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India's net-zero emissions will clash with huge infrastructure targets
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: As a developing country, India has large infrastructure building goals. Those may make it difficult for it to achieve a net-zero emissions scenario. These are concerns raised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in May 2021. The IEA is an intergovernmental organisation that works with countries to shape sustainable energy policies. The report was titled "Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector".
- Developing economies like India tend to build up stocks of goods and infrastructure to account for the rising demand. This is especially true of three heavy industries – steel, cement, and chemicals.
- Some countries such as India see (will see) higher growth in steel and cement production, while production in China declined considerably following its industrial boom period after the turn of the millennium.
- The zero net emissions roadmap will lead to a surge in clean energy investments, creating millions of jobs and lifting global economic growth. But moving the world onto that pathway requires strong and credible policy actions from governments, underpinned by much greater international cooperation.
- As of now, India has not set any target to achieve a carbon-neutral future, in which all new emissions would be offset by green measures such as reforestation and a higher usage of renewable sources in the country's overall energy mix.
- Self action: However, despite the lack of policy directives, some large corporates operating in steel and cement sectors have taken it upon themselves to reduce their carbon emissions.
- An example is that of JSW Steel, which has set a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 41% from its 2005 levels by 2030. The conglomerate is also looking at hydrogen usage in steelmaking, which would eventually lead to replacement of coking coal. The group has also adopted a shadow internal carbon price for its steel, energy, and cement businesses that helps in the decision-making process for project approvals.
- Tata Steel is adopting a new technology developed in its plants in the Netherlands that would reduce additional energy inputs in their systems by capturing CO2 from its blast furnaces and reusing it. The byproduct gas produced through this route has higher concentration of CO2, making it more amenable for carbon capture and use of the CO2 emissions.
- US and India: US climate envoy John Kerry, during his New Delhi visit in April 2021, had urged India to lay down a net-zero plan to offset carbon emissions. Meanwhile, India was well on track to exceed its Paris Agreement commitment to reduce carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030.
- Climate justice: Indian PM Modi and Environment minister Javadekar have previously spoken about “climate justice”, and how any such environmental target needs to be taken in a historical context – developed countries have already used natural resources in excess for their own benefit, contributing the most to climate change crisis, but they are now pressurising developing countries to reduce their emissions.
- Knowledge centre:
- Climate justice - As a form of environmental justice, climate justice is the fair treatment of all people and the freedom from discrimination in the creation of policies and projects that address climate change as well as the systems that create climate change and perpetuate discrimination. Climate Justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centred approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly.
- Cabon sequestration - It is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. Reservoirs that retain carbon and keep it from entering Earth's atmosphere are known as carbon sinks. For example, deforestation is a source of carbon emission into the atmosphere, but forest regrowth is a form of carbon sequestration, with the forests themselves serving as carbon sinks.
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