by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
By Vishal Gulati,
New Delhi : Clearing the smoke of uncertainty over the issue of a cleaner environment, India this year succeeded in its multilateral diplomacy to evolve a roadmap for the international community to decisively address climate change.
Also, India’s success in renewable energy auctions, in reducing emissions besides its largest commitment to eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022, has enabled it to win accolades globally.
Even the Indian private sector is not lagging behind in joining the ranks of leading global companies that have committed to set a scientific target to be carbon negative.
Experts believe it’s a win-win situation for India as its success in the just concluded diplomatic intrigues in the coalfields of Katowice in Poland lies in promoting a more fine-tuned form of responsibility — not just among countries, but within them as well.
Eventually, the 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP24, produced a deal that paves the way for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is supposed to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol in 2020.
Voicing its reservations at the COP24 talks, which saw a holdback due to certain objections of the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brazil and Turkey, India went vocal over the lack of equity in the rules relating to the global stocktaking in the rulebook that implements the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
In the same breath, India signaled that it is ready to update its nationally determined contributions or NDCs if other countries also do so.
Also playing a crucial role to mitigate climate change and other environmental challenges, India in June announced it would strengthen its support with a 25 per cent increase over its contribution to the $15 million Global Environment Facility’s new investment cycle.
India has committed that by 2030, as much as 40 per cent of its installed energy capacity will be based on non-fossil fuels.
India has also won global accolades for opting for green technologies.
India is on track to meet a majority of its Paris goals and become a global climate leader by meeting its targets a decade earlier, US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said in a report on the margins of COP24.
The Paris agreement enjoins each country to outline, update and communicate its post-2020 NDCs reflecting its ambition for reducing emissions.
According to IEEFA, India’s NDCs included three key targets: To achieve 40 per cent of electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, to reduce the emissions intensity of its gross domestic product by 33-35 per cent from the 2005 level by 2030 and to create an additional 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon sinks — reservoirs that accumulate and store carbon dioxide — through the planting of additional forest and tree cover.
R.R. Rashmi, India’s former climate negotiator and now a Fellow at The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), told IANS at COP24: “In terms of India’s efforts in reducing its emissions relative to its economic growth, it is a fairly positive story and it is more significant because the energy growth is tremendous.”
Even the World Bank praised India’s success in renewable energy auctions that delivered record-setting low prices for solar power.
“There is a great opportunity now for countries to learn from each other to accelerate the uptake of good policies,” said Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director for Energy and Extractives at the World Bank, in a report this month.
“For example, how did India structure its renewable energy auctions to deliver record-setting low prices for solar?”
A Germanwatch report says carbon dioxide emissions are rising again globally but India’s ranking has improved by three points.
But India moved to 11th rank from last year’s 14th as a result of improved performance in renewable energy, comparatively low levels of per capita emissions and a relatively ambitious mitigation target for 2030, said Germanwatch’s Climate Change Performance Index 2019.
Even India’s private sector is not lagging in committing carbon neutral targets.
Taking the lead, Mahindra & Mahindra, the leading manufacturer of utility vehicles and part of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group, announced its commitment to become a carbon neutral company by 2040.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra announced this at the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco in September.
Likewise, India’s Dalmia Cement Group CEO Mahendra Singhi announced at the GCAS that the company too aims to be carbon negative by 2040.
On the political front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was selected for this year’s Champions of the Earth award — the UN’s highest environmental honour — along with French President Emmanuel Macron.
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Vibhuti Garg & Tara Laan,
India has become an outspoken proponent of renewable energy, including at the just-concluded COP24 in Poland and as champion of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). But do the facts back up the rhetoric? Is the central government walking the talk?
Money, as they say, isn’t everything – but an analysis of expenditure patterns reveals a lot about government priorities. And government subsidies affect energy prices, which drive investment and consumption decisions.
A recent study of India’s energy subsidies sheds light on exactly which energy types the government is backing. And it’s no small amount – Rs 151,484 crore ($23 billion) in the 2017-19 fiscal. The report is an update of a comprehensive inventory released last year.
Consistent with the government’s position has been its shift away from subsidising fossil fuel and towards renewable energy. Fiscal 21016-17 saw a record rise in support for renewable energy of Rs 5,766 crore ($0.8 billion). At the same time, government support for coal, oil and gas fell by Rs 13,418 crore and by Rs 120,687 crore from 2014-15, reflecting reform of consumer price subsidies for fuels such as petrol and diesel.
