Dear Ministers from Centre and State,
Our collaboration will prove to be great.
Bamboo is now proceeding well
Thanks to our friend Pasha Patel!
It is no longer Climate Change
Within a tolerable range.
A crisis is what it’s about
With fires, floods as well as drought.
Every week a constant blast
Far worse than seen in the past.
If we must, we will adapt
Prevention though would be more apt.
There is a cost to adaptation,
It’s rising fast in every nation
As well as for the world at large.
And this will be a heavy charge.
In fact we should by now conclude
Prevention would be really shrewd.
It actually would cost much less
Indeed avoid a lot of stress.
A uniform carbon tax
Would protect all our backs,
Collected by each Nation state
But universal in its rate!
All GHGs would be fair game.
Every country should charge the same.
The benefit that this would yield
Would be a level playing field.
Competitors just wouldn’t care
Because this system’s very fair.
Just how high should this tax be?
A range of numbers we can see.
But Sixty dollars per metric ton
Would surely get reduction done.
For carbon this could be the rate
For others we would calibrate.
The appropriate rate we would select
Based on the Greenhouse Gas effect.
Based on today’s emissions rate
Quite candidly I should state
It wouldn’t be a trivial sum
But there’s no reason to be glum.
In dollars it would be Two Trillion
It is a lot but not a Zillion!
Compared to global GDP
The percentage is less than three.
Compared to taxes then again
The percentage is less than ten!
Of course some would then take a call
To reduce emissions not pay it all.
But bear in mind it’s not a cost.
For the economy nothing’s lost.
A UBI could be instated.
Some other tax could be abated.
And if this is indeed just so
The economy would still grow.
Don’t you think it’s very nice,
That there is no real price
Since very little would be lost
As adaptation has a higher cost?
But in the absence of a carbon tax
There is no reason to be lax.
Though business doesn’t find it nice
In India we have a carbon price
Or rather we seem to have a range
That is ad hoc and very strange.
On coal we have a largish cess.
Our electricity rates are a mess.
Our motor fuels bear excise
With rates that regularly rise.
Another way this could be played
Is to have a cap and trade.
For business it would be very nice
To have a proper price.
Climate change is now a curse
It steadily is getting worse.
Technology can save the day.
So far it has turned out that way.
As technology takes a leap
Green energy gets very cheap.
Keen observers quickly saw
That Solar also tracks Moore's law.
Wind and solar come and go
We don’t have a reliable flow.
While biomass cogeneration
Is great for a continuous operation.
Whether groundnut shell or bagasse
Our India's full of biomass.
New bamboo varieties are on the way
They can help to save the day.
These varieties rapidly grow.
The energy’s high and ash is low.
They can help our green goal
At a price that competes with coal!
The advantage would be very wide
If carbon credits are applied!
Many benefits we can reap:
A fuel that is very cheap.
Biodiversity can be maintained.
Other products can be gained.
The stalks regrow very fast.
But the roots will still last,
Sequester carbon continually
These are the benefits that we see.
Three years is all it takes to grow.
The income is a steady flow.
For farmers there is much to gain.
Though harvesting is a pain.
But we should bear in mind
There are solutions we can find.
We can insert an FPO.
Plantations are a way to go!
The economics look quite sound
But transition solutions must be found.
For industry this will fly
Only with a steady supply.
To take cultivation in hand
Farmer’s need regular demand.
Don’t you think it would be wise
If the government could incentivise?
Just a little early traction
Would lead to a chain reaction.
There can be one more gain
Once we have a supply chain
Agri waste briquettes can be tried.
Other biofuels can be supplied.
Compulsory CSR
Helps industry go very far.
If Bamboo now is growing well
It is thanks to Pasha Patel!
At Godrej we clearly understand
Its importance and give a helping hand.
And further help we will provide
Until it is tested and tried.
Governments can play a role
In achieving this noble goal.
On renewable energy India’s strong
We have pursued this very long.
Intermittent production is a bane.
The cost of storage is a pain.
Lithium reserves are hard to find.
This could put us in a bind.
Peak time pricing can be an aid
As storage needs can be down played.
With new storage systems we can succeed.
They are indeed an urgent need.
Are there alternatives that we see
For safe base-load energy?
Modular nuclear comes to mind.
In India we can certainly find
Different kinds of biomass,
Groundnut shells, straw or bagasse.
But bamboo is the ideal way!
It can be a major play!
It would seem we can succeed
In producing all we need.
If all of us cooperate
Farmers, business and the state,
The solutions that we provide
Can be universally tried.
Let us pledge to the mission
Of negative carbon emission!
We can preserve, if we plan it,
Our People, Profit and Planet!
