Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

As the global urgency to combat <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword> intensifies, all eyes are on India's <keyword id="19955368" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Budget-2024" source="keywords">Budget 2024</keyword>, as there’s no better way to walk the talk than allocating funds. Speculation is rife about the potential measures the government may introduce to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy future — a move that is supremely necessary after the slew of deadly climate catastrophes that we saw last year. India’s Union Budget 2024 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a couple of days, and is expected to reflect the nation’s commitment to achieving <keyword id="21280854" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="net-zero-carbon-emissions" source="keywords">net-zero carbon emissions</keyword> by 2070. Here are some of the key initiatives from the interim budget that was presented in February earlier this year, along with their anticipated impacts! <h2>Rooftop Solarisation</h2>One of the most talked-about initiatives is the ambitious rooftop solar programme, which aims to provide free electricity up to 300 units per month to one crore households. If implemented, this move will help in not only cutting down energy bills — a godsend for the middle- and lower-income folks — but will also give households a chance to generate and even sell their surplus power. <h2>Electric Vehicle (EV) Ecosystem</h2>Charging up the electric vehicle movement, the interim budget included measures to expand EV manufacturing and infrastructure in the country. The move aimed to accelerate the adoption of <keyword id="19895203" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-vehicles" source="keywords">electric vehicles</keyword>, reducing emissions from the transport sector and making your commute cleaner and greener. Additionally, the government seemed keen on encouraging the adoption of electric buses to make urban travel more eco-friendly. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111855546" title="Budget 2024: How will budget affect India’s position in the global space race?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2><keyword id="20495045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="offshore-wind-energy" source="keywords">Offshore Wind Energy</keyword></h2>Riding the winds of change, the interim budget introduced a viability gap funding for 1 GW of offshore wind energy. As per the Finance Ministry, this initiative aims to harness the power of India’s vast coastline, pushing the envelope on <keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">renewable energy</keyword> and reducing our fossil fuel dependency. <h2><keyword id="22499996" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-green-hydrogen" source="keywords">National Green Hydrogen</keyword> Mission</h2>The interim budget also supercharged the National Green Hydrogen Mission with a massive boost to Rs 600 crore from last year’s Rs 297 crore. The government has continually insisted that Green Hydrogen is set to become the fuel of the future, and this announcement supports its development and adoption, paving the way for cleaner industrial processes. <h2>Coal Gasification and Liquefaction</h2>Switching up the coal game, the interim budget plans to set up coal gasification and liquefaction projects that will be able to process 100 metric tonnes by 2030. These projects aim to make the most out of coal in a cleaner way, especially by reducing our reliance on imported natural gas and slashing emissions. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111827903" title="Union Budget 2024 for Railways: Expectations focused on improving passenger safety, experience, infrastructure" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Bioenergy and Biomass Aggregation</h2>Turning waste into wealth, the interim budget has also promised additional financial assistance for biomass aggregation. This, they explain, will help in creating a sustainable model for managing agricultural waste, promoting bioenergy production and giving farmers a new revenue stream. <h2>Research and Development (R&amp;D)</h2>In a nod to innovation, the interim budget allocated a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore for interest-free financing in “sunrise” R&amp;D for emerging <keyword id="19931192" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-technologies" source="keywords">green technologies</keyword>. If the government follows through on this promise, the funding could catapult a wave of innovation, supporting the transition to a sustainable energy future. By focusing on renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting green technologies, India’s initial budget allocations seem to be taking significant strides towards its net-zero goal. Whether this will ultimately pan out to become a greener and more resilient future for its citizens remains to be seen.

Budget 2024: Key sustainability and energy initiatives that Indian government plans to implement this year

Chennai, Public sector major <keyword id="59700" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="coal-india-ltd" source="Orion">Coal India Ltd</keyword> (CIL) has chalked out Rs 24,750 crore investment for eco-friendly transportation of coal on 61 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects. The three phased investment project when completed will have a combined capacity of 763.5 million ton per annum (MTPA), the company said. FMC projects involve transportation of coal in mechanized piped conveyors from production point to coal handling plants/silos with rapid loading system where coal is loaded directly into <keyword id="1060490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rail-wagons" source="Orion">rail wagons</keyword>. According to the company, 35 FMC projects under the first phase having 414.5 MTPA capacity account for Rs. 10,750 crores. Eight projects of 112 MTPA capacity are already operational. CIL is gearing up to commission 17 more projects of 178 MTPA by FY 2024 end. The rest 10 comprising 124.5 MTPA capacity are expected to be operative by FY 2025, the company said. The second and third phase projects account for nine and 17 respectively. While their respective evacuation capacities are 57 MTPA and 292 MTPA, the investments sequentially, would be about Rs 2,500 crore and Rs11,500 crore. Under the second phase five projects of 21.5 MTPA capacity under construction are expected to be commissioned by FY 2025. Remaining projects are in different stages of progress with tenders issued and bid documents under preparation. For the third phase, tenders have been floated for three projects of 65 MTPA capacity. Nine projects are to be executed through mine developers and operators. The third phase projects are anticipated to be commissioned by FY 2029. Total eco-friendly coal evacuation would go up to 914.5 MTPA when all the 61 projects become operational by FY 2029, including the earlier capacity of 151 MTPA. FMC projects offer benefits like suppression of dust pollution and carbon emissions and reduce the load on road transportation leading to safety. Other benefits include precise quantity and quality coal is loaded for consumers with minimal manual intervention.

