agronomic practices, leading to the installation of 27 SWPs.
Training: 200 CREDA (Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency) engineers were upskilledon SWP technologies, and in collaboration with OREDA (Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency), 400+ farmers and youth were trained on SWP use in the field.
