EU Referendum

Showing posts with label Tata. Show all posts

TATA+letterhead[i-TATA+letterhead]
"Hasnain (of "glaciergate" fame) is currently employed as a senior fellow at an Indian research institute, the Tata Energy Research Institute, whose director is Pachauri." So writes Fred Pearce, sometime New Scientist journalist but currently making this assertion in The Guardian.

This is the man who is at the forefront of pointing out the 2035 error in the IPCC report yet, anyone who has been following the affairs of the great R K Pachauri will know that the Tata Energy Research Institute, aka TERI, changed its name to The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003 – seven years ago.

The distinction is more than academic. The allegation that there is a link between Tata and Dr Pachauri "is defamatory of our clients", we are informed by lawyers acting on behalf of Tata.

In fact, so incensed is B Muthuraman, vice chairman of Tata Steel Limited, with our assertion that there is any linkage between Tata and TERI that he is now threatening immediate proceedings unless we withdraw any such "allegation" and pay zillions of damages to compensate for his company's losses arising from such a grave slur.

Now Fred Pearce has, effectively – albeit unwittingly – also made the link, perhaps the irate Mr Muthuraman might consider taking proceedings against him as well. Mind you, he would also have to take action against Ms Ritu Kumar, director and company secretary of TERI Europe, as her current letterhead also describes TERI as "Tata Energy Research Institute" (illustrated - click to enlarge).

That aside, you do wonder how well-informed these self-important environmental journalists actually are. If Pearce can make such an obvious bloomer, how many other mistakes is he making?

PACHAURI THREAD

IMG_8426[i-IMG_8426]As we left it with our last piece, we were looking Dr R K Pauchauri's London enterprise, by the name of TERI Europe. Headquartered at 27 Albert Grove, Merton (pictured), it is a registered charity which declared to the Charity Commissioner a total of £24,000 (exactly) income for the three trading years ending in 2008, with an expenditure of exactly £16,100.

Yet this is also an organisation which took a contribution of £30,417 from DEFRA in that period, which exceeds the total income for a period of three years, against a high level of operational activity and additional, "generous support" from the Global Opportunities Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Exact information on income, however, remains frustratingly – if predictably – difficult to obtain. We have written to TERI Europe director (and company secretary) Ritu Kumar, asking for further details of their accounts, to which we are entitled under Charity law. In response, Ms Kumar (who does not have a PhD) has elected to make use of the full two month period of grace allowed under the law before furnishing the accounts and annual reports.

In this fourth piece on TERI-Europe, therefore, what we are building a picture of the operations of TERI-Europe as best we can from open source material. By this means, we aim to show that the level of activity could not possibly be supported by the declared income and expenses. From that stems an entirely reasonable assumption, that details of some transactions have been wrongfully (and illegally) concealed, keeping the turnover below £10,000 which exempts the organisation from filing accounts and reports with the Charity Commission.

So far, I have positively identified 47 specific activities/projects, which are listed below in rough date order. There are many more, but such is the incoherence of the reporting, and the multiplicity of sources, with different players, networks and "partners" involved, that it is difficult to assemble clear details of the many others.

Not least is the habit of these environmental organisations of forming ad hoc coalitions, primarily as "funding vehicles", where the identities of the primary contractors (and beneficiaries) are obscured. The survey is further complicated be the relationship between TERI Europe and its parent body in India, where TERI Europe seems in some cases to be an agency for the Indian operation, taking on projects and contracts which are largely executed by TERI personnel in India.

However, what we have is clearly sufficient to prove the point - that TERI Europe operates at a level which could not even begin to be sustained by the meagre income publicly declared. Thus, this is the list so far:

1. Global Commons Institute in London.

Creation on 24 of December 1999 of an organisation with the informal title, "The Global Commons Network" (GCN). Ritu Kumar involved.

2. Developing clean development mechanism projects for renewable energy technologies.

Project entitled "Solving the CDM Maze for Renewable Energy Technologies in India".

Commenced in 2000 and was sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the British government. Implemented jointly by TERI-Europe, London; TERI, India; the Commonwealth Science Council (CSC), UK; AEA Technology, UK; Renewable Energy Systems Ltd, UK; and ABB Alstom Power, UK. Report in June 2003. HM Treasury report, also in 2003, culminating in a National Strategy Study (NSS) on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) conducted by TERI India with a report in 2005.

3. Conference: Delhi Sustainable Development Summit.

Held 7-9 February 2001. Entitled "Poverty: the global challenge for society, industry, scientists and civil society. Organised by TERI India, partnered by the Government of Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the International Development Research Centre, United Nations Development Programme, India and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Switzerland. Speaker: Ms Ritu Kumar, TERI Europe

4. WREN International Seminar - Renewable Energy: Major Environmental Option for Sustainable Development.

Old Ship Hotel, Brighton, UK, 19 - 25 August 2001. Part one: Climate Change & Sustainable Development: Speakers, Prof Marco Sala, Prof Phil Eames, Dr Robert Critoph and Dr Caroline Livingstone. A workshop on Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Options organized by Dr Ritu Kumar with speakers: Mr Michael Jefferson; Mr Steve Drummond, and Dr Ritu Kumar.

5. European Union Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Cross- Cultural Perspective.

Wednesday 21 November 2001, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi. Speaker: Ms. R. Kumar Consultant, Commonwealth Science Council, Director TERI-Europe.

6. Corporate Responsibility in South Asia.

TERI-Europe with the New Academy of Business carried out a major exercise to document corporate responsibility practices in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka with a view to developing training modules for companies and academic institutes on environmentally and socially responsible business practices.

As part of this programme, a poll conducted by TERI-Europe has revealed a compelling agenda for corporations in India to demonstrate their social responsibilities. The poll of over 1200 individuals in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Tiruppur surveyed the perceptions and expectations of workers, company executives, and the general public towards business in India. This poll was the first of its kind to include workers in a survey of corporate responsibility, thereby giving a unique balance to the results.

The results of the poll were presented in a report Altered Images: understanding and encouraging corporate responsibility in India. Reported in 16 January 2002.

This project was supported by the UK Department for International Development's Asia Division.

7. EPTSD Dialogue/Report: Promoting Sustainable Trade in Textiles and Clothing.

An international dialogue promoting sustainable trade in textiles and clothing was held in London on 24-25 January 2002. The dialogue was sponsored by WWF International, Trade and Investment Unit, under its Expert Panel on Trade and Sustainable Development (EPTSD) project.

Report also produced by WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature published in March 2002, which lists TERI Europe as a participant in the "dialogue" and includes a contribution from Ritu Kumar. Financially supported by the Environment Ministries of Norway and the Netherlands.

8. IPIECA Stakeholder Dialogue: International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, 22-24 April 2003, Durdent Court – UK, with final report, 5 June 2003.

The report summarizes the discussion that took place at the stakeholder dialogue sponsored by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental and Conservation Association (IPIECA), at Durdent Court outside London, United Kingdom, 22-24 April. The dialogue was convened to explore issues surrounding the social impact of the oil and gas industry in its areas of operation.