Coal India to invest ₹24,750 crore on eco-friendly transportation

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11949068" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="carbon-emissions" source="Orion">Carbon emissions</keyword> at seaports are up significantly since the start of the pandemic, a report found. </li><li>The rise stems from an increase in consumer demand and congested ports during the <keyword id="11894139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="supply-chain-crisis" source="Orion">supply chain crisis</keyword>. </li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/supply-chain-crisis">The supply chain crisis</a> is taking a toll on more than just shipping, its also wreaking havoc on the environment. Carbon emissions at major seaports have reached the highest rates since 2008, <a href="https://www.ntu.edu.sg/docs/default-source/corporate-ntu/hub-news/pollutant-emissions-in-major-seaports-likely-to-have-spiked-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-finds-ntu-singapore-study.pdf?sfvrsn=ba272cca_1">according to a recent report</a> from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. According to the study, pollutant emissions across four of the world's largest shipping ports — in locations including Singapore, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Hamburg, Germany, — have increased by 79% since the start of the pandemic.And though maritime shipping currently accounts for 3% of global <keyword id="11984592" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="greenhouse-gas" source="Orion">greenhouse gas</keyword> emissions — a higher rate than airplanes — scientists predict that at current rates it could comprise <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/your-climate-change-goals-may-have-a-maritime-shipping-problem">upwards of 17% by 2050</a>. Pollutant emissions, which started rising in response to increased consumer demand during COVID-19 lockdowns, have been further exacerbated by historic levels of port congestion. The backlogs are contributing to "prolonged turnaround time" and extended idling, during which ships continue to emit harmful gases, according to the report. Adding to the problem, container ships — which the NTU report found to have the sharpest increased rate of emissions — have started increasing their speed by 22% if weather permits to account for increased demand, Mike Konstantinidis, CEO of METIS Cyberspace Technology, <a href="https://qz.com/2090157/supply-chain-chaos-is-causing-ship-emissions-to-jump/">told Quartz</a>."Lockdown measures and other COVID-19 restrictions on human activity have upended the landscape for the shipping sector and significantly affected the operating patterns of maritime and trade, revealing significant increases in pollutant emissions in the seaports in our study," Adrian Law Wing-Keung, a professor at NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, wrote in the report. Southern California, home to the biggest seaports in the US, has been hit particularly hard by the <keyword id="11894138" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="supply-chain" source="Orion">supply chain</keyword> crisis. As of Wednesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/MXSOCAL">Marine Exchange reports</a> there are 134 ships waiting off the coasts of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/empty-shipping-containers-california-ports-seen-from-80-miles-report-2021-12">110,000 empty containers currently litter</a> shipping yards and roads in the region. Now, increased carbon emissions mark the latest in a series of growing challenges for the cities. According to the NTU report, emissions at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach increased by double and two-thirds, respectively.Looking ahead, environmental organizations are calling for change from some of the world's largest retailers. <a href="https://shipitzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FINAL-Ship-it-Zero-Campaign-Report.pdf">A report released earlier this week</a> by Stand.earth and Pacific Environment found that Walmart, Target, Amazon, and IKEA contributed to a collective increase of 20 million metric tons of carbon emissions between 2018 and 2020. "The <keyword id="11893588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail" source="Orion">retail</keyword> brands that fill our homes and lives with their products bear a direct responsibility both for the pollution that the maritime shipping in their supply chains creates and for taking the necessary actions to demand emissions reductions now and 100 per cent zero emissions shipping this decade," the report said.

