Coal: phase down or phase out

Coal: phase down or phase out
Author: Rakesh Kacker
Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Total Pages: 60
Release:
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 819507765X

Coal has been in the news in the last few months for various reasons, the main ones being the shortfall in its supply and its rising prices. Yet, the more pressing need today is switch to cleaner alternatives to save the planet from the adverse effects of climate change, which is exacerbated by carbon dioxide emitted from burning coal. Coal: phase down or phase out brings together salient facts and figures about coal in India and the world to give the reader an overview of the trends in reserves, production, prices, and utilization of coal. More than that, the book highlights the major problems – particularly those related to the environment – that confront the coal sector and not only traces the evolution of relevant policies in India from the nationalization of the sector and the re-entry of the private sector but also explains the forces that shaped those policies. The book attempts to meet the objectives of the ’Concerned Citizen’ series by putting across these different facets of the coal industry simply, clearly, and concisely. Where necessary, some technical terms and concepts are explained so that a lay person can understand them easily. Coal is a major energy source in India today—which is why it is important for the citizens to understand the sector and to learn how the problems associated with India’s heavy dependence on coal can be tacked. It is hoped that this book will help to meet these objectives. Contents: Foreword by Pratyush Sinha A perspective on coal industry by Partha S Bhattacharyya Preface What is coal? How to measure coal quality and quantity? Uses of coal: electricity generation, cooking, etc. Environmental issues in mining coal: impact on forests, air and water Safety issues in coal mining Environmental issues related to the use of coal Mitigating the environmental impact of coal Social impacts of coal mining Using coal at pit head or at load centres: transport of coal and electricity Coal mining in India Legal framework Regulation Industry structure and trends in production and imports Coal price: trends and estimates Major problems faced by the coal sector in India Increasing the use of domestic reserves Commercial mining of coal Pricing, royalty, and revenue sharing Reducing dependence on imports Coal washing and utilizing fly ash Global trends Trends in production Patterns in trade and recent changes Impact of measures against climate change Trends in coal price Bibliography

Energy, the State, and the Market

Energy, the State, and the Market
Author: Dieter Helm
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2004
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780199270743

Helm provides a broad and lively survey of British energy policy since 1979. He traces the way in which political pressures from the proponents of both nationalization and privatization have affected the development of an industry which forms a significant part of the national economy.

Ending Fossil Fuels

Ending Fossil Fuels
Author: Holly Jean Buck
Publisher: Verso Books
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1839762349

Ending the fossil fuel industry is the only credible path for climate policy Around the world, countries and companies are setting net-zero carbon emissions targets. But what will it mean if those targets are achieved? One possibility is that fossil fuel companies will continue to produce billions of tons of atmospheric CO2 while relying on a symbiotic industry to scrub the air clean. Focusing on emissions draws our attention away from the real problem: the point of production. The fossil fuel industry must come to an end but will not depart willingly; governments must intervene. By embracing a politics of rural-urban coalitions and platform governance, climate advocates can build the political power needed to nationalize the fossil fuel industry and use its resources to draw carbon out of the atmosphere.

The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success

The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success
Author: Mark Jaccard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2020-02-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1108479375

Shows readers how we can all help solve the climate crisis by focusing on a few key, achievable actions.

Just Transitions

Just Transitions
Author: Edouard Morena
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-11-20
Genre: Employee rights
ISBN: 9780745339924

How can we secure jobs in the shift towards sustainable production?

Coal

Coal
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2007-12-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030911022X

Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements. Coal focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization.

Future of Coal in India

Future of Coal in India
Author: Rahul Tongia, Anurag Sehgal, Puneet Kamboj
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1648288464

Mark Twain observed, “I'm in favour of progress; it's change I don't like.” Coal dominates Indian energy because it’s available domestically and cheap (especially without a carbon tax). If the global focus is on the energy transition, how does India ensure a just transition? Managing winners and losers will be the single largest challenge for India’s energy policy. Coal is entrenched in a complex ecosystem. In some states, it’s amongst the largest contributors to state budgets. The Indian Railways, India’s largest civilian employer, is afloat because it overcharges coal to offset under-recovery from passengers. Coal India Limited, the public sector miner that produces 85% of domestic coal, is the world’s largest coal miner. But despite enormous reserves, India imports about a quarter of consumption. On the flip side, coal faces inevitable pressure from renewable energy, which is the cheapest option for new builds. However, there is significant coal-based power capacity already in place, some of which is underutilized, or even stranded. Low per-capita energy consumption means India must still grow its energy supply. Before India can phase out coal, it must first achieve a plateau of coal. How this happens cost-effectively and with least resistance isn’t just a technical or economic question, it depends on the political economy of coal and its alternatives. Some stakeholders want to kill coal. A wiser option may be to first clean it up, instead of wishing it away. Across 18 chapters, drawing from leading experts in the field, we examine all aspects of coal’s future in India. We find no easy answers, but attempt to combine the big picture with details, bringing them together to offer a range of policy options.

