Global Warming : What To Do And What's Being Done
Global Warming: What To Do And What's Being Done
Much is being expressed on the dangers of 'global warming' due to emission of carbon dioxide and other atmosphere-polluting 'greenhouse gases', mainly due to burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. But what is to be done and what is really being done?
Political and public debate continues regarding global warming, its causes and corrective actions to reduce further emissions of 'greenhouse gases', adapt to the warming, and, 'geo-engineering' to reverse global warming. The first major world leaders' conference on these issues was the ‘UN Conference on the Human Environment’ at Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, followed by 2-week ‘United Nations Conference on Environment and Development’, popularly known as ‘Earth Summit’, at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, in June, 1992. This Summit was attended by representatives of 172 Govts. of UN member countries, including 108 Heads of States, and 2,400 NGO representatives. The resolutions in this Conference were a compromise between conflicting goals of development and reduction of pollution:
Ø Continuous scrutiny by Govts. and the UN on production technolgies generating toxic or waste products, like lead in gasoline
Ø Using alternate energy sources in place of fossil fuels
Ø Changes in public transportation systems to reduce vehicle emission, urban air pollution and ‘smog’, and congestion in cities
Ø Address the problem of growing scarcity of water
The Summit also adopted the ‘UN Convention on Biological Diversity’ (UNCBD) to prevent loss of such diversity due to human actions.
Kyoto Protocol
The next most important step was the ‘Kyoto Protocol’, signed and ratified by most national governments, and aimed at reducing ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international environmental treaty called the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’ (UNFCCC or FCCC), to fight global warming, and achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (i.e, human) interference with the climate system." The Protocol was initially adopted on 11th December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and became effective from 16th February, 2005. Till November 2009, 187 states have signed and ratified the Protocol.
Under the Protocol, 37 industrialized countries (called "Annex I countries") commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) produced by them. However, though the Protocol spelt out targets of emission reductions, commitments by member countries were of a 'general' nature, without setting percentage-wise specific targets. Moreover, the advanced developed nations responsible for highest ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions - USA, China, Indonesia and Brazil - refused to comply with the Kyoto Protocol targets.
Use of 'Clean Energy'
The reduction of ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions means adopting non-conventional and renewable ‘clean energy’ sources which do not emit such gases, as alternatives to fossil fuels. At the ‘United Nations Conference on Climate Change’, named ‘15th Conference of Parties’ (COP15) at Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, on Dec. 7 – 9, 2009, developing countries demanded funding to replace traditional fuel use technologies by ‘green energy’ technologies. The developed countries agreed to jointly mobilise $ 30 billion in next 3 years and $ 100 billion a year by 2020, as demanded. Regarding control of ‘greenhouse gas’ emission, USA agreed to reduce the emission by 17% from 2005 levels, i.e, only 3-4% from 1990 levels, and China and India agreed to reduce it by 40-45% and 20-25% respectively from 2005 levels, while Japan and EU agreed to reduce it by 25% and 20-30% resp. from 1990 levels. During the Convention, a ‘BASIC’ group comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China was formed at Chinese initiative. India will host the 11th ‘Global Biodiversity Summit’ in 2012 under the ‘United Nations Environment Programme’ (UNEP), which has declared 2012 important as the 20th anniversary of the Rio Summit and its declarations.
Indian Initiative
The energy resource utilisation being planned in India as alternative to ‘greenhouse gas’ emitting fuel burning are ‘solar’, ‘wind’ and ‘nuclear’ energy.
Tthe ‘Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission’, launched by Indian P.M. Manmohan Singh, targets to add about 20,000 MW of solar energy and 10,000 MW of wind energy, together called ‘green energy’, by 2022. For this, India plans to install 20 million solar lights and 20 million sq.m. of ‘solar panels’, which would save 1 billion ltrs. of CO2-producing kerosene oil every year. In next 3 years, India plans to add 1,300 MW of solar power, of which 1,100 MW will be connected to the national power grid. The first 2 MW commercial ‘solar plant’ was inaugurated near Amritsar by Farooq Abdullah, ‘Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy’
Farooq Abdullah has also announced incentives worth Rs. 380 crores in the form of subsidy of 50 paisa per unit of such energy generated by producers, with a ceiling of Rs. 62 lakhs per MW for 4-10 years, to be supervised by ‘Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency’. Presently, India ranks 4th in the world after Germany, Spain and USA in wind projects connected to national power grid, with capacity now of 9,587 MW.
India aims to install 35,000 MW of nucler energy by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2032. For this, Chairman of ‘Atomic Energy Commission’ (AEC) Srikumar Bannerjee announced India will set up 5 nuclear ‘energy parks’ by 2032: Hapur in W. Bengal, Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh, and Kudamkulam in Tamil Nadu. As India does not have good quality Uranium, it needs to import this nuclear reactor fuel and even the reactors and their parts and technology from other countries. However, the ‘Nuclear Suppliers Group’ (NSG), comprising USA, France, Russia, etc. had earlier imposed a ban on supply of such fuel, reactors or technology to India, as India had not signed the ‘nuclear non-proliferation treaty’ and had conducted nuclear tests. Following crucial discussions with the NSG, India was able to get the ban lifted, after agreing to certain ‘safeguards’ to be followed by it to restrict use of the supplies for only civilian nuclear energy generation. It has now signed agreements with 8 countries, including USA, Russia, France, etc. for such supplies.
India is also trying to utilise more energy-efficient technlogies for power generation, to reduce utilisation of higher pollution generating power sources.. For ex, Govt. has decided to sell 6 crore ‘compact fluorescent lamps’ (CFLs) costing Rs. 80 – 150 each, at subsidized price of Rs. 15/- each, which is almost the same as the price of an ordinary incandescent lamp. The subsidy will be financed by a fund obtained from the ‘UN Famework Convention on Climate Change’. Himachal Pradesh Govt. has alreay distributed 65 lakh CFL bulbs.
The annual Financial Budget for 2010-11 has proposed to build the corpus of a ‘National Clean Energy Fund’, partly by levying a ‘clean energy cess’ on coal, the most extensively burnt fossil fuel, produced in India or imported at a nominal rate of Rs.50 per tonne. It also proposed concessional customs, excise and other duties or exemption from such duties on vital items for installing ‘clean energy’ generators, like machinery, instruments, equipment and appliances etc. required for the initial setting up of photovoltaic and solar thermal power generating units, specified inputs for manufacture of rotor blades for wind energy generators. etc.
The ‘Planning Commission’ of India has formed a 25-member panel with Chairman Kirti Parikh, to review existing studies on low-carbon technology options and find the best alternatives.
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