The report presents a summary of the views exchanged during the dialogue and has been reviewed by all participants. Consistent with the application of Chatham House Rule during the course of the dialogue, no comments are attributed either to individuals or institutions. Rita Kumar, TERI, listed as an attendee.

9. Symposium: Challenges ahead on the road to Cancún.

16, 17 and 18 June 2003, World Trade Organization, Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland. Panellist: Ms. Ritu Kumar Environmental Economist, described as Consultant to the Commonwealth Science Council.

10. International Conference: Towards Sustainable Product Design.

27-28 October 2003, Nordic Sea Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden. Speaker: Ritu Kumar, Director, TERI (Europe), UK. Developing world perspective.

Organised by the Centre for Sustainable Design. Sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers, Swedish Business Development Agency (NUTEK), and the Swedish Ministry of Environment. Supported by: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Switzerland Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), UK Sustainable Trade & Innovation Centre (STIC), Netherlands.

11. Book: Something to Believe In - Creating Trust and Hope in Organisations: Stories of Transparency, Accountability and Governance.

Based in part on an international action research project, conducted in partnership with United Nations Volunteers (UNV) (in Brazil, Ghana, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa), research with women workers conducted for the UK Department for International Development in factories and plantations of Nicaragua and another project involving collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Europe and local partners in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

Chapter on "Partnering trust: India's corporate social responsibility heritage," by Viraal B Balsari, TERI-Europe. Published by Greanleaf, December 2003.

12. International conference - Development cooperation and corporate social responsibility: exploring the role of development cooperation agencies.

Held in Stockholm 22-23 March 2004. Workshop 3 refers: CSR standards and norms in developing countries. Chair: Nigel Twose, The World Bank Group. Rapporteur: Ritu Kumar, TERI-Europe. Organised by the Swedish foreign ministry, in collaboration with IIED, IBLF, Sida and the World Bank.

Report subsequently produced: "Exploring the role of development cooperation agencies in corporate responsibility" by Tom Fox and Dave Prescotti.

13. WTO Public Symposium: "Multilateralism at a Crossroads".

25 - 27 May 2004, Centre William Rappard, 154, Rue de Lausanne, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Speaker Ritu Kumar – described as Exec Director, STIC.

14. Project: Sustainable building design: strengthening capacities for planning and implementation.

Part of the EU-funded Asia Urbs programme, this project involved six partners: the Institut Català d'Energia, Spain; the London Borough of Merton; the Haryana State Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), India; the Institut Cerdà, Spain; Renue, UK and TERI.

The reported cost of the project was €715,710 with the EU contributing 65 percent of the total. ICAEN, the LB Merton and HAREDA contributed the remaining 35 percent. The EU grant in aid to HAREDA and TERI was €127,332.50. The split is not known.

Claimed as a TERI Europe project in its annual report for financial year ending 30 June 2004, most of its component of the work seems to have been executed by TERI India.

The aims were "to enhance mutual understanding and awareness between Asia and Europe by supporting urban development projects that are implemented jointly by Asian and European local governments."

The overall objective of the project "Sustainable building design in Gurgaon: strengthening capacities for planning and implementation" was to improve the urban environment in Gurgaon district of Haryana (location of the TERI "retreat" building") through the introduction of sustainability measures in building design.

Its ultimate aim was to assist the local authority in Gurgaon to develop building plans based on the concepts of energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, and sound water and waste management practices.

The first Steering Committee meeting was held in Barcelona on 3-4 July 2002 and the last activity recorded was May 2004 although the project seems then to have been ongoing, awaiting the production of a manual.

15. Energy efficiency and building design.

TERI-Europe assisted the London Borough of Merton in organizing a major seminar on energy efficiency and in incorporating renewable energy technologies in building design. The seminar was part of the activities of the EU funded Asia Urbs project on building design. Date not known - assumed to be 2003/4.

16. INSTEP in the UK.

TERI-Europe hosted an event on INSTEP (Integrating New and Sustainable Technologies for Elimination of Poverty) in March 2005, in collaboration with the India Environment Trust, London. Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, TERI and Dr Leena Srivastava, Executive Director, TERI presented TERI's INSTEP programme to an audience of NRIs and British persons with an interest in development and poverty reduction.

17. Project: Elaborating a research agenda on climate change and development.

Joint project with the International Institute for Environment and Development, funded by Dfid. Culminated in a "Consultative Workshop on Climate Change and Development" at the TERI office location in New Delhi, 4 April, 2005.

18. Symposium: Business Action for Development.

24-25 May 2005, Buckinghamshire, UK. The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) convened this symposium focusing on the role of business in reducing poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in May 2005. TERI Europe included as participants.

19. Ford (Motor Company) Sustainability Report 2004/5: Report Review Committee.

The committee met twice in person (in Dearborn, Michigan, in April 2005 and in Boston, Massachusetts, in August 2005) and communicated extensively with Ford and one another by email and teleconference before, between and after the two meetings. RRC input had significant impact on the content and structure of the report.

Ritu Kumar, Teri Europe, was a member of the Committee.

20. Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Eleventh session, Montreal, 28 November to 9 December 2005. Participant: Ms Ritu Kumar.

21. The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII).

Initiated by Munich Re in April 2005 at seminar on Climate Insurance resented by the Institute for Environmental Studies of the Free University Amsterdam. It is launched "in response to the growing realization that insurance solutions can play a role in adaptation to climate change."

The initiative brings together insurers, experts on climate change and adaptation, NGOs, and policy researchers intent on finding solutions to the risks posed by climate change. MCII provides a forum and gathering point for insurance-related expertise on climate change impact issues. TERI Europe is a founder member.

Followed up by a seminar on 5 December 2005, in Montréal, Canada. Peter Höppe, Munich Re notes the increase in extreme weather events and economic losses. He says the Initiative will help address the consequences of disasters in poor countries.

Christoph Bals, Germanwatch, said the "pillars" of a climate insurance fund could be providing compensation for uninsurable slow onset climate change risk and supporting risk financing. Ritu Kumar, Teri-Europe, said risk management in India is reactivated. She called for the improvement of loss data collection for insurance companies and the increase in public disaster reinsurance capacity.

22. Site visit: Argent Energy biofuel plant in Motherwell, Scotland.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri accompanied by Dr (sic) Ritu Kumar, September 2005.

23. Conference: "Investing in the Future: a European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Finance Sector", attended by Dr Ritu Kumar and
Ms Rochelle Mortier. 1 & 2 December 2005, Riverbank Park Plaza, London.

24. Project: Production of the IPCC AR4 Synthesis Report.

Funding from DEFRA to TERI Europe to cover salary and travel cost of the head of unit responsible to produce a Synthesis Report of the IPCC AR4. From: 2006 to 2007. Cost: £30,417. Paid via Cambridge University.

25. Report: SME Clusters and Responsible Competitiveness in Developing Countries. Produced by AccountAbility with UNIDO. Consultee: Ritu Kumar, TERI Europe. Published January 2006.