The supply chain crisis is wreaking havoc on the environment as carbon emissions from ships and seaports reach the highest rate since 2008

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Biden administration proposed steep pollution cuts by coal- and gas-fired power plants. </li><li>Most US electricity comes from fossil fuels — the sector creates 25% of the nation's emissions.</li></ul>Coal, like the fossilized plants and animals it's made of, could one day become a relic of America's past.Most of the country's more than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/power-sector/power-plants-and-neighboring-communities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3,400 fossil-fuel power plants</a> would have to nearly eliminate their planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040 <a href="https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power#rule-summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under a proposal announced</a> by the Environmental Protection Agency last week. The plan is the latest move by the Biden administration to curb emissions that are fueling the climate crisis. The transportation and electricity sectors are the two largest sources of emissions, with the former accounting for 28% and the latter 25%, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions#:~:text=The%20largest%20source%20of%20greenhouse,Greenhouse%20Gas%20Emissions%20and%20Sinks." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the EPA</a>. The White House is already pushing for a move to electric vehicles to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-strongest-ever-pollution-standards-cars-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduce emissions from tailpipes</a>.Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy is key to cutting emissions in half this decade and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial levels. Climate scientists <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/chapter/summary-for-policymakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warn that crossing that temperature threshold</a> would have catastrophic effects such as heat waves, flooding, drought, crop failures, and food insecurity. The world, on average, is <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already at least 1.1 degrees</a> Celsius warmer.The EPA estimated that its power-plant proposal would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions through 2042 — about the annual emissions of half the cars on the road in the US today. The plan would also put the Biden administration closer to its climate goals.Coal and natural gas <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&amp;t=6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply the majority of US electricity</a>, although emissions from the power sector <a href="https://www.epa.gov/trinationalanalysis/greenhouse-gas-reporting-electric-utilities-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been declining over the past decade</a> as more natural gas and renewables such as solar and wind have been added to the grid and as coal plants close. Natural gas is cleaner than coal, but it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has more than <a href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-crucial-opportunity-climate-fight#:~:text=Methane%20has%20more%20than%2080,after%20it%20reaches%20the%20atmosphere" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80 times the warming power</a> of carbon dioxide over the first two decades it's in the atmosphere.Coal plants could also opt to shut down in the first half of the 2030s to avoid meeting most or even all pollution caps. Further closures would continue <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54559" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the trend that's already playing out in the coal sector</a>.Here are the 15 states where coal accounts for the largest source of power as of 2021, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54919" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the US Energy Information Administration</a>:West Virginia — 91%Missouri — 75%Wyoming — 74%Kentucky — 71%Utah — 62%Indiana — 58%North Dakota — 57%Nebraska — 50%Montana — 44%Wisconsin — 43%Colorado — 42%New Mexico — 36%Arkansas — 35%Michigan — 32%Minnesota — 27%

The US wants to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Here are the 15 states where coal is king.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US accounts for 25% of global aircraft emissions.</li><li>Sustainable aviation fuel can be up to 80% less carbon intensive than conventional jet fuel.</li></ul>Of all global aircraft emissions, the US accounts for 25%. There's a goal to reduce that to zero by 2050, but it won't be easy. Aviation is one of the most challenging industries to decarbonize. The batteries we're using to electrify cars are generally too heavy for planes, and hydrogen-powered aircraft are many years off, at least from a commercial point of view. "The aviation sector does not have many options in terms of what it can do," Puneet Dwivedi, a professor at the University of Georgia who has been studying sustainable aviation fuel production, told Insider. "There's a 2,000-pound — 20,000 pounds! — gorilla in the room, and it's fuel. You have to sort out fuel." Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is similar to conventional jet fuel, but it's much less carbon-intensive during its full lifecycle. From production to combustion, it releases up to 80% less carbon dioxide than conventional jet fuel, according to <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the International Air Transport Association. Thanks to its similar physics and chemistry to conventional jet fuel, SAF is a "drop-in" fuel that can be mixed with other fuel and, for the most part, be stored in the same tanks and run in the same engines. It's so easy to swap in, that some industry experts have called it a "<a href="https://qz.com/delta-thinks-airline-carbon-emissions-could-peak-by-202-1849784433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">miracle drug</a>." Problem is, there's not enough. Current US production of sustainable aviation fuel is around 4.5 million gallons per year, according to <a href="https://rhg.com/research/sustainable-aviation-fuels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent research</a> by the Rhodium Group. The White House wants to up production to 3 billion gallons by 2030, in order to fully decarbonize aviation by 2050, but that's still not enough to replace the 4 billion gallons of fuel that were consumed in the US in 2022. "There are many refineries that can produce jet fuel from fossil fuel," Chris Cooper, US president of Neste, one of the main producers of SAF globally, told Insider. "There are very few that have seen the vision" of converting to SAF production. SAF is mostly made from chemicals called hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, usually in the form of vegetable oils and used cooking oil. But, as much as Americans like their french fries and donuts, there's still not enough used oil. Luckily, SAF can be made from a lot of other things: trash, wood, carbon dioxide, to name a few. Dwivedi, at the University of Georgia, for example, is working with a process that would turn a mildly poisonous grass called carinata that can be grown in the US into SAF. As more refineries get equipped to produce SAF, and more methods of production get approved, the goal of 3 billion gallons by 2030 is, according to experts, doable. Despite being potentially "miraculous," SAF won't be an overnight switch. It needs to be phased in incrementally. "There's a certain portion of the population that just wants to wait until they have a zero emissions aircraft," Carol Sim, assistant director for the Aviation Sustainability Center, told Insider. "That's not gonna be flying for many, many years to come. But we have this opportunity to have emission reductions before those vehicles are introduced. Because SAF is approved now, it's been used, it's accepted by airlines, it's accepted by the aircraft manufacturers, airports, the governments, globally, it is the immediate thing that we can do to reduce emissions."

