📰 43 countries call on China at UN to respect Uighur rights
Statement seeks unfettered access to Xinjinag for observers
•Forty-three countries have called on China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law” for the Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang, in a statement read at the United Nations on Thursday that sparked outrage from Beijing.
•The declaration, signed by the United States as well as several European and Asian member states and others, accused China of a litany of human rights violations against the Uighurs, including torture, forced sterilisation and forced disappearances.
•“We call on China to allow immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and her office,” the countries said in a joint statement, read at the United Nations by France.
•“We are particularly concerned about the situation in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region,” the statement continued, citing “credible” reports that “indicate the existence of a large network of ‘political reeducation’ camps where over a million people have been arbitrarily detained.”
‘Emancipating people’
•Beijing has long denied accusations of ethnic cleansing against Uighurs and other Muslim Turkic people in Xinjiang, where experts have estimated that more than one million people are incarcerated in camps.
•Its ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun furiously denounced on Thursday what he termed the “lies” and “a plot to hurt China”.
•“Xinjiang enjoys development and the people are emancipating themselves every day and are proud of the progress made,” he said.
Up for a friendly visit
•And while Mr. Zhang told media that China was willing to host a “friendly” visit to the region, he did not agree to an inquiry by the UN human rights commissioner.
•He accused Washington, Paris and London of having a “terrible human rights record.” Beijing accused the U.S. for “ethnic cleansing” against Native Americans and accused France of committing “crimes against humanity” in its former colonies.
British Foreign Secretary on India trip
•Relation between the United Kingdom and India is vital over the coming decades, U.K. Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said here on Friday. Ms. Truss, who is on a three-day visit to India, met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and is scheduled to be a special guest at a ceremony to mark the visit of the U.K. Carrier Strike Group in Mumbai.
•“India is our great friend, an economic powerhouse and the world’s largest democracy. Our relationship will be vital over the coming decades,” Ms. Truss said after meeting Mr. Jaishankar where the two discussed closer collaboration. Ms. Truss said her visit would boost the partnership, and pointed out technology and infrastructure, security and defence, and “building back after COVID” as the areas of collaboration between the two sides.
•“You are a fellow democracy, you believe in free enterprise and you believe in freedom. I think it’s very important that countries like ours work together on our shared plans for the future,” Ms. Truss said in her opening remarks in the meeting with Mr. Jaishankar.
•Ms. Truss and Mr. Jaishankar “welcomed the progress in delivering the Enhanced Trade Partnership” that was announced at the India-U.K. virtual summit held on May 4, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement after Friday’s meeting. Both Ministers agreed on the need for launching FTA negotiations “at the earliest, with a focus on negotiating an interim agreement that can deliver quick gains to businesses in both India and the U.K.”
•Ms. Truss’s visit comes against the backdrop of developments in Afghanistan after the departure of U.S. and U.K. troops. There is a vocal section within the Government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson that believes that the people of Afghanistan should not made to suffer while the world waits on the Taliban build an inclusive government in Kabul.
📰 Glasgow climate meet | India doesn’t rule out ‘net zero’ commitment
But New Delhi to insist on earlier pledges for tech transfer funds from developed countries
•India hasn’t entirely ruled out on the possibility of agreeing to a ‘net zero’ target though it will not budge on demands from developed nations on making good on previous commitments, such as an annual $100 billion to developing countries for mitigating the impacts of climate change, facilitating technology transfer and putting in place a tangible market-based mechanism to activate the moribund carbon credit markets, according to sources.
•Ahead of the 26th meeting of United Nations' Conference of Parties (CoP) that begins November 1 in Glasgow, the focus on making the meet a success is to have all nations commit to a 'net zero', or a year by when a country’s fossil fuel emissions would peak and at some point be neutralised by taking out excess carbon from the atmosphere. All countries doing this by 2050, scientists say, would mean a chance of restricting average temperature rise to 1.5 Celsius provided emissions fall to around 45% of 2010 levels by 2030.
