India to push developed nations to become 'carbon negative' before 2050 -sources

Sarita Chaganti Singh
Fri, October 13, 2023 

Smoke billows from the cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant in Ahmedabad

By Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India wants to push developed nations to become carbon negative rather than carbon neutral by 2050, arguing that would allow emerging market economies more time to use fossil fuels for development needs, two Indian government sources said.

India, which is resisting calls to commit to a deadline for phasing out its own use of coal and other fossil fuels, is set to make its proposal at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this year.

"The rich countries should become net negative emitters before 2050 to enable the world to achieve the target of global net-zero by that year while allowing developing nations to use the available natural resources for growth," one of the government officials said.

Developed countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Japan are targeting net zero by 2050. China has committed to net zero by 2060 while India has committed to reaching that goal by 2070.

Net zero or carbon neutrality means the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere through any activity is offset by an additional activity to remove an equivalent amount. Carbon negative is a step forward and requires a country to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits.

COP28 discussions are taking place at a time when extreme weather-related events have lead to heatwaves and erratic monsoons and scientists have called for immediate action.

India intends to continue resisting developed economies' push to fix a deadline for fossil fuel phase down and instead favours shifting focus to reducing overall carbon emissions through "abatement and mitigation technologies," the two officials and a third government official said.

None of the officials wished to be named as the discussions are private and a final stance has not been firmed up.

India's environment, external affairs and prime minister's offices did not reply to emails seeking comment.

India has committed to operating half of its installed power capacity with non-fossil sources and cutting the ratio of greenhouse emissions to gross domestic product to 45% of its 2005 level by 2030.

At a summit in New Delhi last month G20 countries accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting a timeline or emission reduction goals.

The declaration was a step forward in climate negotiations, with the 20 countries accounting for over 80% of global emissions agreeing to phase down coal for the first time.

The decision was a surprise as coal-dependent economies, including China, India and Indonesia, have in past negotiations resisted talks of exiting the black fuel and asked developed economies to instead end their use of gas.

"It's just not feasible for India to commit to a timeline to end coal. Coal is going to be the country's mainstay in the near future even if storage and abatement technologies become viable in a hypothetic situation," another official said.

Data shows that thermal power stations provide 73% of electricity consumed in India, even though the country has increased its non-fossil capacity to 44% of its total installed power generation capacity.

COP28 is scheduled to take place between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12.

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Susan Fenton)

UK's climate policy changes may raise costs and jeopardise goals –advisers

Reuters
Thu, October 12, 2023 

FILE PHOTO: Cars travel along the M6 motorway near Knutsford, Britain

LONDON (Reuters) -Changes to Britain's climate policies will make meeting its climate targets harder and could increase energy and transport costs for households, the country's independent advisory panel on the issue said on Thursday.

Britain has a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Last month Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a delay in a ban on sales of new petrol cars, changes to plans to phase out gas boilers, and a decision not to regulate improved energy efficiency in rented homes which he said would save costs.

“The cancellation of some net zero measures is likely to increase both energy bills and motoring costs for households,” the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said in an assessment of the policy changes.

The CCC said measures to upgrade privately rented homes had been forecast to save tenants of upgraded properties an average of about 255 pounds ($313.60) a year on energy bills, depending on the prevailing energy costs.

Critics say there is a lack of sufficient financial incentives, such as state subsidies, to make green conversions of domestic energy systems affordable for many households.

The CCC also said electric vehicles would be cheaper to own and operate over their lifetimes than petrol and diesel ones, so slowing the phase-out date would ultimately increase costs.

Electrical vehicles, critics say, remain more expensive to buy and lack an adequate nationwide re-charging network.

Sunak also announced about 20% of homes would be exempt from plans to phase out fossil fuel boilers - a decision the CCC said would make it harder to reduce overall emissions from the building sector.

The CCC welcomed announcements on a deal to electrify steel production at the Port Talbot plant in Wales and the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate specifying that only 20% of vehicles produced between 2030 and 2035 will be able to burn petrol or diesel at all.

A government spokesperson said it was confident of reaching the net zero target and that it was taking a fairer and more pragmatic approach to reaching the goal that would save households money.

"The UK remains a global leader on climate – cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country – so we are confident that we will meet our future carbon commitments," the spokesperson said via email.

($1 = 0.8131 pounds)

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)

Global emissions from energy use to increase through 2050: analysis

Rachel Frazin
Wed, October 11, 2023 


Despite efforts to shift toward low-carbon energy, global emissions from energy use will increase through 2050, according to a new analysis.

A new report from the U.S. government found that population and income increases will “offset” the impacts of efficiency and lower carbon intensity.

The report, from the independent Energy Information Administration (EIA), said that while there will be some shift away from fossil fuels, current policies are “not enough” to cut global emissions from energy use.

The burning of fossil fuels releases planet-warming emissions and is the main driver of climate change.

The United Nations’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said the world needs to cut its emissions all the way down to carbon neutrality by 2050 to limit global warming to a level that evades some of the worst impacts of climate change.

China will still be the “primary” source of carbon dioxide emissions through 2050, the EIA said, though its share of emissions is expected to decline. India is expected to be the second-biggest emitter by midcentury, a title the U.S. holds.

China has said it hopes to see its emissions peak by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060. India has said it hopes to be carbon neutral by 2070.

Globally, emissions from the transportation sector’s energy use are expected to grow between 8 percent and 41 percent between 2022 and 2050, while emissions from the industrial sector’s energy use are slated to grow by between 9 and 62 percent.