Global Energy & Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Recently the International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its second Global Energy and CO₂ Status Report which provides a snapshot of global trends and developments across fuels, renewable sources, and energy efficiency and carbon emissions, in 2018.

• This is for the first time that the IEA assessed the impact of fossil fuel use on global temperature increases.
  • It found that CO₂ emitted from coal combustion was responsible for over 0.3°C of the 1°C increase in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels.
  • This makes coal the single largest source of global temperature increase.
• The first edition of this report was released in 2017.

Global Findings

• Global energy consumption in 2018 increased at nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy (expanded by 3.7% in 2018) and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world.
  • China, the United States, and India together accounted for nearly 70% of the rise in energy demand. These countries also accounted for 85% of the net increase in emissions.
  • Emissions declined for Germany, Japan, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom.
  • Weather conditions in 2018 were also responsible for increase in global energy demand as average winter and summer temperatures in some regions approached or exceeded historical records.
• The CO₂ emissions stagnated between 2014 and 2016, even as the global economy continued to expand.
  • This decoupling was primarily the result of strong energy efficiency improvements and low-carbon technology deployment, leading to a decline in coal demand.
  • But the dynamics changed in 2017 and 2018. Higher economic growth was not met by higher energy productivity, lower-carbon options did not scale fast enough to meet the rise in demand.
• The natural gas which emerged as the fuel of choice for the year 2018, accounting for nearly 45% of the increase in total energy demand.
  • Demand for all fuels rose, with fossil fuels meeting nearly 70% of the growth for the second year running.
  • Renewables grew at double-digit pace, but still not fast enough to meet the increase in demand for electricity around the world.
  • Nuclear also grew by 3.3% in 2018, mainly as a result of new capacity in China and the restart of reactors in Japan. Worldwide, nuclear generation met 7% of the increase in energy demand.

India Specific Findings

• India’s energy demand outpaced global demand growth in 2018.
• India emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, a 4.8% rise from 2018 led by coal (power generation) and oil (transport), the two biggest contributors to pollution.
  • Although the nation’s per capita release remained low at 40% of the global average.
  • India’s emissions growth in 2018 was higher than that of the United States and China — the two biggest emitters in the world — and this was primarily due to a rise in coal consumption.
• India’s energy intensity improvement declined 3% from 2018 even as its renewable energy installations increased 10.6% from 2018.
  • It can be noted that as per its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India has promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
  • It has also committed to having 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and, as part of this, install 100 GW of solar power by 2022.
• These findings raise questions about the effectiveness of the global fight against climate change amid rising energy demand.

New island rules: IPZ 2019

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified Island Protection Zone (IPZ) 2019 for Andaman and Nicobar.

Purpose

• Changes in the IPZ are aligned with the Niti Aayog's proposal for holistic development in the Islands.
• The government’s planning to open up the blue economy and sustainable harnessing of ocean resources.

IPZ 2019

• It allows eco-tourism projects 20 meters from the high tide line (HTL) in smaller islands like Baratang, Havelock, and Car Nicobar.
• In case of larger islands, 50 meters from the HTL is permitted.
• It allows for eco-tourism activities like mangrove walks, tree huts and nature trails in island coastal regulation zone(ICRZ) IA (ICRZ 2018: ICRZ IA, provides areas classified as the most eco-sensitive region of the islands which includes turtle nesting grounds, marshes, coral reefs etc)
• The notification also allows for construction of roads, roads on stilts by reclaiming land in exceptional cases for defense installations, public utilities or strategic purposes in eco-sensitive zones.
• In case construction of such roads pass through mangroves, a minimum three times the mangrove area destroyed during the construction process shall be taken up for compensatory plantation of mangroves elsewhere.

Concerns over IPZ 2019

• It brings the norms for Andaman and Nicobar at par with Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 2018 norms for other islands close to the mainland and backwater islands where a No Development Zone (NDZ)is only 20 meters from HTL.
• Previously, IPZ 2011 stipulated an NDZ of 200 meters from the HTL for all islands.
• Only pipelines, transmission lines, trans-harbor links to be laid in the eco-sensitive zone were permitted. Now road construction is allowed.

Note:

• High tide line (HTL) is defined as line up to which highest high tide reaches in spring tides.
• It is delineated by walking over or remote sensing data or by helicopter survey.
• The Low Tide Line(LTL) is the limit up to which the lowest low tide recedes during spring tide.

Energy Transition Report

World Economic Forum has recently published Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2019

• The report contains the Energy Transition Index (ETI), which compares the energy sectors of 115 countries and analyses their readiness for energy transition.