•This, however, means deep and significant cuts to fossil fuel use that could affect the development trajectory of India and other developing countries.
•A study by the think tank Council for Energy Environment and Water projects that for India to achieve net-zero target even by 2070, usage of coal especially for power generation would need to peak by 2040 and drop by 99% between 2040 and 2060. And, the consumption of crude oil across sectors would also need to peak by 2050 and fall substantially by 90% between 2050 and 2070.
•India’s long term position in climate talks has always been that it will eschew the use of fossil fuel use but only gradually because it cannot compromise on development, that is now primarily reliant on coal. Also because because it goes against the core principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ that requires developed countries, who are responsible for the climate crisis, to take on deeper cuts and pay developing countries for the environmental damage from rising temperature as well as finance their transition to clean energy sources. However, delegations from the United States and the European Union have in recent months had several meetings with Indian officials to chart out a more ambitious pathway to cut emissions.
•“All options are on the platter,” a senior official who will be representing India at Glasgow told The Hindu, “but it will depend on how the negotiations will progress and whether we will be able to move ahead on getting developed countries to agree on a mechanism to honour their previous commitments.”
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to be present in Glasgow for the Leaders Summit on the first two days that has at least 120 heads of state who've confirmed participation.
•There are also expectations that even if India doesn’t announce a net zero target, it may hint at an updated set of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), or a firmer set of commitments that could include higher clean-energy targets or reductions in specific categories of emissions.
•India, the world’s third largest emitter, last announced its NDCs in 2015 in which it committed to increasing the share of non-fossil fuel sources to 40% and reduce its emissions intensity per unit of GDP by nearly 33-35% of 2005 levels and create a carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.
•India's average per capita emissions was 1.96 tons/person/annum, the European Union’s was 8.4 and the United States was 18, the official said. Net zero didn't imply that all countries would have to go down to zero but that some could take much deeper cuts than others in a way that the overall emissions stayed on a 1.5C pathway, the person added.
•India and the United Kingdom have agreed to strengthen climate initiatives and further their green partnership, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday.
•“Had an engaging bilateral with the UK delegation led by foreign minister Liz Truss. Both sides agreed to strengthen climate initiatives and further our green partnership. Assured India's support for UK COP Presidency, wishing COP26 would be the COP of action and implementation," the Minister tweeted after the meeting.
📰 A clean energy transition plan for India
It also demonstrates a commitment to climate change mitigation by optimising resources with indigenous technology
•Energy security warrants the uninterrupted supply of energy at affordable prices. India faces the twin challenges of meeting the aspirations of its 1.3 billion population even as it safeguards its energy security and contributes to global efforts to mitigate climate change. Thanks to the Electricity Act of 2003, the installed coal-fired thermal power plant (TPP) generation capacity in India more than doubled from 94 GW to 192 GW between March 2011 and 2017. This sharp increase in the installed capacity has enabled the government to increase per capita electricity consumption by 37% while reducing peak demand deficit from 9.8% (2010-11) to 1.6% (2016-17). However, India has a long way to go in providing electricity security to its people since its per capita electricity consumption is still only a third of the global average.
Thermal plants are the core
•Coal is the only fuel that India has in abundance and the geopolitics of India’s neighborhood do not permit ready access to piped natural gas. TPPs contributed 71% of the 1,382 billion units (BU) of electricity generated by utilities in India during FY 2020-21 though they accounted for only 55% of the total installed generation capacity of 382 GW (as of March 2021). Coal, therefore, plays a vital role in India’s ongoing efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, which is “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
Renewable energy
•While variable renewable energy (VRE) sources (primarily, wind and solar) account for 24.7% of the total installed generation capacity, as of March 2021, they contributed 10.7% of the electricity generated by utilities during FY 2020-21. However, the ramp-up of VRE generation capacity without commensurate growth in electricity demand has resulted in lower utilisation of TPPs whose fixed costs must be paid by the distribution companies (DISCOMs) and passed through to the final consumer.