26. International Symposium: Climate Policy in the Coming Phases of the Kyoto Process: Targets, Instruments, and the Role of Cap and Trade Schemes.

20-21 February 2006, Brussels. Potsdam Institute Climate Impact Research (PIK). Ritu Kumar, Director TERI Europe, UK, speaker on "The role of India in international climate policy."

27. Project: Stimulating Investors engagement with Corporate Social Responsibility in India.

Implemented by TERI Europe. The project purpose was to encourage the Indian business community to adopt Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) into its corporate strategy. Amongst other activities, TERI held discussions with the National Stock Exchange, Mumbai on the possibility of developing a CSR index for India.

Duration: April 2006 – June 2007. Funded by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

28. Conference: "Kyoto and Beyond: a Global Strategy"

Commonwealth Club, London, 18 May 2006 - Organised by Save our World. Contribution made by Ritu Kumar (Director of TERI-Europe).

29. Conference: Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries: How to Turn Challenges into Opportunities.

Geneva, 3-4 July 2006, Conference Room XXIII, E-building, Palais des Nations. Annual Session of UNCTAD's Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries. Wrap-up Workshop of the UK-DFID-funded UNCTAD Project "Building Capacity for Improved Policy Making and Negotiation on Key Trade and Environment Issues".

Working Group 1 (room XXIII, E-building): Key findings and lessons of UNCTAD activities in the electrical and electronic sector. Moderator: Ms. Ritu KUMAR, Director, TERI-Europe.

30. Insurance and climate change.

A study investigating the exposure and potential of the Indian insurance industry to cover risks related to climate change is presently being undertaken in collaboration with the Insurance Regulation and Development Agency, India, and the Association of British Insurers. The project is funded by the DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Commenced March 2005 and completed September 2006.

31. Project: Developing country negotiators.

Fronted by Centre for Clean Air Policy USA (CCAP) as a joint project, TERI Europe (with some work carried out by TERI India) carried out a project "to assist in developing country negotiators through analysis and dialogue." The objective was to strengthen the capacity of four developing countries (Brazil, China, India, and Mexico) to participate in negotiations on future actions under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

Funded by Dfid and reported by TERI-Europe for its 2004-5 accounting period. Reference made to the Centre for Clean Air Policy in a Dfid report, but TERI Europe not mentioned. Final report prepared by CCAP in November 2006.

32. Project: Asia Eco-Design Electronics (AEDE).

TERI Europe is a major partner in this project. Amongst other activities, on 5 December 2006 Ritu Kumar moderated a panel discussion at the Hotel Silken 11–19 Boulevard Charlemagne, Belaymont, Brussels, Belgium.

AEDE is funded by the European Union as part of the Asia-Pro Eco Programme. The overall goal is to assist the Asian electronics and electrical suppliers to meet the challenges of existing and forthcoming EC and Japanese product-related environmental legislation and emerging CSR developments.

Originally announced on 10 April 2006, this is a €500,000 plus project led by the Centre for Sustainable Design at University College for the Creative Arts (UCCA) in Farnham, Surrey.

It has six partners: the Department of Environmental Technology and Management, Mechanical Engineering, Linköping University, Sweden; TERI-Europe, UK/India; the Electronic Component Industries Association (ELCINA), Indi; School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), Renmin University of China (RUC), China; Electrical and Electronics Institute, Thailand; Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, India.

33. Conference: India's Sustainability Challenge.

Organised by the Institute of Public Policy Research in London on 14 December 2006. This event, part of IPPR's India Year and Defra's Sustainable Development Dialogues, was attended by the David Miliband, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Ritu Kumar, Director, The Energy and Resources Institute, London, was one of the speakers, alongside Elliot Morley MP.

34. Project: Facilitating sustainable trade in the textile and clothing sector.

TERI-Europe completed a comprehensive review of environmental and social requirements faced by textile and clothing exporters, exporting to the EU. This information has been compiled in a CD Rom, which contains a database on environmental and social requirements for the textile and clothing sector and provides exporters with a ready tool to access information on technologies, retail sources, and trade links.

TERI's objective was to build capacity of SME clusters in the leather and textiles sectors to face the challenges and benefit from the opportunities created by trade liberalisation. The project team conducted needs assessments and reviewed existing policies before holding stakeholders' workshops. Two workshops were organised, one in Mumbai and one Chennai to present the findings of the survey. The team is now working on a paper to identify areas for improvement of trade opportunities for SMEs in those sectors.

The scheme included pilot demonstrations on management of supply chains, as well as adherence to environmental, social, and trade regulations, which were conducted in two factories each in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.

Sponsored jointly by the EU and the Commonwealth Science Council. Duration: September 2004 – Dec 2006.

35. Conference: "Green light for change" Climate change, the Stern Review and what they mean for the Commonwealth.

Thursday 15 February 2007, 6pm at the Royal Commonwealth Society, London. Jointly organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Foundation. Speaker Ritu Kumar, Director (Europe) of The Energy and Resources Institute.

36. Sustainable Investment in India.

Announced as a project on 26 April 2006, this culminated in a report "SI2 - Sustainable Investment in India, - Sustainable development of portfolio investment in India's publicly listed companies."

Authored by Dan Siddy and Ritu Kumar, it was published as a 50-page document, stacked with detail, under the TERI-Europe brand, in May 2007, with the "generous support" of the Global Opportunities Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

37. Conference: RSA/TEHELKA two-day summit of political, business and civil society leaders share their knowledge and experience of how to engage with and understand India.

7-8 June 2007 at The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce). The Challenge of India: Ritu Kumar speaker. Other speakers include J J Irani - Director, TATA Sons.

38. Report: Up in Smoke?

A study fronted by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and the International Institute for Environment and Development, with preparatory work funded by DEFRA.

Foreword by R K Pachauri and participation by TERI Europe. Reported on 20 November 2007 with environmental and development groups saying India should go all out to invest in clean technology even if it means incurring an estimated cost of $2 trillion.

The study was conducted by the coalition that included International Institute for Environment and Development, Oxfam International, TERI Europe and the World Wildlife Fund, "aimed at assessing the impacts of climate change on global efforts to reduce poverty."

39. EU Parliament Report: Climate Change and India: Impacts, Policy Responses and a Framework for EU-India Cooperation.

Completed in January 2008 by Dr (sic) Ritu Kumar.

40. TERI FES Forum on Climate Policy Dialogue Climate Change, Biodiversity and Food Security in Marine Environments.

The "TERI FES Forum on Climate Policy Dialogue" is a new format that invites policy makers and scholars from think tanks and academia in industrialized and developing countries to discuss key issues of global climate governance. Conference venues alternate between industrialized and developing countries. The launch of the Forum was held in Bonn 13-14 May 2008.

41. High-Level India-EU Dialogue – Solutions for Sustainability.

India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (TERI India office location) - 3-4 February 2009. Organiser and part of the supporting team: Ritu Kumar AGCC; Director of TERI-Europe.

