Latest news with #emissions
Japan Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Delayed pricing policy for cleaner ethanol keeps India burning food for fuel
India's push for ethanol, mixing crop-based biofuel with petrol to run vehicles, is being stalled by slow progress in making an environmentally cleaner version of the fuel, producers and experts say. Standing in the way is the government's failure to pay more for cleaner ethanol, which is made from waste but costs more to produce, they say. Second-generation (2G) ethanol, which uses crop waste instead of valuable food crops, offers a way to cut planet-heating emissions, reduce oil imports and avoid making fuel from food needed for human consumption. But producers say the government must pay a separate, appropriate price for the more costly 2G ethanol. "Without a separate pricing policy for 2G ethanol, the economics do not work," said Monish Ahuja, managing director of Punjab Renewable Energy Systems (PRESPL), which supplies farm waste to 2G plants. Investors will not join in unless they see returns that reflect the higher cost of making the biofuel, Ahuja said. "That's the bottleneck," he said. The Indian government wants all petrol sold in the country to contain 20% ethanol by October 2025, and has ramped up ethanol production by diverting food crops like sugarcane, maize and surplus rice to make fuel known as first-generation (1G) ethanol. The 1G production reduces the availability of grains for people and cattle and shifts land away from food production. India allocated a record 5.2 million metric tons of rice for 1G ethanol, nearly 9% of global rice shipments, in the course of a year spanning 2024 and 2025. The 2G ethanol can be made by breaking down tough plant waste like straw or husk into fermentable sugars using newer technology. It also could help curb stubble burning, a key cause of air pollution in India, in which crop remnants are set ablaze post-harvest. So far, 2G ethanol makes up very little — some say less than 1% — of India's annual biofuel production, which the government said topped 7 billion liters in October 2024. The lack of 2G ethanol production is mostly due to a lack of differentiated procurement pricing by the government and higher production costs, experts say. The Indian government does not make specific figures available on its 2G ethanol production. The government has considered a separate rate for 2G ethanol, according to minutes of a high-level committee meeting from July 2023. The price was expected in April 2025, according to reports in Indian media, but no announcement has been made. To promote the newer fuel, the Indian government launched a national program in 2019, with a budget of 1.97 billion Indian rupees ($227.76 million) to provide financial assistance for setting up commercial and demonstration-scale 2G ethanol plants. However, of the 12 plants it set out to establish across India, only one demonstration plant is operational. The Indian ministry responsible for biofuel production did not respond to requests for comment. Among the challenges in scaling up 2G ethanol production are the costly enzymes, pre-treatment of waste and logistics required by the process, said Y.B. Ramakrishna, senior vice-president of the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE). India generates hundreds of millions of metric tons of agricultural waste annually, which could fuel hundreds of 2G biofuel plants, experts say. But the waste needs to be collected, dried, stored and transported from small farms scattered across wide areas, said Ramya Natarajan, a research scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). The costs can add up, making financial support and pricing clarity for 2G ethanol critical, experts said. "At least for the initial three to four years, a higher price is essential," Ramakrishna said. Without a separate price for 2G and a target for its procurement, even financially ready firms are unable to raise funds from banks or commit to long-term plans, Ahuja said. Unlike 1G ethanol, which has a guaranteed market through oil marketing companies' procurement, the lack of a separate 2G ethanol blending target leaves the greener alternative to compete for customers with the cheaper 1G ethanol. Contained in India's ethanol blending policy of 20% ethanol in petrol by the end of 2025, there is no subtarget for 2G ethanol blending to help guarantee production.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
PETER VAN ONSELEN: UN climate boss makes LUDICROUS claim about daily habit Aussies will be forced to give up because of warming - turning off the very people he needs to win over
When Simon Stiell, the UN's top climate official, warns Australians that unless we lift our game on emissions, fruit and veggies will become 'a once-a-year treat', you know he's jumped the shark. That kind of rhetoric may stir applause from activists who are already won over to the climate cause, but it risks turning off the very people who weigh up what practical action should look like. You don't have to be a climate change denier to fall into that category. Climate change is real, most people accept that. The science is sound, people know that too. The dangers posed by a warming planet are therefore not to be underestimated. But packaging the argument in short term apocalyptic headlines doesn't strengthen the cause, it weakens it. It sounds like activism, not expert analysis, and that distinction matters. When the debate becomes saturated with worst case scenarios and doom-laden predictions, most people dismiss those who deliver inflated rhetoric as lacking credibility. Stiell might believe he's spurring governments into action, but for mainstream voters, the ones who decide elections, this sort of messaging can feel more like an old fashioned guilt trip. It becomes counterproductive to the cause. Australia is preparing to update its 2035 emissions reduction target right when the Labor government has ambitions to co-host a global climate summit. And the UN's climate tsar seems to think fresh alarmism will spur Labor into more action. But that will not be the case if his sensationalising makes the government look like its plans are rooted in activism. Younger voters tend to be more inclined to listen to the alarmism, but the electorate is broader than one generation still finding their feet in life. The case for serious emissions reduction is strong, but it must be made with rigour. Suggesting fresh produce will become a luxury good - or that living standards are set to collapse without dramatic policy shifts in Australia - makes for a good headline but is poor public engagement. It risks framing climate policy as a punitive exercise rather than an economic and technological opportunity. It also ignores the reality that Australia is a very small emitter on the global stage even if our per capita emissions are too high. What we do, or don't do, matters little if the likes of China and India don't do much more than they currently are. There are plenty of nations in greater need of lectures than we are. Australians aren't oblivious to climate risks, but they are wary of poor policies, broken promises and emissions targets that are often costly and don't get met anyway. Voters want action that's credible, not utopian and dreamy. They also want costed plans, not alarmist lectures, especially in the