•The rapid growth of VRE sources in India has been largely aided by policy measures as well as financial incentives whose cost is borne by the consumer. The current level of VRE in the national power grid is increasing the cost of power procurement for DISCOMs, leading to tariff increases for electricity consumers. Specifically, the Forum of Regulators has estimated the total additional burden of grid integration of VRE sources includes ₹1.11 of balancing cost and ₹1.02 of stranded capacity cost, totalling ₹2.13 per unit. Therefore, India must implement a plan to increase energy efficiency and reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and airborne pollutants from TPPs without making power unaffordable to industries that need low-cost 24x7 power to compete in the global market.
Contours of a plan
•We have developed a time-bound transition plan for India’s power sector involving the progressive retirement of 36 GW of installed generation capacity in 211 TPPs(unit size 210 MW and below) based on key performance parameters such as efficiency, specific coal consumption, technological obsolescence, and age. The resulting shortfall in baseload electricity generation can be made up by increasing the utilisation of existing High-Efficiency-Low-Emission (HELE) TPPs that are currently under-utilised to accommodate VRE and commissioning the 47 government-owned TPPs (total capacity of 31.6 GW) that are at an advanced stage of construction in which ₹1,77,742 crore have already been invested by government utilities. These TPPs have already signed power purchase agreements with the respective DISCOMs; and thanks to the two-part tariff policy, their fixed costs must be borne by power consumers irrespective of their usage. In addition, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is also constructing 11 nuclear power plants with a total generation capacity of 8,700 MW that will supply 24x7 power without any CO2 emissions.
Capacity increase
•With the implementation of our transition plan, the total installed capacity of TPPs operated by utilities will increase from the current level of 209 GW (as of September 2021) to 220 GW by FY 2029-30 even after retiring 211 inefficient and obsolete TPPs that are more than 25 years old and need major sustenance capital expenditures (Capex) for life extension, modernisation, and retrofit of flue gas desulphurisation plants (FGDs). The combined thermal (220 GW) and nuclear (15 GW) capacity of 235 GW can meet the baseload requirement (80% of peak demand) during the evening peak in FY 2029-30 without expensive battery storage, while the optimal utilisation of existing and under-construction HELE TPPs with faster-ramping capabilities and lower technical minimums also facilitates VRE integration.
•As per our transition plan, India’s power generation from TPPs is expected to reduce from the FY 2020-21 level of 71% to 57% of the total electrical energy (2,172 BU) projected to be generated by utilities during FY 2029-30. Further, the share of HELE TPPs in the total TPP generation capacity will increase from the FY 2018-19 level of 25% to 44% in FY 2029-30. More importantly, the share of inefficient TPPs with obsolete technology in the total TPP generation capacity will reduce from the FY 2018-19 level of 46% to 4%. Consequently, total CO2 emissions from the power sector will go down by 57 Mt even as coal-fired electricity generation is projected to increase by 21% to 1,234 BU in 2029-30.
Estimated benefits
•Since HELE TPPs minimise emissions of particulate matter (PM), SO2, and NO2, our transition plan offers operational, economic, and environmental benefits including avoidance of sustenance Capex and FGD costs in the 211 obsolete TPPs to be retired besides savings in specific coal consumption and water requirement leading to reductions in electricity tariffs and PM pollution.
•This plan prioritises the installation of high-efficiency electrostatic precipitators that can remove 99.97% of the PM pollution without extensive shutdowns or hiking tariffs unlike expensive, imported FGDs. The implementation of this plan will enable India to safeguard its energy security and ensure efficient grid operations with lower water consumption, PM pollution, and CO2 emissions. Ultimately, this plan demonstrates India’s commitment to climate change mitigation by optimising the use of our land, coal, water, and financial resources with indigenous technology.
