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Monday, 20 February 12
COAL BOOM AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN - SUNIL K KUMBHAT
 COALspot.com - The dawn of the 21st century has seen a shift in the world's commercial balance of power, with the dominance of the US, Europe and Japan challenged by the rapid industrialisation of hungry new economies. The rise of the so-called BRIIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India ,Indonesia and China - is giving birth to new global financial centres, vibrant industrial markets and above all surging demand for raw materials to supply new projects.
But where does environmental responsibility fit into this drive for resources?
Growing demand for thermal Coal has created a new coal boom, which is great news for Coal producing countries such as Indonesia, Australia , south Africa . The demand of coal is growing at a massive rate in Asia particularly India and China. Both the coal hungry countries are making efforts to secure supplies by acquiring Coal mines or forming Joint ventures for their new power generating plants.
The demand is fuelling the world prices of coal, although prices are still not as high as witnessed in 2008 when everything peaked before the global financial crisis but there all indications that by 2012/2013 coal prises will reach to record high.
The India and China are becoming the mainstay of the market . Both the countries are having huge Coal reserves ,but still they are importing huge qty of coal to meet there increased demand and as such they are effectively driving the world Coal market and its prices. India’s demand for coal is expected to grow at a faster rate than any other country in the world.
India's rich untapped mineral resources of more than 20 mineral types - including gold, copper, coal and bauxite but the fact that many of these resources are located in rural, heavily forested areas with predominantly tribal populations has raised concerns over the environmental impact of mining operations.
The country has a long history of environmental damage caused by both domestic and international mining companies, as well as the ecological problems from hundreds of abandoned mines in areas like Bihar's Jharia and Rhaniganj coal fields. Like China, India has been plagued by the environmental problems associated with illegal and unlicensed mining operations, which the country's Directorate General of Mines Safety has been ill-equipped to deal with due to funding deficiencies.
Similarly China has come under fire from human rights activists and environmental groups alike for its arguably lax approach to both worker safety (the country has become the mining disaster capital of the world in recent years) and environmental accountability. The Chinese Government's approach to corporate and environmental responsibility has been characterised by outside observers as simply paying lip service to the environment - hinting that ISO guidelines for mining would be welcomed - without implementing practical measures to promote change.
The environmental impact of mining operations in Brazil is also under sharper scrutiny than many other countries, primarily because its borders contain the lion's share of the Amazon rainforest, a haven for biodiversity and one of the most important eco-systems in the world.
As such, environmental awareness is particularly strong in the Brazilian mining industry. Experts from the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards are playing a leadership role in the further development of the recently introduced ISO 26000 international standard on social responsibility. Furthermore, licensing for new mining projects is often legally conditional on the drafting of comprehensive environmental impact studies, reports and extensive public consultations, particularly in areas inhabited by tribal groups.
Although carrying out mining operations in a region like the Amazon will be controversial, the environmental commitment seen here and echoed by many other Brazilian mining companies (including industry giant Vale, which has a complex environmental quality management system based on ISO 14001 standards) provides a useful model of awareness for other BRIC nations, and the global mining industry in general, to follow.
India is emerging as a fast economy, targeting 9-10% annual growth. Realizing the underlying growth potential will largely depend on it's ability to meet energy requirements. Energy sector whose growth targets inter alia depend on coal. At a 9% growth rate, the capacity requirement will be 960Gw and energy requirement will be 4,806 billion kWh. In the light of these projections, coal demand is estimated to rise many fold. Main concentration of Indian companies remains in Indonesia as many new mines are opened for exploration , exploitation and production .Today Indonesia is one of the most rapidly developing coal producing country in the world.
For a strong economy, one needs strong infrastructure and power plants. For strong infrastructure and power plants , one needs steel. Steel is the backbone of an economy, and it is metallurgical coal and thermal coal that is used to produce steel and electricity.
An increase in Coal production is the opposite of what the global climate change forums have wanted to see because coal without any doubt is one of the dirtiest and filthiest fossil fuel in terms of CO2 and when it comes to harmful emissions that most environmentalists and energy economists agree causes global warming.
