Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Current climate pledges will cut emissions by just 6% by 2035: UN report

If countries implement their current climate pledges, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are expected to drop only 6 per cent below 2019 levels by 2035, meaning the projected reduction is substantially off track, compared to the dip required to limit global warming, a UN report released on Tuesday said. The '2026 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Synthesis Report' by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said even if these commitments -- called NDCs -- are fully implemented, including conditional elements, emissions are likely to be just 9 per cent below 2019 levels by 2035. The report comes days after another UN report revealed that the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature target was now completely out of reach. It also stated that the best the world could do is restrict the global rise in temperatures to 1.8 degrees Celsius and try to pull it back. The new report noted that most of the new NDCs are linked to long-term decarbonisation targets, whic

India likely to meet climate targets as UNEP warns of global emissions gap

UNEP says India is likely to meet its climate targets under current policies. However, global emissions must fall much faster to limit peak warming and return to 1.5°C by the end of the century

New Zealand is testing ways to make cows climate-friendly: What it means

New Zealand is turning its cattle farms into a testing ground for technologies that could reduce one of agriculture's biggest climate challenges: methane from livestock

Best of BS Opinion: RBI faces twin inflation risks as uncertainty swirls

Today's Opinion highlights the RBI's policy choices, soaring IPL franchise valuations, fiscal challenges, climate targets and a timely examination of contemporary China

India's emission intensity targets face challenge of uneven abatement costs

India's Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity targets are a welcome step forward, but variations in abatement costs could complicate implementation

India, China reduce electricity emissions growth, offsetting US coal surge

Analysts say clean energy growth in Asia offset increased coal-fired generation in the US, limiting overall emissions growth in 2025

Govt notifies GHG emission intensity targets for four industries

This comes after the government notified targets for the aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali and pulp and paper sectors in October 2025

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