But this is not the full story. Subsidies for fossil-fuels were still over three times those for renewables in 2017-18 at Rs 52,982 crore. Coal alone received more than renewables at Rs 15,992 crore and even increased by Rs 1,148 crore.
Subsidies for coal can undermine the development of renewables by artificially reducing prices for coal-fired power, the renewables’ main competitor. This contributes to air pollution and carbon emissions. Even where there are environmental standards for coal, they aren’t always well-enforced. One such example is non-compliance with coal washing laws, delivering a benefit of Rs 980 crore in 2017-18 to coal companies – and incentivising dirtier air for everyone.
Some energy subsidies are important to achieve certain policy objectives, such as access to energy. Around 70 per cent of India’s energy subsidies aim to keep prices low for consumers or to connect households with modern energy, such as the Ujjwala programme for cooking gas or the Saubhagya programme for electricity.
The single largest support measure in 2017-18, accounting for almost half of all energy subsidies, was transfers to electricity companies to keep power prices low (Rs 74,925).
Programmes to improve access to clean, modern energy are vital for health and improving development outcomes across many areas, as recognised in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But this does not mean that such programmes should be exempt from review. On the contrary, evaluation is essential to ensure they are effective and delivering value for money.
At the moment, most of India’s spending on energy consumption, particularly electricity, is poorly targeted, with many benefits being captured by higher-income households. Efforts have been made to improve targeting, but given their high remaining costs, renewed efforts to direct support to the poor are critical.
Looking at expenditure patterns, alternative ways of providing access to modern energy can also be considered. Kerosene, for example, is still used as the primary source of lighting for 30 per cent of households in some states and by many more as a backup during power outages. Subsidising kerosene might seem like a lifeline to these households. But kerosene causes indoor air pollution and poses a fire risk, as well as providing low quality light. Renewable alternatives such as solar lanterns or home systems are available for comparable costs to kerosene over time. But subsidies are needed to help poor households meet the initial upfront costs.
Further support may also be warranted for electric vehicles (EVs), which can help reduce pollution and de-link India’s economy from volatile international oil prices. At the moment, when oil prices rise, the subsidy bill increases at the same time that revenues decline due to a variable fuel tax on petrol and diesel. Subsidies for EV are only in their early stages in India, totalling Rs 148 crore in 2017-18 and rising to Rs 250 crore in 2018-19.
Looking forward, the central government’s support for renewable electricity is likely to head in the opposite direction to EV in coming years. Reforms associated with the GST will see tax breaks for coal and renewables both decline by about Rs 2,000 crore in 2018-19. But total tax breaks for coal will still be five times those for renewables. In addition, the largest subsidy for renewables, “viability gap funding”, is likely to decline in line with increasingly competitive pricing for renewables.
Despite the increasing competitiveness of utility-scale solar and wind projects, certain clean technologies may continue to require budgetary support. They include offshore wind, energy storage and off-grid solutions. In addition, support for integration costs (such as energy storage) is likely to be needed to accelerate greater uptake of renewables. One potential source of funding is to shift savings from fossil-fuel subsidy reform or better subsidy targeting.
Hard data, such as that in this review, provides a welcome anchor point in a debate that is frequently shrouded in spin-by governments, interest groups and commentators. Greater transparency and reporting is needed to get the full picture.
Financial information is sorely lacking for many government energy policies, particularly at the state level. Only with full accounting and disclosure can there be the necessary evaluation of energy policies to ensure they are meeting their objectives and delivering value.
(Vibhuti Garg and Tara Laan are Associates at the International Institute for Sustainable Development [IISD]. The views expressed are those of IISD. They can be reached at vibhuti.garg@iisd.org & tlaan@iisd.org)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Rajendra Shende,
“Since I last addressed the COP in 2009, I’ve been deposed in a coup, thrown into jail, and forced into exile. But almost 10 years since I was last at these climate negotiations, I must say, nothing much seems to have changed,” said Mohammad Nasheed, former President of the Maldives, adding: “We are still using the same old, dinosaur language.” He is now back again to for the negotiations at COP24 and started exploring more effective, urgent and enhanced ambitious targets.
Nsheed’s statements, in short, summed up where the climate change negotiations are going at COP24 – with just a day to go to conclude the talk.
Nasheed was just short of repeating what Einstein famously said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Even the usual optimism in such meetings had familiar and archaic language: “Window of opportunity to keep temperature rise below 1.5 C, as revealed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is closing fast. But we still have time and we can do it”. That was the official tone of the conference.