Report Findings

• Global
  • Energy systems have globally become less affordable and less environmentally sustainable than they were five years ago.
  • Access to energy has improved and currently, less than 1 billion people are living without access to electricity. On average, 135 million people gained access to electricity each year between 2014 and 2016.
  • The biggest challenge facing attempts to future proof global energy demands is the lack of readiness among the world’s largest emitters.
  • In 2017, global CO2 emissions grew after remaining stagnant for three years. CO2 emissions from fuel combustion grew in more than half of the countries as demand increased from the residential and transportation sectors.
  • Coal consumption increased in 2018, after declining for three years along with an increase in commodity prices and slower-than-needed improvements in energy intensity this has contributed to the slowdown in Energy Transition.
  • Fossil fuels’ share of total primary energy supply at 81 percent is constant over the past three decades.
  • Environmental sustainability of energy production has improved marginally, indicating a general lack of substantive progress.
• India
  • India is amongst the countries with high pollution levels and has a relatively high CO2 emission intensity in its energy system.
  • Despite this, India has made significant progress in improving energy access in recent years.
  • India has made fast progress towards universal electrification due to strong political commitment, a stable policy regime, use of grid expansion and decentralized generation sources, and a supportive environment for investment in infrastructure.
  • Global coal consumption grew in 2017 due to an increase in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, including in India and China.

Energy Transition Index

• Energy transition index ranks countries on how well they are able to balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability.
• ETI has ranked 115 economies covering 40 indicators.
• Sweden is at the top followed by Switzerland and Norway in the top three.
• Among major economies, the United Kingdom (UK) is ranked seventh. Singapore has been ranked thirteenth, while Germany, Japan, and the US have bagged the seventeenth, eighteenth and the twenty-seventh place respectively.
• India has moved up two places from last year to rank 76th on a global energy transition index.
• China is ranked lower than India at the 82nd position.
• India is the second best in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, with Brazil being the best at 46th place globally.
• However, India is the only amongst the five economies to improve its rank since last year.

Important Facts For Prelims (27th March 2019)

Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Makalu

• Indian Army has launched its maiden expedition to Mount Makalu in Mar-May 2019.
• Mt Makalu is considered amongst the most dangerous peaks and summiting the peak is considered extremely challenging due to inclement weather conditions and freezing temperatures.
• As a precursor to it, an expedition to Mount Kamet (7756m), Joshimath District Chamoli, Uttarakhand was conducted under the aegis of Army Adventure Wing in August-September 2018.
• Mt. Makalu is fifth highest Peak on the Earth with its height 8,463m. Mt. Makalu resides in the eastern Himalayas range just 19 Km southeast of the giant Mt. Everest on the border of Nepal and China.

Poverty in India

• India reduced its poverty rate sharply from 55% to 28% in ten years between 2005-06 and 2015-16, according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). In absolute terms, a total of 271 million (27.10 crores) people moved out of poverty during these ten years.
• The traditionally disadvantaged sub-groups such as rural dwellers, lower castes and tribes, Muslims and young children are still the poorest in 2015-16.
• However, these groups had the biggest reductions between 2005-06 and 2015-16, showing that they have been “catching up”.
• Significantly, this trend marks a reversal from that observed from 1998-99 to 2005-06. During 1998-99 to 2005-06, these groups had the slowest progress and were left behind.

Employee Stock Purchase Scheme

• Recently the Public Sector Banks have raised or are in the process of raising around Rs 5,000 crore from employees through the employee stock purchase scheme (ESPS).
• An employee stock purchase scheme (ESPS) is a company-run program in which participating employees can purchase company shares at a discounted price.
• Companies often reward their employees with their stock, either in the form of employee stock option plans (Esops) or employee stock purchase schemes (ESPSs).
• Esops are stock options granted to employees over a vesting period, where the employee is given the right to purchase the company’s shares at a predetermined price or the exercise price.
• ESPSs allow employees to use their salary to purchase the stock of the company, usually at a discounted price. Unlike Esops, ESPS holders do not have any option, but are mandated to pay the exercise price usually by way of monthly deductions from their salary.

Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering

• After Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey-listed Pakistan, Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering is also considering grey-listing Pakistan.

Asia-Pacific Group(APG)

• The APG is the FATF-style regional body for the Asia-Pacific region. It is an inter-governmental organization founded in 1997.
• The Asia/Pacific Group consists of 41 members including India, focused on ensuring that its members effectively implement the international standards against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing related to weapons of mass destruction.
• APG was founded in the Bangkok, Thailand on February 1997 as an autonomous regional anti-money laundering body by unanimous agreement among 13 original founding members.