42. Sustainable Investment in Brazil 2009.

Final Report April 2009. Prepared for International Finance Corporation (IFC)
A Member of the World Bank Group by TERI‐Europe. Written and edited by
Ritu Kumar and Dan Siddy.

43. Sustainable Investment in India 2009.

Final report May 2009 prepared for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group Prepared by TERI-Europe. Written and edited by Ritu Kumar and Dan Siddy, an associate fellow at TERI-Europe.

44. High-Level India-EU Dialogue.

The High-Level India-EU Dialogue is an "independent initiative" to promote joint action by India and the European Union on climate and clean development, as a step towards an equitable and effective global framework. This is the third high-level event.

Final report, London, 7-8 July 2009. Organised by Action for a Global Climate Community. Supported by the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Oak Foundation.

45. Conference: Global Energy Challenge – Time to Act.

The Energy Conference of Verbund, 16 - 18 September 2009, Schloss Fuschl/Hof near Salzburg. Speaker Ritu Kumar on "Global responsibility". Also speaking: Peter Höppe, Head of Geo risks Research of Munich Re Group, Germany on "How much does climate change cost?"

46. Conference: Climate Change: India Policies and Perceptions.

In recognition of the global nature of the challenge of climate change and the many synergies and areas of potential collaboration between the UK and India, the City of London co-hosted a conference with HSBC, the London School of Economics and TERI Europe on 30 September 2009. This event took place at the London School of Economics and the keynote speaker was R K Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change & Director General, TERI.

47. Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy.

The Centre regards its mission is to advance public and private action on climate change through rigorous, innovative research. Climate change is happening, it asserts, and it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that human activities are the main cause. The consequences of climate change could be enormous if we carry on with "business as usual." But it is not yet clear how our economic, social and political systems can respond to the challenge.

Ritu Kumar: Director, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI-Europe), London – member of the Steering Committee.

Recognising that this list is very far from complete, and many details could be added to existing entries, with clarifications made, we will revisit this post from time to time, and gradually improve the dossier.

PACHAURI THREAD

An interesting commentary on the Corus steel plant closure. It is good to see that some writers can put two and two together. She'll be getting a letter from Mishcon de Raya, no doubt.

CLIMATE CHANGE – NEW THREAD

Pachauri+Guardian[i-Pachauri+Guardian]Multi-millionaire businessman Dr R K Pachauri - resident of 160 Golf Links, in the most exclusive residential area of Delhi (and thus India) - is weeping crocodile tears in The Guardian.

Climate change scepticism, he tells us, will increase hardship for world's poor, the good doctor predicting that lobbying will intensify to impede progress to agreement on binding treaty in Mexico City.

This is a man protecting his own turf, of course, and that of his billion-dollar backers who now have so much money invested in the global warming scam that there is no way this side of Hades that they are going to let go.

To make his wholly outrageous pitch, The Guardian gives him space for his own opinion piece but, while he dons the clothes of a modern-day Robin Hood, his real agenda shines through.

What Pachauri desperately need to do is cement in the few gains made at Copenhagen and, in particular, protect the carbon trading scam that was set up by the Kyoto treaty. Hence we see him telling us that "powerful vested interests and climate sceptics will work overtime to block legislation and discredit the science ahead of the next global climate summit in Mexico."

"It is a well-known fact," he asserts, "that powerful vested interests and those opposed to action on climate change are working overtime to see that they can stall action for as long as possible."

In his foetid, egocentric way, he thus sees "Climategate" as "the hacking of emails from the University of East Anglia. The use of private communications between the scientists" is an attempt to discredit his Fourth Assessment Report. Yet, to Pachauri, "these scientists are highly reputed professionals, whose contributions over the years to scientific knowledge are unquestionable."

It then says something of his state of mind that he links "Climategate" with our dissection of his business interests, turning this into a diabolical conspiracy. "The same group of climate deniers who have been active across the Atlantic have now joined hands to attack me personally," he writes, "alleging business interests on my part which are supposedly benefiting me as well as the Indian Tata group of companies."

That we then get the same old lies that he trotted out previously is hardly surprising, but one is amused to see him providing "background" – but very little - "only to highlight the fact that powerful vested interests are perhaps likely to get overactive in the coming months, and would perhaps do everything in their power to impede progress towards a binding agreement ... in Mexico City."

By this, Pachauri demonstrates that he has very little understanding of how the blogosphere works. But perhaps his ego could not allow him to acknowledge that a single blogger, originally unaided, has been able to reach out and land a blow at the heart of his corrupt empire.

So unlikely that it is that he can cope with the idea that anyone can be motivated purely by principle, with neither thought nor prospect of personal advantage, that he has to inflate his tormentor into a group conspiracy of "powerful vested interests". Would that he could see the source of his "attack" – the shock would probably kill him.

Despite his bluster, though, and the threat from his institute that, in the absence of an apology for attacking the great man, it would "take recourse to other measures it would deem appropriate," if the best he can do is write a piece for The Guardian, then we don't have a lot to worry about.

Certainly, Delingpole already has his measure and Bishop Hill is on the case.

For sure, we are taking a "hit" from these gentlemen, but they are working for Tata – not Pachauri. As soon as we have sorted them, I will post the letter on the blog – it is a classic of its type. Certainly, as it stands, we have no intention whatsoever of apologising or changing anything substantive that we have written.

As for Pachauri, he is turning out to be all bluff and bluster, but we clearly have him rattled. Rather than resort to the Mishcon de Reya route, though, he seems to think that "the spread of knowledge and awareness" is the most effective means of "thwarting the efforts of skeptics and vested interests."

What he does not realise is that "knowledge and awareness" is precisely what we are seeking, only our particular interest is in Dr Pachauri's financial affairs, about which he is still so coy. And far from thwarting the efforts of sceptics and vested interests, its spread is set to bring him down.

"There is no leeway for delay or denial any longer," Pachauri concludes. We agree – he should open up his books and let us see where he has squirreled away his millions.

PACHAURI THREAD

headinjar[i-headinjar]"Climate change has become a multi-billion dollar commercial sector," proclaims the brochure from a leading finance house, and it is not wrong.

Nowhere are the opportunities more "exciting" for the business community though than in the burgeoning "carbon" market. And there, potentially one of the biggest players is a company called Climate Exchange PLC which operates three businesses, the European Climate Exchange (ECX) the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX ) and the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE).

Although its last year's revenues were a mere £22.7 million, with pre-tax profits of £2.8 million, it is a company with global ambitions, with plans already well advanced to set up similar operations in China, Canada and Australia.

But another of its enterprises is to create an entirely new exchange in India, called the India Climate Exchange (ICX). With outline plans announced in India in June 2007, the company then announced on 14 January 2008 that it had established a "founder member group" which was working to create a system similar to that operated by the Chicago Climate Exchange.

With a distinguished Indian member, by the name of Dr R K Pachauri, already on the Chicago External Advisory Board, it comes as no surprise to learn that the new chairman of this founder member group was to be Pachauri.