Coal consumption is going in a direction that policy makers would prefer it not to go.
Critical question is whether there is a willingness amongst coal producers and power generating plants to make their technology cleaner, so it emits less greenhouse gases(GHG) which leads to global warming .Energy scientists have long been voicing concern on the rise in the level of Greenhouse gases, which leads to Global warming and climatic changes that are detrimental to economies worldwide.
The disastrous consequences for global climate change is one topic that has now taken very serious dimension but hardly been realised in a serious enough way by the nations across the world.
The new thermal plants being built are certainly more efficient than older ones. There exist technology to have emission-free power plants - the only constraint is the cost. The cost of clean coal technology is very high, yet when we look at the alternatives to coal, they are even higher than that - for example, nuclear, solar, wind. The real costs of all these alternatives are still to be determined, but there is no doubt that clean coal technologies can double the cost of coal in generating energy.
None of the alternatives appears to be commercially viable right now for required generation of energy without considering subsidies and tax incentives . If any country accepts sustainable growth and development as the way forward, it subsumes the climate change issues.
At the same time, no country can ignore the inherent contradiction in the expression ‘sustainable growth’.
Growth essentially involves exploiting natural resources for human benefit and countries have to strike a delicate balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth. It is easier said than done.
As the climate issue impinges on everyone, wisdom demands that nations sink their petty differences in approach and strategy to stem the danger from spreading further and squeezing the survival prospects of one and all.
Principally, the efforts boil down to reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, caused primarily by accelerated economic development through exploitation of fossil fuels rich in carbon dioxide.
Every action does not need to be official or based on protocols. In any case, every country need to adopt new methods and ways of doing things in optimising the use of exhaustible resources, energy and water. Corporations / Institutions must carry out energy analysis and incorporate environmental accounting practices to reduce green house gas emission levels at their facilities. The government, in turn, could enforce a form of taxation based on companies’ contribution to climate change.
Climate change is today's biggest problem, threatening mankind with extinction. The problem, largely of man's own doing, must be treated as an emergency by all.
The president of Indonesia issued a Presidential decree instructing all central and regional authorities to support the moratorium by suspending the granting of permits for the use of “primary natural forests” for two years. This Presidential decree is part of Indonesia’s efforts to comply with the bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Norway on forest conservation.
Various governments worldwide are beginning to put regulations in place and to encourage development of more sustainable sources of power generation in order to protect populations worldwide from the immediate detrimental effects on life and health, and to protect the environment for future generation.
By : Sunil K Kumbhat , Jodhpur( Rajasthan ) India
Views expressed herein are personal views of the author and not that of COALspot.com.
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Friday, 06 September 24
REBOUND IN OIL DEMAND COULD LIFT MARKET IN LATTER HALF OF 2024 - BIMCO
Supply/demand
Based on a strong second half demand, the supply/balance is forecast to strengthen in 2024 but weaken slightly in 2025 as n ...
Friday, 06 September 24
GLOBAL SEABORNE LNG TRADE HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE LAST YEAR - BANCHERO COSTA
Global seaborne LNG trade has continued to increase last year, helped also by the events in Ukraine which forced Europe to diversify away from Russ ...
Wednesday, 28 August 24
SEABORNE COAL IMPORTS INTO INDIA INCREASED BY +9.9% Y-O-Y TO 146.6 MLN T - BANCHERO COSTA
Global coal trade has really picked up pace over the past year, and is now fully back to pre-Covid levels said Banchero Costa Research in its lates ...
Tuesday, 06 August 24
EXERCISE CAUTION WITH AMMONIA SWITCH - BALTIC EXCHANGE
A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has thrown a spanner into the plan to transition ships from diesel fuel to ammonia ...
Friday, 02 August 24
ENERGY MARKET DEVELOPMENTS: COAL AND NATURAL GAS PRICES REACH RECORD HIGHS - WORLD BANK
The recent surge in natural gas and coal prices has been so swift that the main benchmarks were roughly three times higher in 2022Q2 compared to a ...
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- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Planning Commission, India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Minerals Council of Australia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
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