Greenhouse Gas Emissions

United Spirits cuts 93% emissions, surpasses renewable energy targets

Diageo India (United Spirits Ltd) has reported a 93 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2020 in its fourth annual ESG index, achieving 99 per cent renewable energy use well ahead of its 2030 targets. The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) index, aligned with Global Reporting Initiative standards, UN Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board disclosures, covers fiscal year 2024-2025 and highlights water conservation, low-carbon initiatives and community impacts in water-stressed regions. Jitendra Mahajan, Diageo India's Chief Supply and Sustainability Officer, said the agenda builds a business that "grows responsibly, leads with integrity and creates long-term value". Key achievements include a 54 per cent improvement in water-use efficiency at distilleries and 35 per cent at packaging sites since 2020, with 1,82,000 cubic metres replenished in FY25, bringing the cumulative total to 11 lakh cubic metres since 2020. Initiati

Best of BS Opinion: India must reform QCO regime to meet global standards

Today's Best of BS Opinion analyses India's Quality Control Order overreach, dim prospects for COP30, Ajay Shah on Trump's tariff shock, and Jordan Ellenberg's review of The Great Math War

Datanomics: As COP30 nears, why India is set to miss 2030 emission target

As COP30 begins in Brazil, new data shows India's emissions rising faster than its 2030 targets - though still far below major economies on a per capita basis

IMO's net-zero framework: Industry at sea over carbon-levy decision

UN maritime body defers vote on key carbon levy till 2026, leaving global shipping industry uncertain on decarbonisation timelines and investment clarity

Nations meet to consider regulations to drive green transition in shipping

The world's largest maritime nations are gathering in London on Tuesday to consider adopting regulations that would move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels to slash emissions. If the deal is adopted, this will be the first time a global fee is imposed on planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Most ships today run on heavy fuel oil that releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants as it's burned. Nations are meeting at the International Maritime Organization headquarters through Friday. The Trump administration unequivocally rejects the proposal and has threatened to retaliate if nations support it, setting the stage for a fight over the climate deal. In April, IMO member states agreed on the contents of the regulatory framework. The aim is to adopt it at this meeting. That would be a major win for the climate, public health, the ocean and marine life, said Delaine McCullough at the Ocean Conservancy. For too long, ships have run on crude, dirty oil, she said. This ...

Centre notifies 1st emission intensity targets for carbon-intensive sectors

The government has notified the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025, setting India's first legally binding emission reduction targets for carbon-heavy industries. The notification, issued by the environment ministry on October 8 after considering all suggestions and objections received on the draft rules published on April 16, requires 282 industrial units across the aluminium, cement, pulp and paper and chlor-alkali sectors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output (emission intensity) from the 2023-24 baseline levels. According to the notification, each facility must reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of output (measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of product) compared to a 2023-24 baseline. The compliance period begins in 2025-26 and continues through 2026-27. The move operationalises the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022, which empowered the government to establish a domestic carbon market. It

World has only 3 years left to avert worst impact of climate change: Study

As more countries develop their climate plans, it's time for leaders across the globe to face the hard truths of climate science

Independent report flagged misuse of studies before SO2 rollback nod

Before India significantly relaxed sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission control norms exempting a large number of coal-fired power plants, an independent analysis had warned that key scientific studies being cited to justify the move were riddled with contradictions and risked undermining public health. In an analysis released last month, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) alleged that studies by institutions such as NEERI, NIAS and IIT Delhi were being "selectively used to justify inaction" by power plants across the country, which continue to delay the installation of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) units to control SO2?? emissions -- a major air pollutant. India established stringent sulphur dioxide emission standards for coal-based power plants in December 2015, requiring compliance within two years. Even after multiple extensions, 92 per cent of coal-fired power plants have not yet installed flue gas desulphurization units to control SO2 emissions, a major air ...

Over 170 environmental agency staff sign dissent letter on Trump policies

A group of Environmental Protection Agency employees on Monday published a declaration of dissent from the agency's policies under the Trump administration, saying they undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment. More than 170 EPA employees put their names to the document, with about 100 more signing anonymously out of fear of retaliation, according to Jeremy Berg, a former editor-in-chief of Science magazine who is not an EPA employee but was among non-EPA scientists or academics to also sign. The latter figure includes 20 Nobel laureates. The letter represents rare public criticism from agency employees who could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support for climate, environmental and health science. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health made a similar move earlier in June. "Since the Agency's founding in 1970, EPA has accomplished (its) mission by leveraging science, funding, and expert staff in servi

India to exceed 2030 climate target with up to 57% cut in emissions: Report

India is on track to exceed its climate target of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels, according to a new analysis. The emissions modelling analysis by Delhi-based think-tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE), an NGO, projected that India's energy sector emission intensity could decrease by 48-57 per cent by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels. However, achieving the 2070 net zero target (balancing emissions with removals) will require additional policy interventions, centred around carbon pricing, along with power pricing reforms, fiscal support for clean technologies, enhanced energy efficiency and behaviour change initiatives. The findings, published this week in the international journal Energy and Climate Change', suggest that India's 2035 NDC targets could include reducing emissions intensity of GDP between 55 and 66 per cent relative to 2005 (with most ...