To assist him in the development of this enterprise, there was also created a Technical Design Committee, attracting a number of India's "leading industrial companies" and "think-tanks" who had "committed" to be part of the committee. And, amongst those were Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals and Tata Power, as well as TERI India, of which Dr Pachauri just happens to be Director-General.

Interestingly, the Chairman of the entire Climate Exchange PLC group, Dr Richard L Sandor, is a member of the TERI School of Management Advisory Committee in India.

All this puts Pachauri, with his institute, as a direct player in the creation of a lucrative carbon trading market in India, alongside direct evidence that he was using his position as chairman of the IPCC to advocate a "definite agreement on placing a price on carbon" at the Copenhagen COP15 Summit.

Acting with a coterie of other UN officials, when it comes to conflicts of interest, they do not come any stronger.

As it stands, TERI India has already received development funds to assist it in the process of establishing the exchange and, as has so often been the case before, the generous donor is the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

And nor has the FCO largesse stopped there. It is currently running a Low Carbon High Growth Programme for which £19m in funding was available in financial year 2009-10.

Interestingly, this included a project for the "establishment by March 2011 in India of an effective mandatory trading scheme in energy saving certificates," where specific reference is made to the India Climate Exchange scheme.

Thus, it seems, not only has Dr R K Pachauri got his nose firmly stuck in the honey jar, Her Majesty's Government is supplying some of the honey – at the British taxpayers' expense.

PACHAURI THREAD

obamaun[i-obamaun]An interesting piece in New American headed: "Pachauri's Lucrative World of Climate Change".

It has Pachauri talking about the "business opportunities" afforded by climate change, citing the Booker column and our article in The Daily Telegraph.

They also cite an interesting piece in The Daily Express, which I missed – which explores the murky world of carbon trading and Tata Steel. I wonder if they have also received a letter from Diana's favourite solicitor.

The New American concludes with a tantalising reference to Obama, and his enthusiasm for going "above what is going to be legislated," when it comes to climate change. This is not unconnected with the Chicago Climate Exchange, for which Pachauri is currently a member of the external advisory board.

Therein lies a dark and dirty tale. The Pachauri angle is just the tip of the iceberg. Serious money is involved here, to say nothing of corruption on an industrial scale, which goes all the way to the top. We have only scratched the surface so far.

PACHAURI THREAD

Patchy+2+-+Copy[i-Patchy+2+-+Copy]First, as we reported yesterday, we have the £30,417 donated by DEFRA, paid to TERI Europe via Cambridge University to cover Pachauri's salary and travel in producing a Synthesis Report of the IPCC AR4.

Then, gleaned from the IRS return submitted by TERI-NA (North America) for the financial year ending in 2009, we get the information that a $27,000 donation was made by the Germehausen Foundation, "to support outreach efforts on the fourth assessment report of the IPCC." The cash was remitted to TERI India, its obvious intended recipient being R K Pachauri.

Now we have the European Climate Foundation which, in the grant year 2009, makes a donation of an unspecified amount, direct to TERI India. This is to "facilitate meetings between Dr R K Pachauri and key European decision makers in support of an international agreement on climate change."

This one should be of special interest to James Delingpole who reveals in his latest piece that he has a family friend who works for the Foundation. Perhaps he can ask him next time they meet how much cash went Dr Pachauri's way.

What we are seeing here though is an interesting modus vivendi - three different payments to support the chairman of the IPCC, yet each payment is made by a different organisation to a different organisation – one in the US, one in the UK and one in India. No one knows what the other is doing - except Pachauri, of course.

On top of that, of course, multi-millionaire businessman Pachauri has a separate funding stream from the IPCC, which pays his salary and – crucially – his travel expenses. Already, we have seen him claim from the IPCC for journeys to London and Delhi which were clearly private business.

This scam, it seems, was also played out in China when the good doctor claims a trip from Aomori in Japan to Peking on 23 April 2007, to attend a Low-carbon Economy Seminar of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, then flying off to Bangkok on 29 April.

On the participants' list, he is indentified as the "Director General, TATA Energy Research Institute, India" (someone has not told the Chinese about the name change) and it is clear from a subsequent event that Pachauri is doing business on behalf of TERI with the Chinese.

Pachauri is in fact a member of the China Council and one wonders which – or how many – people paid his expenses for the meetings. It takes until 2008 before he is described as Director General, the Energy & Resources Institute, India and Chair of UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which presumably then allows him to claim legally from the IPCC.

With so many paymasters though, and such a multiplicity of payment routes, Pachauri's financial affairs should be raising these sort of alarm signals. This man, however, seems to be above the law.

PACHAURI THREAD

dollars[i-dollars]In a press release purporting to rebut our Sunday Telegraph piece, Dr Pachauri's TERI – of which he is Director General - admits to receiving over $300,000 for "services rendered by Pachauri."

This, however, only covers "some of the payments made to TERI". It includes €100,000 from the Deutsche Bank, $25,000 from Credit Suisse and $80,000 from Toyota Motors. The institute also received $48,750 from Yale University, $4,425 from the Asian Development Bank - which has given loans to Tata - and €1,200 from the French electricity giant EDF. At current conversion rates, that totals $302,746.

The periods for which the payments were made are not specified and neither are the precise "services rendered" identified. For some organisations, such as Yale University, Pachauri performs more than one service – and his current post as head of the Climate and Energy Institute has only just started.

Pachauri's institute denies that it has received any payment from the Risk Governance Council in Geneva, the Chicago Climate Exchange, or the New York Investment Fund Pegasus for which he is "strategic advisor". This is difficult to believe in respect of the latter two, but the phrasing of the "rebuttal" does not rule out the possibility of benefits in kind being offered by these companies.

No mention is made of Pachauri's other current posts. Thus, we know nothing of payments (if any) from GloriOil, Siderian ventures, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Nordic Glitnir Bank, the Indochina Sustainable Infrastructure Fund, SNCF, his work as a Hindustan Times columnist, the Asian Energy Institute, FEOP (Far East Oil Price) Advisory Board, the International Solar Energy Society, the World Resources Institute or the World Energy Council.

Nor do we learn whether payments were made for Dr Pachauri's work for the Indian government, in particular the National Environmental Council, the Economic Advisory Council and the Oil Industry Restructuring Group. Nor is it specified whether he is paid for his role on the Governing Council of the India Habitat Centre. Other notable omissions are, as admitted by Pachauri, the "sometimes pretty generous honoraria, for giving talks in various places" - which themselves could amount to millions of dollars.

As to why TERI's (Indian) accounts are not published, the reason given is that TERI has tax-exempt status in every country in which it operates. "Such status is granted on the basis of proper auditing of accounts and proper scrutiny of documents." Nonetheless, accounts are published in the UK and the US relating to local operations, but not in India.

The US IRS return for the TERI-NA operation in Washington identified a total revenue of $66,701 against expenses of $121,810, leaving a loss on the trading year ending in 2009 of $55,109. The expenses included two remittances totalling $54,000 to TERI India. Also identified is a payment made to Dr Pachauri from a "related organization" – which is not identified – of $45,791.

