Open Forum
New Delhi, 3 May 2023
Controlling Heat Intensity
NEED TO BE MORE VIGILANT
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The heat wave has started and, as per predictions of
the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) this year would witness more heat in
certain regions of the country, including the eastern and the northwestern
parts. As per its monthly outlook, above normal heatwave days are expected over
most parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, east Uttar
Pradesh, coastal Andhra Pradesh and some parts of north Chhattisgarh,
Telangana and coastal Gujarat during May. Plus, below normal rainfall is likely
in most parts of northeast India, many parts of east-central India and south
peninsular India with these regions likely to be not just drier but also facing
heat wave days.
As it is the maximum temperatures are around or over
400 C though the real feel has been measured 3-4 degrees above the
recorded temperature. Undeniably, heatwaves have increased since the past
decade of the past century. The worrying part is that temperature and humidity
levels being high, results in real feel temperature being about 3-4 degrees
higher. The hot extremes are destined to continue, more so in the tropical
regions of the world.
In India, around a billion people in the Indo-Gangetic
Plain are impacted. Not just here but in other parts too, huge numbers of
people work outdoors doing manual labour in agriculture, construction,
forestry, fisheries, mining, brick factories, collecting firewood etc. Estimates
by Duke University researchers found that of all the labour lost to heat
exposure around the world, almost half are in India.
The obvious answer lies in reducing carbon emissions
to counter heat waves. While renewable sources of energy are the best option,
there must be a strategic change towards energy-efficient appliances, green
buildings, electric vehicles and the like. Though these technologies are
picking up, their growth is rather slow, at least in India. Moreover, the
extensive use of glass in modern buildings is not considered energy efficient.
Experts opine that if we can decarbonise the global electricity
supply by 2050, there’s a possibility of limiting warming by 20 C. It
is thus imperative to move towards this strategy and ultimately move towards a
net zero economy in near future. This, however, is easier said than
accomplished. Not just in India, but a
very recent global report by Copernicus Climate Change Service found that the earth
had its second warmest March on record with Antarctica sea ice shrinking to its
second lowest extent.
Indeed, the benefits of a net zero economy are immense
for a country like India. It should go a long way in achieving energy
independence, improve air quality in cities, and can boost manufacturers’
productivity by using fewer resources. Most important is the transport sector
where clean energy and smarter grids and analytics and harnessing the
complexity of a decentralised system could lead to minimum waste and maximum
efficiency.
Meanwhile, some reports reveal that India has taken
major strides towards generating 500 GW of renewable energy capacity, thereby
reducing the emissions intensity of its economy by over 40% and removing one
billion tonnes of CO2. Though the emission intensity of the economy has no
doubt been controlled, it is a fact that renewable power in the country costs
twice as much as the best rates abroad, though India has advantages like low
construction costs and ample sunshine. Winning bids for renewable projects were
once as low as Rs 1.99 per unit but have gone up to around Rs 2.50/unit
presently due to heavy import duties. Projects in Saudi Arabia in 2020 were won
for just 1.04 cents (Rs 0.83) per unit while Portugal attracted dollar bids
equal to Rs 1.07, Abu Dhabi Rs 1.10, Qatar Rs 1.29 and even the US at Rs 1.23.
Similarly for green hydrogen, needed to replace
carbon-intensive industries like steel and cement, the costs are quite high.
Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani stated that he would reduce the cost of green
hydrogen from $3.5/kg to $1/kg. But that requires cheap solar electricity, the
main input for green hydrogen. Only time will tell whether renewable projects
would become cheaper and whether India would have the competitive edge.
The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2022,
recently passed by Parliament, provides the legal framework for incentivising
actions for emission reduction and increased investments in clean energy. But
monitoring carbon emissions remains a problem. There is need for an
institutional framework for carbon’ markets monitoring, reporting and
verification (MRV) system like the European Union MRV, which leaves no room for
manipulation and inaccuracy. Moreover, a standard organisation like Institute
of Chartered Accountants or the National Financial Reporting Authority or some
other self-regulating agency could be given this responsibility.
As per the recent Mapping India’s Energy Policy 2022
report, “renewable energy subsidies in India have fallen by 59% to Rs 6767
crore after Rs 16,312 crore in FY 2017”. Perhaps more support from the
government in form of subsidies to targeted groups will be needed to scale up
solar manufacturing, green hydrogen to explore renewable energy technologies
& bring down the unit cost.
While we hear a lot of the government’s efforts to
push renewable energy sources, there are other issues involved in controlling
heat intensity. Recently MoS Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed Parliament that
India during the last five years (from April 2018 to March 2023) diverted
around 89,000 hectares of forest land – an area more than Mumbai and Kolkata,
-- for non-forestry purpose with the highest of over 19,424 hectares being for
road construction followed by 18,847 hectares for mining and 13,344 hectares
for irrigation projects. He said it has been done in the name of development.
However, a study published in Nature indicated that the carbon sequestration
potential of natural forests is the maximum and around 40 times greater as
compared to plantations.
The other dimensions of global warming can’s be
ignored as the recently published Synthesis Report pointed out that at current
levels of warming – even after various nations have taken and announced
strategic action – food production is starting to come under strain while
pollution levels are on the rise. The world is still producing more food each
year, thanks to improvements in farming technologies, but climate change has
slowed the rate of growth. Undoubtedly, in populous countries like India, food
security is at risk as the growth of population is on the rise.
In this situation, controlling pollution remains more
than a serious problem. Though the Union environment minister recently claimed
that India has achieved close to 27% of the area under conservation with its
protective area network that includes reserved forests, national parks,
wildlife, sanctuaries, mangroves, Ramsar sites and eco-sensitive zones, the
path to sustainability is a long way to go.
However, reports point out that forests are
indiscriminately felled for so-called development purposes with no programme of
massive afforestation. Balancing heat intensity and countering global warming
remains a big challenge, not just for India but many other tropical countries
in the Third World.
Research and innovation need to be explored for more
efficient transport and energy policies with an eye on curbing environmental
degradation. Though the expertise is available, this is not being utilised so
as not to disturb the cozy relationship between politicians and industrialists.
But considering the serious consequences of warming, India must be more
vigilant. Thus, the Mission LIFE movement, launched by Prime Minister Modi in
October last year, aiming towards environmentally conscious lifestyle, should
not be just jargon. It would be keenly watched how soon it becomes a reality if
we are serious about achieving the sustainable path of growth.---INFA
(Copyright, India News
& Feature Alliance)
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