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The Australian government took a major step toward implementing a key climate policy that would force chief greenhouse gas polluters to reduce emissions, with the minor Greens party pledging their support on Monday. The center-left Labour Party administration said the so-called Safeguard Mechanism reforms are essential to Australia reaching its target of reducing its emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. The reforms would create a ceiling on the nation's emissions and force Australia's 215 biggest polluting facilities to reduce their emissions over time. The Climate Council, a leading climate communicator, described the reforms as the first Australian legislation in a decade that would regulate greenhouse gas pollution. With the support of the Greens' 11 senators, the government only needs the backing of two unaligned or minor party senators to get the reforms through the upper chamber. Greens leader Adam Bandt said a hard cap on emissions would mean
Emissions from manure and synthetic fertilisers could be reduced by as much as 80 per cent, to one-fifth of current levels, according to a new study. Researchers have quantified that two thirds of emissions from fertilisers take place after they are spread on fields, with one third of emissions coming from production processes, the study said. The researchers, from University of Cambridge, UK, have calculated the carbon footprint for the full life cycle of fertilisers, the study said. Fertilisers are responsible for approximately five percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, the first time this has been accurately quantified, and found that carbon emissions could be reduced to one-fifth of current levels by 2050, the study said. Although nitrogen-based fertilisers are already known to be a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, this is the first time that their overall contribution, from production to deployment, has been fully quantified, the study said. Their analysis found
The process of the world's transition towards 'net-zero' needs to be inclusive to avoid accentuation of social inequality challenge and the 'exemplary progress' made by India in the area is worthwhile for the global community to look at, ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said on Monday. In his address at the Business-20 (B20) India inception meeting here, Puri also called for collective efforts in the G-20 and global community to come together to find solutions in a collaborative fashion for a sustainable future. "The fact that the world has to transition to net-zero, the fact that the world needs to move to a more sustainable and greener future is well acknowledged and understood. However, as we all know, progress has not been adequate," Puri said at the meeting organised by CII. There are challenges, there are critical, financial and social issues that need to be addressed, to accelerate progress, he added. "It is important as we traverse this complex journey that th
The National Green Hydrogen Mission is a "significant step" towards achieving the country's net-zero targets and and will help in reducing input costs of clean energy source, besides generating lakhs of job opportunities in the renewable energy sector, experts say. The Union Cabinet on January 4 approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to make India a global manufacturing hub and a clean source of energy. The objective of the Mission is also development of a production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030. "I expect that the emphasis on demand creation, incentives and partnerships will kick-start the green hydrogen industry in the country and enable Indian companies to be on a level footing with the global energy suppliers. "The industry is ready to support India's clean energy transition," Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO, ReNew Power. Sinha, who is a
The new emission standard, Bharat Stage TREM IV, for tractors of engine power of over 50 horse power set to kick in from January 2023, will impact around 7-8 per cent of the domestic volume and manufacturers are expected to gradually pass the cost increases to customers, according to ratings agency ICRA. A big proportion of the overall industry, less than 50 horse power (HP), constituting around 92 per cent of sales in FY22 would continue to be governed by Bharat Stage TREM IIIA norms, ICRA said in a statement. The implementation of the revised emission norms for the over 50-HP segment were initially slated to be implemented from October 2020, but was deferred multiple times with the government taking cognisance of industry representations amid the disruptions brought about by the pandemic. "India remains a medium-to-high HP tractor market, with around 80 per cent of the sales coming from the 30-50 HP categories. "The revised emission norms applicable from January 2023 would apply