This is the only public record of which we are aware which identifies a direct payment to Dr Pachauri. Neither Pachauri nor TERI have chosen to reveal payments made to him by TERI or his salary and other emoluments from the IPCC.

Despite that, TERI is claiming as "unfounded and false" our charge that Pachauri holds posts in a number of organisations, including Credit Suisse Bank, and is silent about the money he earns, "which must run into millions of dollars". Yet nothing so far offered by way of evidence would even begin to rebut that charge.

And neither has there been any attempt so far to explain how a UN official can work on a fee-paying basis for organisations such as the Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, without there being a potential conflict of interest.

PACHAURI THREAD

NEWS-pachauri[i-NEWS-pachauri]The mighty Rajendra Pauchauri, multi-millionaire extraordinaire, is now working terribly hard on trying to salvage his tattered reputation – but the harder he tries, the deeper he digs himself into a hole.

His latest effort is in the financial journal Thaindian where he tries to deny links between his institute, TERI, and Tata. " ... we decided in 2001 to retain the acronym and change the expansion. This signifies our independence from any direct Tata connection," Pachauri tells the journal.

Actually, the great man's memory is a little faulty. The "expansion" was changed in January 2003, not 2001 as he asserts – just after he had been appointed chairman of the IPCC.

As significant, look how the message is changing. He tells the Times of India on 21 December that, "Our ties ended when Darbari Seth, who was on our board, died in 1999. We haven't received a single penny from Tatas for years and have no ties with them."

Now the time-frame shifts from 1999 to 2001 and instead of "no ties" we have no "direct Tata connection." So, having Dr Jamshed J Irani, Director of Tata Sons Limited, on the TERI Advisory Board is an indirect Tata connection is it?

As to our report that Pachauri "was part of groups, including green firms, which benefited from IPCC's recommendations, terming this a conflict of interest," with his rejoinder, the great man digs himself in even deeper. "[the] IPCC makes no policy recommendations ... There is nothing in this report that could have any proprietary benefit."

Dr Pachauri needs to do a little better than that. The IPCC does make policy recommendations. Has he not read this speech on 7 December in Copenhagen. "This conference must, therefore, now lead to actions for implementation by "all parties, taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities," it says, and we also get: "This conference must also lead to urgent initiation of large scale mitigation actions."

The speaker may be a little bit familiar to Rajendra. He is Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

As to "proprietary benefit", he ought to listen to his boss, UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon. Only the other day, he was telling reporters that businesses are bound to profit from a world-wide agreement on climate matters. "... I'm sure that the business community will shift their business operations towards a green growth economy."

As we, observed earlier, our Dr Pachauri is not only a liar - he is not even a very good liar. He needs to try harder - we know he can, viz his experience in the Delhi High Court of suppressing material facts swearing to false affidavits. This is getting too easy.

PACHAURI THREAD

pinocchio_RU004[i-pinocchio_RU004]"We ... have no ties with them," Dr Pachauri told The Times of India, only a few days ago. We were not impressed then and are even less so now with an article in The Hindu being drawn to our attention.

Dated 6 June 2007, it reports on the Indian government having announced "the constitution of a high-level advisory group on climate change." Known as the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change, purpose was (and is) to coordinate National action plans for assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change.

Its other duties included advising the government "on pro-active measures that can be taken by India to deal with the challenge of climate change," and to "facilitate inter-ministerial coordination and guide policy in relevant areas."

Its official membership comprised Indian government ministers, but it also co-opted a number of non-official members. These included multi-millionaire businessman Dr R K Pachauri and multi-billionaire businessman Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company for the Tata Group.

Still, the Hindi media are taking note, and someone suspects that I might not be a nice person. Dr Pachauri is already convinced.

PACHAURI THREAD

Pachauri+fi[i-Pachauri+fi]The New York Inner City Press, which specialises in "Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations" has been on the Pachauri case today.

At a UN press conference on the Copenhagen Accord, the newspaper asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "about the scandal erupting around the undisclosed business interests of the chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri, from the Tata Group through Deutsche Bank to Credit Suisse ... ".

Mr. Ban, we are told, entirely dodged the question, paradoxically using it as an opportunity to praise business. Pachauri's conflicts of interest are extensive and emblematic of the UN's lack of transparency and safeguards, the paper notes. So, notwithstanding the non-responsive answer, the paper asks: "does Mr. Ban believe that Pachauri should make public financial disclosure of these interests?"

Watch this site, it says.

James DeLong of the American Enterprise Institute is also sniffing round the edges. Contrary to what most people probably assumed (at least, I assumed), he writes, Pachauri is not a disinterested civil servant drawing his pay from the UN; he has a double interest in promoting IPCC recommendations that drastic action must be taken on climate change:

Adds DeLong, he is a policy entrepreneur - TERI is an environmental advocacy group, based on the assumption that there are indeed apocalyptic environmental problems that must be addressed - and he is a business entrepreneur working for organizations with a huge stake in getting the dogs to eat the food.

The organizations that have Pachauri on their payrolls seem to have adopted a rather interesting view of the ethics of paying someone who is presented to the world as an international civil servant, in furtherance of their desire to cash in on the climate change hoopla and obtain government subsidies and endorsements. DeLong adds.

PACHAURI THREAD

Twat[i-Twat]... says millionaire businessman Dr Rajendra Pachauri in response to our article in The Sunday Telegraph.

"These are a pack of lies from people who are getting desperate," he tells the Times of India. They want to go after the guy whose voice is being heard. I haven't pocketed a single penny from my association with companies and institutes. All honoraria that I get goes to TERI and to its Light a Billion Lives campaign for reaching solar power to people without electricity. All my dealings are totally above board."

The poor man is having a little trouble with setting out his case though. He points out that the previous IPCC chairman was in the World Bank and the one before that was a professor. "Can you then say the university benefited from his association with IPCC?"

And the point is? In addition to his paid post as Director-General of TERI, Pachauri has taken on over twenty additional posts since becoming chairman of the IPCC – another of his paid posts.

As for the link with the Tata group, Pachauri claims, "Our ties ended when Darbari Seth, who was on our board, died in 1999. We haven't received a single penny from Tatas for years and have no ties with them." Which is why, of course, up to January 2003 the "T" in TERI stood for "Tata", only then being changed to The Energy & Resources Institute.

Then, as we recalled, TERI's own communication manager Annapurna Vancheswaran said nothing had really changed. "We have not severed our past relationship with the Tatas. It's only (the change of name) for convenience," was the official line, four years after Pachauri says he has severed all ties with them.

Then there is the little matter of one of the Tata group of companies being listed currently as a corporate sponsor. To add to that, TERI has two ongoing projects with Tata, one which started in January and the other in July, plus eight completed projects from 2001-2007. That sort of suggests not only a link, but an ongoing relationship (screen grab - one of many - below).