context of rising energy prices and concerns about reliability. The Coalition is already highlighting the economic burden of the government's major emissions reduction policy - known as the safeguard mechanism - and other net zero policies. The public will want proper answers to a problem - not simplistic fear mongering. The credibility of climate action depends on public trust. That means being transparent about costs and benefits, about timelines, trade-offs and targets. It means avoiding exaggerated claims that can't be sustained if the short-term doesn't mirror the long-term projection. Just because opponents of climate action use fear and verbosity is no reason for advocates who claim to be on the side of science to dash their credibility by returning fire. If the government wants to be taken seriously at home and abroad, it should focus less on emotionally charged appeals and more on policy design that builds confidence. There's merit in the idea of setting ambitious targets with built-in flexibility, allowing for adjustments as new technology develops and economic conditions change. That's the kind of thinking that builds consensus and keeps momentum going. Those urging rapid decarbonisation, net zero within a decade, or 65 per cent emissions cuts by 2035 need to ground their calls in practical pathways. Without them, they risk pushing the conversation to the fringes. There's nothing wrong with urgency, but it should be channelled into persuading the undecided rather than trying to pressure them. If Stiell wants Australia to lead, avoid the junk threats. After all, science is already on his side.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Total madness': Senator David Pocock slams net-zero review
Independent senator David Pocock has labelled the National Party's review of net-zero emissions targets as 'total madness'. Kicking off the second week of the new parliament, on Monday former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce introduced a Repeal Net Zero Bill. The Bill is unlikely to have support from Opposition Leader Susan Ley. However, the former Nationals leader is an influential figure, even from the backbench. 'I think it's total madness to see the path that the Coalition is taking on this,' Senator Pocock told Channel 9 on Tuesday. 'The Labor government; Yes, they're doing something, but they're not doing enough. It's not actually aligned with what climate scientists are telling us. 'They love to talk about how we're a small jurisdiction. We're actually one of the biggest fossil fuel exporters in the world, so we have a real role to play in this and Australians love punching above our weight.' Australia produces about 1.1 per cent of global emissions. However, Australia is the world's largest coal exporter and a major gas exporter. Despite being banished to the backbench during the Liberal and National parties' brief split following the election drubbing, Mr Joyce holds considerable sway within the Nationals. Unless Ms Ley drastically changes course in rebuilding the Coalition as a moderate opposition, Mr Joyce's private member's bill will not get far. Nationals senate whip Matt Canavan was in June appointed to an internal Nationals committee tasked with reviewing the party's net-zero policy. The senator has been a longtime critic of the energy transition and fervently supports coal. Speaking on Tuesday, Senator Canavan said he would conduct the review, would not change his position against net zero, and Australia had not debated getting to net-zero emissions. 'We need to have this fulsome debate,' he said. 'I don't think this is working, I think the evidence is in now. 'The average Australian has just suffered since we announced net zero,' he added, citing higher electricity prices. 'Why, if coal is the cheapest form of power, isn't the government using it? 'It's about time we're not led by people who clearly don't have a grasp on how the world works.' Health Minister Mark Butler said the Labor government had put in place investment-inducing policies. 'We have got a clear (emissions) target by 2030. We are on track to meet that target. We have clear policy parameters to give investors confident to make the decisions that the country needs,' he said. 'The important thing for the government is getting on with the job of fixing up a decade of inaction. 'We will focus on delivering and implementing that policy architecture, not the chaos and division on the other side of politics.'
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
EPA Set to Unravel US Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases
The Trump administration is set to announce its plans to abolish the US government's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, threatening to strike a deep blow at Washington's ability to fight climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency will unveil a proposal as early as Tuesday to scrap a landmark determination that planet-warming gases endanger public health and welfare, according to people familiar with the matter. If finalized, the move would lay the foundation to unwind a host of regulations limiting emissions from power plants, oil wells and automobiles.
The Australian
a day ago
- Business
- The Australian
EPA reveals major changes for NSW coal mines in emissions battle
NSW coalminers face a climate change crackdown, with the environmental regulator imposing new draft rules to cut methane and diesel pollution amid fears the state may fail to meet 2030 emissions reduction targets. The Environment Protection Authority has created 'tailored climate actions' for the coal industry as part of a broader curb on 200 premises that each emit 25,000 tonnes or more of scope 1 and scope 2 carbon dioxide annually. NSW has set more ambitious emission reduction targets than the federal government, with a 50 per cent cut on 2005 levels by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035 and net zero by mid-century. However, the EPA said official projections show a significant risk that NSW is not on track to meet its 2030 and 2035 targets without further action by the government and the private sector. 'NSW is gradually reducing overall emissions, but more work is needed to correct our course to stay on target,' it said. NSW coal producers will be required to destroy methane in drainage gas at underground mines and plug old methane leaks by July 2027, while also eliminating ventilation air methane at underground mines by 2030. Coalmine emissions, mostly methane, made up about 9 per cent of total NSW scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions with early action helping to slow the rate of atmospheric warming, according to the EPA. Coal producers have raised issues with the cost of ventilation air methane abatement but the EPA said it remained financially viable for a number of underground mines while also helping meet obligations under the commonwealth's Safeguard Mechanism. The EPA is also targeting cuts to diesel emissions for surface coalmines with pollution from the fuel used in machines and trucks accounting for nearly a third of direct emissions, called Scope 1, from the state's coal sector. The draft proposal would see a staggered system whereby by July 2030 some 5 per cent of fuel used would need to be a low-carbon alternative to diesel, growing to 10 per cent by 2035. Read related topics: Climate Change