But unofficial tone was of talk, talk and more talk.
A special report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change did energise the negotiations by adding the edge to the demands of the developing countries for developed countries to move fast on their own commitment for reducing GHG emissions and fulfilling the promise of financial assistance to the developing countries. But Nasheed wondered if the developing countries should now change the narrative of their demands and instead push the developed countries to enhance their own investments in the clean renewable energy so that technology improves and the prices come down. That, as per Nasheed, would benefit the developing countries more than just asking for new and additional finances.
But even there, the developed countries are unwilling to budge. The huge wolf in the herd of the sheep was Poland itself. A day after delivering the inaugural speech at COP24, Polish President Andrzej Duda made a surprise address to coal miners in the country’s south, during their annual festival. He said that as long as he is in office, he “won’t allow for anyone to murder Polish mining”.
Duda contended that under the garb of global warming, one cannot neglect the welfare of the coal miners and ignore their needs. Poland needs coal and it would continue mining it for the sustainable development of its people, was his narrative. That must have been a shock to EU delegation to which coal king Poland belongs. EU has often been very proactive in raising the ambitions for reducing the emissions in line with the IPCC 1.5C report.
One of the Polish students in the conference stated that coal miners in reality can have a better quality life if they start working on the clean energy. Poland is quite skilled in making turbines for windmills and even exports them. But it does not invest in windmills in the country. “In reality, not only coal miners but even average citizen would lead a better life in Poland if we engage ourselves in clean and renewable energy,” he stated. Many houses in the cities and in rural areas still burn dirty coal to heat the houses and pollute the air which, in turn, harms the lives of the present and future generations. But Duda has to please the Solidarity union of the coal miners, who are literally kept in dark about the clean energy.
How can Nasheed’s suggestion on enhanced investment by the developed countries in renewables would materialize in such a political scenario?
In reality, the options before the present negotiations are limited. The fragmentation of the multilateralism is destabilising the negotiations. The oil kings — the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait — have formed another block of countries to complicate the negotiations. Even the facilitative role of United Nations Secretary General, who dashed back into the meeting after the inauguration on December 3, 2018 is unlikely to halt the fragmentation and destabilisation of the negotiations.
The final days of the negotiations have also revealed that the basic tenets of environmental diplomacy are being conveniently (or deliberately) forgotten. As early as the 1992 Rio conference on Environment and Development, the single-most tenet of environmental diplomacy has been the principle of the common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. This basis of negotiations of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements is in jeopardy at COP 24. The rule book to operationalise the Paris Climate Agreement depends much on this tenet.
In words of Nasheed, carbon emissions keep “rising, and rising, and rising. And all we seem to be doing is talking and talking and talking”.
(Rajendra Shende, an IIT alumni, is Chairman, TERRE Policy Centre and a former UNEP Director. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at shende.rajendra@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, World
By Vishal Gulati,
Katowice (Poland) : At a time when there is a call for all countries to do more to fight climate change, India is telling the world at the ongoing UN climate negotiations, COP24, that it is in a position to comfortably overachieve its Paris climate change commitments, and will do more.
India had committed that by 2030, as much as 40 per cent of its installed energy capacity will be non-fossil fuel based.
Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary Anand Kumar told IANS here the actual number will be 60 per cent, even without taking into account large hydropower projects.
“Today, India has 73 GW of wind, solar and biomass capacity, and another 22 GW is under construction. Yet another 25 GW is in the process of being tendered out. That leaves 55 GW more to be set up by 2022 for India to meet its target of 175 GW,” Kumar said.
After 2022, India will auction 30 GW of solar and 10 GW of wind every year till 2030. By 2030, the country will have 350 GW of solar and 150 GW of wind installed capacity, he added.
The political phase of the ongoing UN climate negotiations that began on December 12 with ministers and high-level country representatives together with non-party stakeholders entered the last phase.
Each country was sharing its plans for the transformation of economies in line with the 2015 Paris goals.
The negotiations will culminate on Friday, hopefully with an agreement on the Paris rulebook for transparent implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement — the first global treaty to reduce emissions by all rich and poor nations.
India’s Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, who attended the climate summit last week, signalled that the country was ready to update its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) if other countries do the same.
India was on track to meet majority of Paris goals and become a global climate leader by meeting one target a decade earlier, US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said in report on the margins of the UN climate summit.
The Paris agreement requested each country outline, update and communicate its post-2020 climate actions, known as NDCs, reflecting a country’s ambition for reducing emissions.