Tata+links+1[i-Tata+links+1]
We also have one of Pachauri's other little enterprises, a spin-off called the TERI Business Council for Sustainable Development (TERI-BCSD). Its president is Dr RK Pachauri, its co-chair is Dr J J Irani, described as "Tata Group of Companies". One of the vice-chairs is Mr Homi Khusrokhan, Tata Chemicals Ltd. Its members include Tata Chemicals Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd, Tata Quality Management Services and Tata Steel Ltd.

And who should be on TERI's Advisory Board? Ah! the very same Dr Jamshed J Irani, this time described as Director of Tata Sons Limited, Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Mumbai – 400001, Maharashtra. Irani is right at the centre of the beast.

Tata Sons, says the company, is the promoter of all key Tata companies and holds the bulk of shareholding in these companies. The chairman of Tata Sons has traditionally been the chairman of the Tata group. Tata Sons is the owner of the Tata name and the Tata trademark, which are registered in India and several other countries.

tatalink1[i-tatalink1]Socially, Pachauri and Tata also seem to get on quite well. On 13 November last year, Pachauri was invited round to the residence of the Norwegian ambassador in Delhi to sign a £6.3 million (60 million Norwegian Kroners) contract between the Norwegian government and TERI. His institute was being hired for five years to carry out work on energy, environment and climate change issues "in partnership with other institutes."

To celebrate, Pachauri, described as "Chair of the Noble Peace Prize-winning, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change", and Ratan Tata were guests of honour for the evening at a "Norwegian Creative Experience". Ratan Tata happens to be the Chairman of Tata Sons, the very head honcho, pictured below left being welcomed by Ambassador Ann Ollestad.

Our Dr Pachauri is not only a liar - he is not even a very good liar.

Nevertheless, this does not stop him claiming of us that we "are part of the same vested interest group which hacked the server of UK's East Anglia University." He adds: "They are getting desperate because the world is now serious about moving away from fossil fuels. I want to ask them how much money they spent in the operation? Hacking a server is a costly exercise," he said.

tatalink2[i-tatalink2]That isn't really worth an answer. It is not us who are desperate. This man is clutching at straws. But he doesn't give up. He argues that TERI submits its yearly accounts to the government under Section 12 of the income tax law. "We fully comply with all government laws," he said.

Hey! But that's not the point we made. Does he publish TERI's accounts in its annual report? Does he publish his salary as Director General? Er ... no. Do we even get to know what his IPCC salary is? Er ... no.

Pachauri, who recently took up the post of the head of the Climate and Energy Institute at Yale University, then says the appointment was held up for a while because he had insisted that his salary be credited to TERI. "My conscience is clear and that is why I am cool towards these allegations."

That, of course, is a good move. If his Yale salary (which is likely to be at least in six figures) was paid directly to him, he would have to pay US income tax on it. And, as Tony Blair has just found out, the details are then publicly available through the IRS. As it is, he can launder the money through TERI and take the money out of the business in India where there is less scrutiny.

On whether he intends to take legal action against us, Pachauri says he hadn’t made up his mind. "Action against these people only gives dignity to these guys," he adds.

But he dare not. If he chose to sue, we could demand full disclosure of his financial affairs, through the courts. And then the millionaire businessman would have some explaining to do – not least how he is booking his business expenses to the IPCC. And yes, I do have the evidence.

Up yours, Pachauri, you are a thief as well as a liar.

Picture credit Jo Nova, from Skeptics Handbook II - used with thanks.

PACHAURI THREAD

Kingsnorth4184[i-Kingsnorth4184]With almost savage delight, one can always enjoy the BBC's unerring ability to miss the main story as it continues to pour out its endless propaganda for and on behalf of the warmists.

Thus do we find Navin Singh Khadka, one of the Beeb's team covering the slugfest in Copenhagen, earnestly briefing us about the "Fight to control Copenhagen climate change fund", completely, utterly and totally missing one of the biggest scandals of our time.

Khadka is telling us that, apart from the headline battles in Copenhagen, "behind the scenes an equally big issue is being thrashed out. It's a fight for control of the massive new fund that will challenge our changing climate."

Too right there is a fight - he's got that bit right, but what he doesn't say is that the reason for it is that the existing funds are in the hands of a "carbon mafia" which is spending the so-called "green funds" on such delightful, carbon-busting projects as one of the largest coal-fired power stations in the world.

This is the $4.14 billion 4GW Mundra power project in India's Gujarat State, being developed by Coastal Gujarat Power Limited. But it will come as no surprise to readers to learn that the Coastal Gujarat Power Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Limited, which it acquired in April 2007.

Thus, while our masters in the EU are closing down our existing coal plants, and no new plants are being permitted unless fitted – at enormous expense – for carbon capture, money from the long-suffering taxpayers of the UK and the rest of the developed world are being used to subsidise the building of a plant that will emit 25.7 million tons of CO2 per year for at least 25 years, adding another 643 million tons to an atmospheric carbon load.

And the ultimate irony is – actually, it is beyond irony – is that the plant will qualify for the UN's Clean Development Mechanism "carbon credits" which can then be sold on the carbon market, which UK generators will need to buy in order to continue producing electricity and keep the lights burning.

Approved by the World Bank on 8 April last year, the project is being part-funded by the Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), with an "A Loan" of up to $450 million, plus an investment of $50 million in equity. This was followed on 25 April by another loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), amounting to $450 million, both loans being on preferential terms because of their "green" development status.

What gives the project its "green" status – and thus permits World Bank and ADB funding - is that it employs what is known as "super-critical" technology. This – in theory at least - improves the conversion efficiency (of fuel to electric power) to some 44 percent compared with only 34-36 percent for conventional coal-fired power plants.

Piling irony on irony, this is exactly the type of power station which E.ON wanted to build at Kingsnorth in Kent, to which the greenies objected so much, even though future provision was to be made for carbon capture and carbon credits had to be bought to permit the plant to run.

Yet, in India, this is the seventh such plant to be built (or in the planning), justified as "green" because the type reduces the average carbon emissions of India's electricity generation system as a whole, per unit of electricity supplied. Nevertheless, this plant will not actually reduce total emissions. It will provide new capacity to a region short of electricity, so overall emissions will increase. Only the intensity of emissions will decrease.

However, as regards the plant itself, it will reduce coal consumption by three million tons, compared with a conventional plant. This gives a "saving" of 28 million tons of carbon dioxide in the first 10 years of operations which can be turned in carbon credits at a notional future value of around $20 each. This would yield an income of $560 million, based on the approval of an earlier supercritical plant built in North Karanpura, India. Crucially, this can be leveraged, to generate the loans needed to build the plant.

Thus, while a similar British plant, like Kingsnorth – if it ever got planning permission – would have to pay for the carbon credits to allow it to produce electricity, based on the CO2 emitted, the India plant will be paid for the notional amount of CO2 it does not produce, compared with less efficient plants - that scheme also making it more attractive to build such plants in the first place.

This then is where the BBC's Navin Singh Khadka comes in with his observations about the "Fight to control Copenhagen climate change fund".