Decarbonizing Development

Decarbonizing Development
Author: Marianne Fay
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2015-06-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464806063

The science is unequivocal: stabilizing climate change implies bringing net carbon emissions to zero. This must be done by 2100 if we are to keep climate change anywhere near the 2oC warming that world leaders have set as the maximum acceptable limit. Decarbonizing Development: Three Steps to a Zero-Carbon Future looks at what it would take to decarbonize the world economy by 2100 in a way that is compatible with countries' broader development goals. Here is what needs to be done: -Act early with an eye on the end-goal. To best achieve a given reduction in emissions in 2030 depends on whether this is the final target or a step towards zero net emissions. -Go beyond prices with a policy package that triggers changes in investment patterns, technologies and behaviors. Carbon pricing is necessary for an efficient transition toward decarbonization. It is an efficient way to raise revenue, which can be used to support poverty reduction or reduce other taxes. Policymakers need to adopt measures that trigger the required changes in investment patterns, behaviors, and technologies - and if carbon pricing is temporarily impossible, use these measures as a substitute. -Mind the political economy and smooth the transition for those who stand to be most affected. Reforms live or die based on the political economy. A climate policy package must be attractive to a majority of voters and avoid impacts that appear unfair or are concentrated on a region, sector or community. Reforms have to smooth the transition for those who stand to be affected, by protecting vulnerable people but also sometimes compensating powerful lobbies.

Coal Wars

Coal Wars
Author: Richard Martin
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2015-04-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1466879246

Since the late 18th century, when it emerged as a source of heating and, later, steam power, coal has brought untold benefits to mankind. Even today, coal generates almost 45 percent of the world's power. Our modern technological society would be inconceivable without coal and the energy it provides. Unfortunately, that society will not survive unless we wean ourselves off coal. The largest single source of greenhouse gases, coal is responsible for 43 percent of the world's carbon emissions. Richard Martin, author of SuperFuel, argues that to limit catastrophic climate change, we must find a way to power our world with less polluting energy sources, and we must do it in the next couple of decades—or else it is "game over." It won't be easy: as coal plants shut down across the United States, and much of Europe turns to natural gas, coal use is growing in the booming economies of Asia— particularly China and India. Even in Germany, where nuclear power stations are being phased out in the wake of the Fukushima accident, coal use is growing. Led by the Sierra Club and its ambitious "Beyond Coal" campaign, environmentalists hope to drastically reduce our dependence on coal in the next decade. But doing so will require an unprecedented contraction of an established, lucrative, and politically influential worldwide industry. Big Coal will not go gently. And its decline will dramatically change lives everywhere—from Appalachian coal miners and coal company executives to activists in China's nascent environmental movement. Based on a series of journeys into the heart of coal land, from Wyoming to West Virginia to China's remote Shanxi Province, hundreds of interviews with people involved in, or affected by, the effort to shrink the industry, and deep research into the science, technology, and economics of the coal industry, Coal Wars chronicles the dramatic stories behind coal's big shutdown—and the industry's desperate attempts to remain a global behemoth. A tour de force of literary journalism, Coal Wars will be a milestone in the climate change battle.

Germany's Energy Transition

Germany's Energy Transition
Author: Carol Hager
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2016-09-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137442883

This book analyzes Germany's path-breaking Energiewende, the country's transition from an energy system based on fossil and nuclear fuels to a sustainable energy system based on renewables. The authors explain Germany's commitment to a renewable energy transition on multiple levels of governance, from the local to the European, focusing on the sources of institutional change that made the transition possible. They then place the German case in international context through comparative case studies of energy transitions in the USA, China, and Japan. These chapters highlight the multifaceted challenges, and the enormous potential, in different paths to a sustainable energy future. Taken together, they tell the story of one of the most important political, economic, and social undertakings of our time.