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The International Energy Agency on Tuesday accused fossil fuel industries of doing too little to curb methane emissions and undermining global climate goals to limit warming. Economic uncertainty, high energy prices and concerns over security of supply, which would have led to emissions cuts in 2022, were ineffective as methane emissions remained stubbornly high, the report said. Methane cuts are among the cheapest options to limit near-term global warming," said IEA's executive director Fatih Birol. "There is just no excuse. The IEA's annual Methane Gas Tracker found that 75 per cent of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector can be reduced with far cheaper and readily available technologies. Methane, which makes up natural gas, can escape into the air from oil and gas infrastructure. Fossil fuel companies may also flare or burn off excess gas that can release methane into the atmosphere. The report slammed oil and gas majors' refusal to pay up the some USD 100 billion need
In Indonesia's region of East Kalimantan, the country's dependence on coal is on full display. Driving on the region's toll road, passersby can watch excavators digging coal from shallow pits as trucks filled with the carbon-rich rocks rush by. Under a bridge in Samarinda, the region's capital, hundreds of mammoth, jet-black mountains of coal sit in barges being pulled along the waterway, headed to plants across Indonesia or other countries. They're sights that Indonesia has pledged to phase out or at least drastically reduce by agreeing to some five schemes with international stakeholders, including the largest-signed USD 20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership deal. While the deals aim to turn one of the largest coal-producing countries toward its vast greener energy sources, experts warn that financial, policy, infrastructure and other challenges need to be overcome. Indonesia's energy transition is "very unique" because of high economic growth, geography, population ...
A bill that seeks to promote the use of non-fossil fuels, including ethanol, green hydrogen and biomass, was introduced in Rajya Sabha for passage on Thursday. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, is also aimed at helping the country achieve its international commitments on climate change. The legislation was cleared by Lok Sabha in August this year. Piloting the bill in the Upper House, Power Minister R K Singh said the country is working towards reduction in emissions although its per capita emissions is about one third of the global average. "If we look at the total carbon dioxide load on the environment, our contribution is just 3.4 per cent even as our population is 17.5 per cent of the global population," he said. Yet, the county has emerged as one of the leading nations in energy transition and climate action, he added. "Today our non-fossil fuel power generation capacity is 42 per cent of our total capacity which is around 408 giga watt," he said, adding that t