Govt proposes GHG emission reduction targets for aluminium companies

Leading aluminium players, including Vedanta and Hindalco will be required to reduce emission of greenhouse gases to specified targets once the draft emission intensity rules are finalised. The draft Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025 released recently prescribes emission reduction targets for different plants and smelters of Vedanta, Hindalco, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, Nalco, Utkal Alumina International, Aditya Aluminium and Mahan Aluminium Plant. For instance, Vedanta's Smelter II in Jharsuguda, Odisha which produced 12,38,336 tonne of aluminium in 2023-24 will be required to reduce GHG emission intensity to 13.2260 and 12.8259 in 2025-26 and 2026-27, respectively from the baseline emission intensity of 13.4927. Hindalco Industries' Hirakud Smelter in Odisha which produced 1,78,830 tonne of aluminium in 2023-24 will be required to bring down GHG emission intensity to 18.7315 and 17.9150 in 2025-26 and 2026-27, respectively from the baseline emission ...

Could Trump's tariffs slow emissions? Sure, experts say, but at great cost

President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs have stirred widespread anxiety about a severe economic downturn -- and curiosity, for some, about how it might affect the world's warming climate. Experts say a slowdown in international trade might have a brief and slight benefit in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which come in part from fuels like gas and oil that are used to move goods around the world via ships, planes and vehicles. But any such benefit in reducing emissions, which cause climate change, will be swamped by sharply rising costs worldwide that will hurt efforts to transition to green energies. I would say it might help the climate in the first year or two if we have a downturn in economic activity or a recession, which no one wants, said Rob Jackson, head of the Global Carbon Project, a group of scientists who monitor greenhouse gas emissions yearly. But it will hurt the climate long-term because tariffs impact clean tech more than most other industries because o

Paris agreement in grave danger, world must head to reduce GHGs: WMO chief

The Paris Agreement is in grave danger and the world must mark 2025 as the year of decisive climate action to reduce greenhouse gases and speed up the transition to renewable energy, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said on Tuesday. Saulo, who attended events to mark the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) 150th anniversary here, said the celebration comes at a crucial moment for the planet. She pointed out that 2024 was the hottest year on record in India and globally too. In 2024, India suffered prolonged extreme heat, which greatly impacted human health, agriculture, water supply and energy supplies, she recalled. "Heavy monsoon rains caused disruption and death, as we saw with tragic landslides in Kerala in July. More recently, air pollution hit alarming and dangerous levels in many parts of the country," Saulo said. The WMO chief said 2024 also became the first calendar year with an average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius above th

India's GHG emissions fell 7.93% in 2020 compared to 2019: Govt to UNFCCC

India's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 declined by 7.93 per cent compared to 2019, while its GDP emission intensity fell 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020, according to new data submitted to the UN climate change office. In its fourth Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on December 30, India said its total greenhouse gas emissions -- excluding land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) -- amounted to 2,959 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) and 2,437 MtCO2e including LULUCF. "Total national emissions (including LULUCF) have decreased by 7.93 per cent with respect to 2019 and increased by 98.34 per cent since 1994," according to the report. "India has progressively continued decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2005 and 2020, India's gross domestic product (GDP) emission intensity reduced by 36 per cent," it said. Biennial Update Reports (BURs) are

ISO certifies TCI-IIMB digital tool to track greenhouse gas emissions

Transport Corporation of India on Thursday said its lab set up in collaboration with IIM, Bangalore, has received ISO certification for a digital tool that can track greenhouse gas emissions. The TCI-IIMB Supply Chain Sustainability Lab at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), founded in collaboration with TCI, has become the first organisation in India to achieve ISO 14083 certification for its groundbreaking digital platform, the Transportation Emissions Measurement Tool (TEMT), it said in a release. "This certification underscores the platform's ability to accurately quantify and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freight transportation activities, helping organisations to measure, manage, and ultimately reduce their transportation-related emissions in line with regulatory requirements and sustainability goals," TCI said. (TEMT) is a comprehensive online platform designed to measure emissions across all modes of transportation. In India, the transportation

Global efforts to curb methane fall short as emissions keep rising

Methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, including coal mining, remain close to a record level set in 2019

Greenhouse gas emissions increases to new record in 2023: WMO report

Greenhouse gas levels surged to a new record in 2023, rising by more than 10 per cent in just two decades, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In the course of 2023, large vegetation fire CO2 emissions and a possible reduction in carbon absorption by forests combined with stubbornly high fossil fuel CO2 emissions from human and industrial activities to drive the increase, according to the WMO's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. The globally averaged surface concentration of carbon dioxide reached 420 parts per million (ppm), methane 1934 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 336.9 parts per billion (ppb) in 2023. These values are 151 per cent, 265 per cent and 125 per cent of pre-industrial (before 1750) levels, it said. These are calculated on the basis of the long-term observations within the Global Atmosphere Watch network of monitoring stations. Another year. Another record. This should set alarm bells ringing among decision makers. We are clea

Decarbonisation key to firm profitability, India ahead of global average

Globally, only about 25 per cent of the companies reported annual decarbonisation benefits worth at least 7 per cent of sales

India has decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions: Survey

India has successfully reduced the emission intensity of its GDP, the Survey said

From algorithms to emissions: Google struggles with AI's energy hunger

Artificial intelligence systems, which need a lot of computing power housed in energy-hungry data centres, have become crucial in Google's operations