The Rajya Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill December 12, 2022, to mandate non-fossil sources of energy and establish a domestic carbon market in India. This comes after the Lok Sabha passed the amended bill in August 2022. The bill was also amended in 2010.
“The passage of Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Rajya Sabha today paves the way to enhanced use of renewable energy,” RK Singh, Union minister of power and new & renewable energy, wrote on microblogging website Twitter.
He added that the country is relentlessly marching towards its target of reducing India’s carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2030. This goal is a part of India’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
There are two constituents of non-fossil sources: one is renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower and biomass), and the other is nuclear energy,” Singh said during the proceedings. Non-fossil sources, including green hydrogen, green ammonia, biomass and ethanol are for energy and feedstock.
According to Global Energy Monitor, the government will issue carbon credits to businesses or other institutions interested in the scheme. It added that industries could sell and buy credits to meet their carbon budget.
Carbon credits will not be sold to other countries, Singh said. When we sell credits to other countries, we cannot add them to our NDCs. However, he added that there is a provision to sell them to other countries when there is a surplus or a need to finance some cutting-edge technology.
The amended bill aims to bring large residential buildings under the Energy Conservation regime, enhance the scope of the Energy Conservation Building Code, and amend penalty provisions.
It also applies to commercial buildings with a connected load of 100 Kilowatt or contracts demand of 120 Kilo-volt Ampere and above.
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India jumps 2 spots higher, now ranking 8th as per Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI, 2023)
India has been ranked amongst top 5 countries in the world, and the best among the G20 countries, based on its Climate Change performance. India jumps 2 spots higher, and is now ranked 8th as per Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI, 2023) published by German Watch, New Climate Institute and Climate Action Network International based in Germany. The latest report of CCPI, released at COP 27 in November 2022, shows Denmark, Sweden, Chile and Morocco as the only four small countries that were ranked above India as 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. The first, second and third ranks were not awarded to any country. In effect therefore, India’s rank is the best amongst all large economies.
The CCPI aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. Published annually since 2005, the CCPI is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 59 countries and the EU. Every year, the CCPI sets off important public and political debates within the countries assessed. The climate protection performance of these 59 countries, which together account for 92% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is assessed in four categories: GHG emissions (40% of overall score), renewable energy (20% of overall score), energy use (20% of overall score) and climate policy (20% of overall score).
India earned a high rating in the GHG Emissions and Energy Use categories, while a medium for Climate Policy and Renewable Energy. The aggressive policies of India towards rapid deployment of renewables and robust framework for energy efficiency programs have shown considerable impact. As per the CCPI report, India is on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets (compatible with a well-below-2°C scenario).
The rank given by CCPI places India as the only G-20 country in the top-10 ranks. It may be mentioned here that India will now be assuming G-20 Presidency and it will be an opportune time to show the world, about its climate mitigation policies such as deployment of renewable sources of energy and other energy transition programmes.
Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Mr R. K. Singh highlighted that India’s CCPI ranking is testimony to the leadership shown by the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi towards addressing the global climate change despite pandemic and tough economic times. The top 5 rank globally reflects that India is implementing Energy transition programmes such as renewable capacity installation at much faster rate than anywhere in the world. He also highlighted various demand side flagship programs such as UJALA, PAT Scheme and Standards and Labelling Programme that have contributed significantly to this notable achievement.
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State of the Climate in Asia
The State of the Climate in Asia 2021 report highlights how climate change impacts are wreaking an ever-increasing human, financial and environmental toll, worsening food insecurity and poverty and holding back sustainable development. In 2021 alone, weather and water-related hazards caused total damage of US$ 35.6 billion, affecting nearly 50 million people.
The report paints a worrying scenario for future water stress. High Mountain Asia, including the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside of the polar region, with approximately an area of 100,000 km2 of glacier coverage. The rate of glacier retreat is accelerating and many glaciers suffered from intense mass losses as the result of exceptionally warm and dry conditions in 2021. These so-called water towers of the world are vital for freshwater supplies for the most densely populated part of the planet and so glacier retreat has major implications for future generations.
Economic losses are also on the rise for most types of disasters. Economic damage from drought has increased by 63 percent, from flood has increased by 23 percent, and from landslides has increased by 147 percent compared to the 2001 – 2020 average.
In 2021, there were a total of more than 100 natural hazard events in Asia, of which 80 percent were flood and storm events. These resulted in almost 4,000 fatalities, about 80 percent caused by flooding. Overall, 48.3 million people were directly affected by these hazards, causing total economic damage of US$ 35.6 billion. While floods caused the highest fatalities and economic damage, drought in the region affected the highest number of people.
The report, which was produced jointly with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was presented today at the UN climate change negotiations, COP27, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
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https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate/asia
Climate India 2022: An assessment of extreme weather events
All Indian states are significantly climate vulnerable and the gap between the least vulnerable state (Maharashtra) and the most vulnerable state (Jharkhand) is small, as per the Centre’s “Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework 2019-20”. Yet robust data on extreme weather events, which are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change, is not available publicly. This happens because government agencies use different definitions and data collection sources, which obscures the bigger picture.
This report is an attempt to build an evidence base on the frequency and expanding geography of extreme weather events in India. It provides season-by-season, month-by-month, and region-by-region analyses of extreme weather events and the loss and damage they caused in the first nine months of 2022.
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https://www.cseindia.org/climate-india-2022-11463
Balipara Foundation’s efforts in restoring the lush green forests of North-east India
During 2001 and 2020, Assam lost 2.6 lakh hectares of tree cover and the loss is being reflected in human-animal conflicts and temperature variations.
The Balipur Foundation began its journey of patching up scars of deforestation in 2017. It has restored green cover in about 2500 hectares and plans to cover another 3509 hectares by the year end. By 2030, the plan is to green 100,000 hectares across northeast.
Read more at The Times of Better India September 12 2022.
A Greener Cooling Pathway Can Create a $1.6 Trillion Investment Opportunity in India : World Bank
India is experiencing higher temperatures every year. By 2030, over 160-200 million people across the country could be exposed to lethal heat waves annually. Around 34 million people in India will face job losses due to heat stress related productivity decline. The current food loss due to heat during transportation is close to $13 billion annually. By 2037, the demand for cooling is likely to be eight times more than current levels. This means there will be a demand for a new air-conditioner every 15 seconds, leading to an expected rise of 435 percent in annual greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades.
The World Bank study, “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector”, which is also supported by the EU-GFDRR, finds that shifting to a more energy efficient pathway could lead to a substantial reduction in expected CO2 levels over the next two decades.
“India’s cooling strategy can help save lives and livelihoods, reduce carbon emissions and simultaneously position India as a global hub for green cooling manufacturing,” said Auguste Tano Kouamé, the World Bank’s Country Director in India. “The report suggests a sustainable roadmap for cooling that has the potential to reduce 300 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2040.”
Recognizing this challenge, India is already deploying new strategies to help people adapt to rising temperatures. In 2019, it launched the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) to provide sustainable cooling measures across various sectors, including indoor cooling in buildings and cold chain and refrigeration in the agriculture and pharmaceuticals sector and air-conditioning in passenger transport. Its aim is to reduce the demand for cooling by up to 25 percent by 2037-38.
The new World Bank report proposes a roadmap to support the ICAP’s new investments in three major sectors: building construction, cold chains, and refrigerants.
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Tata Power is creating a Solar Heavyweight
Tata Power is creating a solar-energy heavyweight, and your rooftop has got a lot to do with it. By 2030, Tata Power wants clean energy to account for 80% of its generation capacity as it aims to become net carbon zero by 2045. ..