The craziness of using clean development money to fund projects that actually increase emissions and – horror of horrors – uses coal has had the greenies screaming with rage, while other developing nations are complaining that the amounts being devoted to such expensive projects are soaking up the cash available for truly "green" projects.

Thus, there is a move at Copenhagen – which Khadka has picked up – to strip control of the management of development funding from the World Bank and to give it to a new body under the aegis of the United Nations Convention Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – which also administers the Clean Development Mechanism.

One of the champions of this switch is Pakistan – probably reflecting the overwhelming preponderance of funding which is going to India. "We have made it clear that we want the COP [Committee of the Parties] to have the authority over the new body that will control finance," said Farrukh Khan of, a co-chair representing developing countries in the financial negotiations.

However, both the United States and the EU oppose the formation of a new body. It is understood that the EU is insisting that existing institutions should be allowed to do the job as it believes that creating new ones will only cause delay, as has happened with the Climate Adaptation Fund that was formed two years ago to help developing countries adapt, but has yet to come online.

More particularly, the issue is about "control" as administration of the funds by another body would remove the ability of donors to dictate how they were spent. "It certainly is a big power game," said a senior European representative to Khadka. This man was actively involved in negotiations and told the BBC reporter: "The [new] fund will run into billions and getting to control it will mean you will be powerful in the world order."

Thus we see coal-burning power stations qualifying for green development money, justified by an "expert observer" noting that a Western politician said that his parliament would not allow him to give away money just like that, without knowing how much is being spent, who is getting it and what is it being used for. And if this is what is happening when we (supposedly) do know what the money is being spent on, and by whom, one can only imagine how it will be spent when we do not.

As for the rest, cheap electricity is a vital part of a competitive economy. Yet here we are burdening our own electricity suppliers with additional costs, some of which funds are then sent to our competitors in undeveloped countries, giving them an even cheaper cost base and even greater competitive advantage. No wonder we are going broke.

CLIMATEGATE THREAD

TataSteel[i-TataSteel]
The avuncular face of Dr Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, currently chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, represents in part the face of modern India. He projects a nation striving for modernity yet tempered by a social conscience as it seeks to avoid the pitfalls of developed countries.

In fact, he is the human face of an economic war being waged against the West by the Asian economies, in which the campaign to prevent "global warming" has been deployed as a powerful weapon. It is seen as a mechanism for plundering Western economies and thereby weakening them, while attracting cheap investment capital and enriching the growing Corporatocracy.

As an economic warrior, Pachauri has been enormously successful, not least through his guileless demeanour, his carefully cultivated image as a "scientist" and his skilful use of his network of front organisations.

Yet, he is a company man, bought and paid-for by the Tata Group, a family-owned Indian multinational founded in the nineteenth Century on the profits from opium growing, the drug shipped to China under the protection of British guns. It now has annual revenues in excess of $20 billion and rising.

Pachauri is part of an elaborate front, a tool shaped by a well-crafted public relations strategy, concealing the rapacious behaviour of the Asian Corporatocracy, of which Tata is a key player. Illustrating the sort of thing that goes on inside the country, compare and contrast this unofficial account (there was no official account) of a fatal industrial incident at Orchard Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, compared with the galaxy of awards (including one from TERI) for "environmental excellence".

Tata itself is an unprincipled dynasty which, through its flagship company Tata Steel, has made its riches from large-scale seizure of tribal lands in eastern states of Jharkhand and Orissa, the exploitation of labour and ignoring pollution controls.

Mithapur+8-1[i-Mithapur+8-1]Its history is marked by trail of human rights, labour and environmental abuses. It stands accused of genocide against indigenous tribes, fomenting civil war to achieve commercial ends, and dictatorial behaviour in the only private city in India, the steel city of Jamshedpur, where democracy has never existed and local elections are unknown.

In the troubled states where it operates, a state of civil war exists which the government is losing. In the majority of the districts, writ of government no longer prevails as the rebels capitalise on the extreme poverty. To obscure their popular origins, indigenous fighters are branded as "Marxists" and hunted down by company and state-financed militias, some recruited from the ranks of criminals, their barbarism and ferocity facilitated by rigorous media control and censorship, where Western journalists are not welcome.

The unrest is used by the company and its other corporate allies as an excuse to clear out tribal villages and forcibly resettle populations on a massive scale, fuelling tribal tensions and exacerbating the violence.

Tata in particular has a vice-like grip over the weak and corrupt national and state governments and, with mining and metals enterprises, effectively controls the State Pollution Control Board, which consistently acts against the interests of the people and the environment. Gross pollution is rampant, with unchecked deforestation.

Jamshedpur-1-450[i-Jamshedpur-1-450]Collectively, the corporates have enough power and economic clout to frame their own laws and weaken existing laws on human rights, investment, corporate liabilities and labour relations. Yet the "business-friendly" outward face presented to Western investors is a sham. The Corporatocracy, as represented by Tata, is a ruthless predator, bent only on enhancing its own power and wealth, regardless of the cost to others, plundering Western capital and assets.

Encompassing all the major Asian nations outside China, including Thailand and Indonesia and Japan, and with the support of the kleptocratic African nations and South Americans, they have suborned the already corrupt United Nations institutions such as the IPCC, in their bid to hamstring the Western economies.

In so doing, they have been exploited the emerging "green" movement, harnessing it with "white guilt" over previous colonial adventures and left-wing ideology which seeks redistribution of wealth as a matter of principle.

Ironically, for a cause espoused by the Left, the greatest allies of the Asian Corporatocracy are the Western corporates, in particular the banks and finance houses. They are the greatest beneficiaries of the emergent "carbon" markets. Other natural allies are "Big Oil", mining conglomerates and multi-national manufacturing enterprises, which need access to raw materials and cheap, non-unionised labour. But other big names are involved.

Jamshedpur-5-450[i-Jamshedpur-5-450]Western governments have been keen to engineer their own surrenders. Partly through stupidity, partly from a misplaced idea that core production industries can be replaced by "knowledge-based" and financial enterprises, and partly through ideology, they have been willing accomplices to what amounts to a major transfer of wealth and power.

Their enthusiasm has been reinforced by the potential for "green issues" to widen and deepen the tax base, legitimising raids on personal incomes which would otherwise be difficult to justify. "Green" products have given them the opportunity to engineer new subsidy regimes for favoured groups, circumventing the raft of trade and other agreements which restrict traditional regimes.

And the interventionist and cross-border nature of many measures is seen as an opportunity to further regional and global governance, at the expense of nation states.

However, the enthusiasm is misplaced. Competition is one thing. But this is war in which everyone loses except the Corporatocracy élites. It is a very dangerous war, all the more so for being unrecognised for what it is, the drama being played out in Copenhagen being one tiny part of the theatre. When the last riot is over and the media caravan has moved on to fresher fields, it will continue, above the smiling face of Dr Pachauri. It is a war we are losing. We need to fight back.

CLIMATEGATE THREAD