New Energy Systems for the People - Lessons, Insights and Models from India & Sweden
Speakers
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Ram Divedi, Co-Founder, Pravaig Dynamics
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Henrik Johansson, CEO and Founder, Spowdi AB
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Tor Broström, Professor, Uppsala Universitet
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Jonas Klevhag, COO, The Bridge by Altitude
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Rupali Mehra, CEO, Content People AB
Seminar 2 draws lessons, insights and models on new energy systems from India and Sweden. What are the learnings from Sweden and India on leveraging innovative technologies to create sustainable energy systems that are affordable for people and communities?
Key Insights
Future of small-scale farmers is uncertain
According to Henrik Johansson, CEO and Founder of Spowdi AB, approximately 500,000 small-scale farmers worldwide produce half of global food production. This group of farmers is struggling to stay in the market due to the impact of climate action, water scarcity, and rising prices of fossil fuel. It is time to enable small-scale farmers with zero-emission clean energy resources, so that they can reduce their dependance on fossil fuel.
Buying an electric car doesn’t make you greener
According to Ram Divedi, Co-Founder of Pravaig Dynamics, electric car companies are not green energy companies, and people who buy them are not living a green life; however, if the energy source is renewable, it is greener than conventional cars in the long run. Jonas Klevhag, COO of The Bridge by Altitude, agrees with this statement and sees hydrogen as a more promising future energy source than other renewable energie
Climate change from building perspective
Tor Broström, Professor at Uppsala Universitet, believes that research on indoor climate and energy efficiency is critical to mitigating climate change. However, he also stated that the research challenge is to find a balance between societal demand and sustainability.
India is too big for Jugaad
The term “Jugaad” refers to a creative solution or a simple workaround, a solution that bends the rules, or a resource that can be used in this manner. It is also frequently used to denote creativity: making existing things work or creating new things with limited resources. Ram Divedi, Co-Founder of Pravaig Dynamics, stated that the 'jugaad' idealogy might be gaining traction in Western countries, but he personally believes that India needs to go beyond the 'jugaad' way of thinking. He add that India needs a top-down structural plan to achieve sustainability.
'We could do with a bit of Jugaad'
Jonas Klevhag, COO of The Bridge by Altitude, said he find the concept of 'jugaad' extremely interesting and useful, and says that high structured nations could adopt a bit of jugaad in their thought process.