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By Sreekumar Raghavan

MUMBAI: Why is Tata Power Co Ltd silent even as environmental groups have urged World Bank to rethink about funding the $4.5 bn 4000 MW ultra mega coal powered Mundra power project in Gujarat?

At the outset, Tata group may feel that it is an issue between environmental groups and the World Bank. And World Bank President, Rober Zoellick was quick to react today itself. However, his defence was weak.

He said that if developing nations are deprived of energy it will be counter productive and a setback for the larger issues of climate change. It will be important for the environment community to also work with the developing world as we are trying.

Equally weak was justification of Rashad Kaldany, IFC head for global infrastructure, who said that coal plant was by far the least expensive option at this stage to meet India's 160,000 MW power needs over the next decade.

Neither the Tatas, nor the World Bank can ignore the fact that world wide there is a movement against further promotion of coal fired power plants. The older coal fired plants cause more harm to the atmosphere by releasing more carbon dioxide whereas in the Mundra project it is said that carbon emissions would be much lesser than conventional plants.

The key issue is not whether India needs 160,000 MW more power or that solar power or wind power could generate how much. The issue at stake is whether the best technology is being used for the Mundhra project.

For example, in some countries like Australia the government is planning to halt setting up of coal powered plants that do not capture or sequester the Co2.

I have read and commend the Interim Report of Professor Ross Garnaut, submitted to your (Australian) government. The conclusion that net carbon emissions must be cut to a fraction of current emissions must be stunning and sobering to policy makers.

Yet the science is unambiguous: if we burn most of the fossil fuels, releasing the CO2 to the air, we will assuredly destroy much of the fabric of life on the planet. Achievement of required near zero net emissions by mid century implies a track with substantial cuts of emissions by 2020.