Five Indian projects have been selected to present at the Paris Peace Forum, new annual event based on the idea that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring durable peace.

The five selected projects are as follows:

• The ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) project by Earth5R which seeks to improve the quality of the environment and reduce plastic waste through new sustainable business models.
• Climate resilient zero-budget natural farming by the government of Andhra Pradesh. It enables farmers to improve soil fertility, reduce costs, reduce irrigation, and increase yield at the same time preserving the quality of the production.
• Decentralized electricity network based on solar energy over blockchain by NIMRAY-Solar. This project relies on the idea that renewable energy can offer an economically viable means of providing connections to people and communities deprived from access to electricity.
• A collaborative academic forum known as the Network of Southern Think Tanks, which aims at generating, consolidating and sharing knowledge on South-South co-operation with an approach to international development.
• STAR C (Solar Technology Application Resource-Center) by International Solar Alliance. It aims to build a network of technical training and research centers to spread knowledge and capacity-building on solar energy and infrastructure projects.

A total of 120 projects from 42 countries have been selected to be showcased at the forum, categorized into five themes: Peace & Security, Environment, Development, New Technologies, and the Inclusive Economy. The Paris Peace Forum takes place November 11-13, 2018.

On October 2, 2016, India became the 62^nd country to ratify the Paris Agreement. The agreement requires each member country to generate its own national plan to curb carbon emissions and rising temperatures. India’s national plan has set a goal of generating 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.

Recently, India hosted the second edition of Global RE-Invest  which highlights the dire need for the entire global community to come together to combat climate change and the importance of political commitment in driving the green energy revolution.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer