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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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Thursday, 26 April 12
PANAMAXES AGAIN EARN MORE THAN CAPESIZES - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The latest surge of demand for Panamaxes has led the dry bulk market to new higher ground on Monday, with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) reaching 1,090 ...
Wednesday, 25 April 12
CHINA IMPORTS 9.76 MMT AND INDIA IMPORTS 7.03 MMT OF INDONESIAN COAL LAST MONTH
COALspot.com: Indonesia, the world largest coal exporter, shipped 30.64* million tons of coal in March 2012, compared to 27.12* million tons i ...
Monday, 23 April 12
ALTURA ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 2 COAL PROJECTS IN SOUTH KALIMANTAN
COALspot.com - Altura Mining Limited (ASX: AJM) has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a further two (2) Mining Permits (IUP ...
Sunday, 22 April 12
THE FREIGHT MARKET EXPECTED TO REMAIN FIRM NEXT WEEK - VISTAAR
COALspot.com - The BDI has broken the psychological barrier of 1000 points and closed at 1067 points.
The cape index was slightly down by 2.48 pc ...
Saturday, 21 April 12
INDONESIAN SUB-BITUMINOUS COAL SWAPS DROP 2.61 PERCENT THIS WEEK
COALspot.com - Indonesian sub-bituminous coal swaps fell for a fifth day, according to DSP of SGX AsiaClear OTC Coal Swaps.
CFR South China Coal ...
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- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Planning Commission, India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
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