Increase in number of coal plants may hamper India’s climate goals
The country has vowed to curtail its use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, but it has also put itself on a path to building hundreds of coalburning power plants to feed its growing industrial economy.
India will not be able to meet its Paris climate agreement commitments in the coming years if the country goes ahead with its plans to build nearly 370 coal-fired power plants, US researchers warn.
India has pledged to the international community to reduce its emissions intensity - the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of gross domestic product - by as much as 35 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, and to increase the percentage of renewable energy in its power grids.
The construction of 65 gigawatts worth of coal-burning generation with an additional 178 gigawatts in the planning stages would make it nearly impossible for India to meet those climate promises, the researchers said.
“The country has vowed to curtail its use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, but it has also put itself on a path to building hundreds of coal-burning power plants to feed its growing industrial economy,” said Steve Davis, professor at the University of California, Irvine.
By developing all of the planned coal-fired capacity, India would increase the share of fossil fuels in its energy budget by 123 per cent, researchers said.
If the country also met its goal to produce at least 40 per cent of their power from non-fossil sources in 2030, the total power being generated would greatly exceed its own projected future electricity demand, according to the new study.
“Looking closely at all of India’s active coal plant proposals, we found they are already incompatible with the country’s international climate commitments and are simply unneeded,” said Christine Shearer, senior researcher at CoalSwarm, a research institute in the US.
India relies heavily on coal; 70% of the country’s power comes from plants burning the fuel. Due to its low cost and accessibility of large domestic coal reserves, it is seen by the country as an aid in its quest to become a manufacturing and economic power to the roughly 300 million people in the country who do not have it.
The Supreme Court “prima facie” found nothing wrong in NDA government’s controversial rule making Aadaar number mandatory for filing Income-Tax (I-T) returns, saying it was a shame that people in India evaded taxes.
A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri agreed to examine the validity of the new I-T law, but also questioned the petitioners for doing so. It wondered why Members of Parliament chose not to object to the decision if the new provision was draconian as argued by petitioners.
“It is a shame that in this country people evade tax. We can understand if there is tax avoidance. But there are tax evasions. Once there is a tax evasion the government has come out with the new provision. Government is trying to plug all these evasions,” Justice Sikri told senior advocate Arvind Datar appearing for petitioner and CPI leader Binoy Visman.
The government has defended the move saying it was needed to curb black money. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that 99% of the population in India had already got their Aadhaar. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, arguing for the other two petitioners, argued that the government itself had blacklisted 34,000 enrolment agencies and cancelled 3.48 lakh Aadhaar cards after it was found that they indulged in fraud.
However, the bench said, “What we are dealing with is a statute Parliament has enacted. Whether it will have a binding effect or not it is for Parliament to decide. We can examine the validity of the statute...” the bench observed, fixing Thursday to hear the matter again.
A BENCH HEADED BY JUSTICE AK SIKRI AGREED TO EXAMINE THE VALIDITY OF THE NEW IT LAW, WHILE QUESTIONING THE PETITIONERS