The whole world is facing the sever impact of initial signs of Global Warming and Climate Change. The scientist have started altering the whole world almost since the year 1994 and from the day Kyoto Protocol was concluded. But during the last 30 years although a lot has been done but looking at the global crisis all these efforts have almost negligible contribution to avoid the Global Warming and delay the climate change.
Just a few initial signs are quite evident as we see cloud burst in Spain at Vercilina on 29th October 2024 and again on 8th November at Girona and a few months back such torresntial raisn were experienced in South Arabia, UAE and now experiencing continuing hot spell throughout the World.
To find solution to these issues global community has been meeting regularly at Conference of Parties (COP) and it lays down the goal and targets to reduce GHG emissions in every meeting, 28 such meetings have been concluded so far and next COP29 is going to be held soon.
In proposed COP29 the developing nations and undeveloped nations look forward to seek huge amount of funds from the developed countries to fight the climate change? Or to avoid the global warming or to face the adverse consequences. But one question has always been haunting to my mind how can the fund and finance be helpful to ultimately reduce the global
emission of total carbon emission to the atmosphere from this Earth?
Because the ugly fact is that unless the carbon foot print of the money of fund being financed for the purpose is carbon neutral till then the additional funds provided anywhere will lead to more carbon emission as leakage (as per UNFCCC definition) elsewhere to generate these funds. Then how will this help to reduce GHG emissions??
So, the COP should discuss the issue and carbon footprint of every currency or country based on its GDP and GHG emission must also be addressed.
The next important fact which need to be discussed at length in every COP is World Population and contribution to Carbon emission due to the growing population. Some how this aspect is being missed in every COP or being avoided to be discussed.
A few important aspect which needs to be scientifically addressed in COP29 is to disclose the realistic road map for going green to produce Power, Steel, Cement, Aluminium etc.
During last few years the Hydrogen economy is being discussed at highest level. But no one is ready to accept that there is so far no known technology to produce hydrogen directly from any natural form of carbon neutral source of energy such as sunlight, wind flor or tidal wave power etc. Every such renewable source of energy are easy to be used to convert in to electrical energy. Now the question is that once we have electrical energy in hand then what is carbon emission reduction advantage to convert this electrical energy to hydrogen just to run a Car or Truck or Automobile etc. when the electrical energy itself can easily or directly be used to run these motives; by storing in batteries and replace the fossil fuel through well known and established cheaper technology to run the motors.
There is also lot of discussion to use Hydrogen to produce steel, but once again the million-dollar question what will be the ultimate carbon foot print of any tonnage of steel produced through use of Hydrogen which is produced even from renewal energy source? And what will be the cost of such steel? And how will that additional cost be financed through a carbon neutral currency?. We have done a great study at depth and have concluded that at the current rate of clean energy or green energy in the form of electricity; the top most priority should be to reduce the carbon footprint of grid which as per CEA report stands @0.968 tCO2/MWh (as per simple operating margin) and 0.9185 tCO2/MWh as per Combined margin calculation and the total coal based installed capacity stands at 236 Gega watts as on 31/03/2022 and about 243.05 GW as on September 2024. The installed capacity for renewable energy source based on electricity generation as on 31/03/2022 was 109.8 Gega watt ( Source CEA) .
Now the issue is that due to growing population and increasing in income of common masses the greatest increase in demand of electricity, so the first and foremost challenge is to meet this growing electricity demand for general population and reduce the carbon footprint from the same. Thus in this road map the first priority to use renewal source energy to generate electricity for grid may become the top priority.
The next bulk GHG source is the country is for production of steel. As on 2021-22 the installed steel production capacity was 120 MTPA which in now estimated to have reached 154 MTPA and target for 2030 is to make it to 300 MTPA.
The most popular steel making route through DRI and Induction melting route has about 3.02 tCO2/Ton of crude steel.
Now if we have to make the steel sector as Carbon Neutral then we need to find the carbon neutral source to produce required Hydrogen to produce 300 MTPA steel or we have to find carbon sequestration source for 900 MTPA of carbon every year. This is not a small number the greatest barrier is to find so much of land to produce carbon free energy either in the form of Solar or Biomass power on any other form of Carbon Neutral Energy. Govt of India is working seriously on this and Ministry of steel has recently ( in September 2024) published a road map for “ Greening the Steel Sector in India Roadmap and Action Plan”
The challenge is in front of us and we have to resolve it and every individual has to think and work on this. We will be publishing more analytical articles based on the scientific facts in future issues. We also request all the readers and experts to send their views on how to reduce the GHG emission in Power; Steel; Cement and Aluminum etc.
lVikas Thakur