According to IEEFA, India’s NDCs included three key targets: To achieve 40 per cent of electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel by 2030, to reduce the emissions intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 33-35 per cent from the 2005 level to 2030 and to create an additional 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes of carbon sinks — reservoirs that accumulate and store carbon dioxide, through the planting of additional forest and tree cover.
R.R. Rashmi, India’s former climate negotiator and Fellow at The Energy Resource Institute in New Delhi told IANS: “In terms of India’s efforts in reducing its emissions relative to its economic growth, it is a fairly positive story and it’s more significant because the energy growth is tremendous.”
Favouring the strong Paris rulebook, New Delhi-based Council on Energy Environment and Water Fellow Vaibhav Gupta said the Paris agreement came with a mandate which needs to be balanced and strong.
“The negotiations are stuck on contentious issues because there is no consensus reached by parties one way or another. A strong rulebook should strike a balance between action and support, between mitigation and adaptation, and between science and political will,” he said.
Anirban Ghosh of the Mahindra group said: “Renewables, energy efficiency, electric vehicle are clear win. We don’t need external finance for these items, they pay for themselves.”
India on Wednesday said the Paris agreement was “non-negotiable” and there could be no compromise on the basic principles.
(Vishal Gulati is in Katowice at the invitation of Climate Trends to cover the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP24. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Social Round-up, World
By Vishal Gulati,
Katowice (Poland) : The political phase of the ongoing UN climate negotiations, amid the assembly of nearly 200 nations delegates, including India, was held on Tuesday with ministers and high-level country representatives together with non-party stakeholders shared plans for the transformation of economies in line with the 2015 Paris goals.
Climate experts told IANS the facilitative dialogue, also called Talanoa Dialogue, illustrated the huge progress already underway across all sectors and together with the landmark 1.5 degrees Celsius Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report with urgency and also scaled up ambition.
The high-level Talanoa roundtables, part of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP24), constitute the final part of a year-long global review that governments, business and civil society have fed into following the questions: “Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?” with the goal to increase countries climate ambition, a climate expert said.
Mahindra Group Chief Sustainable Officer Anirban Ghosh said: “The Talanoa Dialogue provides opportunities to have these bold discussions without any inhibitions, we are all in this together and we must all help each other to do more.”
“Climate champions like India and China realise that reducing emissions will help their countries, not only in reducing rising temperature but also in terms of air pollution,” he said.
Though the champions must also realise that they need to spearhead other countries in taking bold actions too. Processes like the Talanoa Dialogue infuse trust in the process, which is an essential element of any progress, and found wanting in the negotiations right now, Ghosh added.
Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace International Executive Director said the leaders must now rise to the challenge and negotiate a decision on ambition here.
“Our world is on fire and the question that must be answered at this COP is: Will decision makers take responsibility and act? Youth and activists around the world are rising up, warning that they have had enough of inaction,” she said.
US-based World Resources Institute Senior Associate Eliza Northrop said: “The Talanoa Dialogue has been a breath of fresh air — creating an inclusive and participatory process to agree on a shared vision for a low carbon prosperous future and what we need to do to get there.”
“The many stories shared by countries, business, regions and cities emphasize the opportunities available for us to go further, faster and together. What countries need to do now is to send an unequivocal signal that they have listened to the 1.5 Celsius report and will enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020.”
So what is the Talanoa Dialogue?
In the Paris Agreement provisions foresee a “global stocktake” every five years, starting in 2023, to prepare a new round of ever-increasing national climate commitments called Nationally Determined Contributions.
The Talanoa Dialogue which was launched at the last COP in Bonn is meant to serve as an initial stocktaking exercise to inspire progress among countries and encourage them to increase their climate ambition.
By March 2020, the parties must update their national climate strategies, which currently are not sufficient to reach the two degrees Celsius let alone the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement.
Three crucial days are left starting Wednesday to ensure that the ongoing for COP-24 talks respond to the urgency highlighted by the IPCC report that says temperatures could rise 1.5 degrees as early as 2030 – with devastating impact.
To do that, in addition to delivering the Paris rulebook, the nations, both developed and developing, need to send a signal they are committed to collectively raise their ambition on climate change and united on a path forward to achieve that goal, say climate negotiators.
It means by December 14 there must be a clear and unambiguous outcome to that effect, a negotiator added.
(Vishal Gulati is in Katowice at the invitation of Climate Trends to cover the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP24. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