Aviation's best bet for cutting emissions is a new kind of fuel &mdash; but there's nowhere near enough of it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Canada is adding a 10% tax on the purchases of luxury aircraft, cars, and boats.</li><li>It comes as US celebrities are under fire for environmental impacts of their private jet usage. </li></ul>As stars like <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/taylor-swift-private-jet-fan-reactions-b2136147.html">Taylor Swift</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/29/drake-defends-short-private-jet-flights">Drake</a> are being <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/taylor-swift-private-jet-emissions-response.html">scolded</a> for their private jet usage, Canada revealed <a href="https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/canada-impose-tax-private-jets-210000704.html">new details</a> about how it's hoping to make the wealthy think twice about contributing to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-alter-human-life-un-ipcc-report-2022-2">climate crisis</a> with their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bezos-vips-flew-to-environment-summit-on-private-jets-fury-2021-11">extravagant</a> modes of transportation. The Select Luxury Items Tax Act — which will go into effect September 1st — will add a <a href="https://www.unilad.com/news/canada-is-imposing-a-new-tax-on-luxury-cars-yachts-private-jets-lboz-20220801">10% tax</a> on the full value of any Canadian purchases of aircraft and cars that exceed $100,000, as well as boats that exceed $250,000. These thresholds are in Canadian dollars and convert to roughly $78,000 and $194,000 respectively in US dollars. The Canadian government has argued the tax will not only discourage the wealthy from purchasing emissions-intensive vehicles, but <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/canada-tax-select-luxury-items-cars-jets-yachts-1730520">reduce inequality</a> as well. "Some Canadians have lost their jobs or small businesses, while some sectors of the economy have flourished," per a <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/canada-tax-select-luxury-items-cars-jets-yachts-1730520">statement</a> on the government's website. "That's why it is fair today to ask those Canadians who can afford to buy luxury goods to contribute a little bit more."The details of the tax come on the heels of a recent <a href="https://weareyard.com/insights/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders">report</a> from Yard, a UK marketing firm, titled "Celebs with the Worst Private Jet Co2 Emissions." Using flight data from the popular Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/CelebJets?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@CelebJets</a> — which tracks the jets of the rich and famous — the report detailed the biggest "offenders" and their carbon footprints. Pop star Taylor Swift came in at number one. As of the July 29th report, her private jet <a href="https://weareyard.com/insights/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders">had flown</a> 22,923 minutes, or 15.9 days, in 2022, emitting over $8,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent — <a href="https://weareyard.com/insights/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders">over 1,000 </a>times more than the average person's annual emissions. A 2021 Transport &amp; Environment <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021_05_private_jets_FINAL.pdf">report</a> found that a private jet can emit the same level of carbon dioxide in four hours that the average person in the European Union produces over an entire year. The boxer Floyd Mayweather, the musician Jay-Z , and the former baseball player Alex Rodriguez followed Swift on the list. Some of the celebrities have called the report into question, however. A spokesperson for Swift, for instance, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/">told</a> The Washington Post that the musician's jet is "loaned out regularly to other individuals," suggesting many of the trips were not hers. A lawyer for Jay-Z, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/">said</a> the rapper does not own the jet in question. While Yard's analysis has not been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/02/taylor-swift-kylie-jenner-private-jet-emissions/">peer reviewed</a>, and as the authors <a href="https://weareyard.com/insights/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders">emphasize</a>, "there is no way to determine if these celebrities were on all the recorded flights," the report highlights the environmental impact that celebrities, politicians, business executives, and other wealthy individuals can inflict through significant private jet usage and other actions. A 2021 Oxfam <a href="https://webassets.oxfamamerica.org/media/documents/bn-carbon-inequality-2030-051121-en.pdf?_gl=1*1gv3ysm*_ga*MTgwOTEyNzgxMi4xNjU5NTU1MTUy*_ga_R58YETD6XK*MTY1OTU1NTE1MS4xLjEuMTY1OTU1NTE2OC40Mw..">analysis</a> found that in 2015, the richest 1% accounted for 15% of global carbon emissions. The Yard report, coupled with the Canadian luxury tax act, suggest this scrutiny isn't going away anytime soon.<h2>The luxury tax has been criticized for hurting the aviation industry and putting too much onus for the climate crisis on individuals</h2>The new Canadian tax has received criticism from the business community. Some have argued it could have "<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/canada-tax-select-luxury-items-cars-jets-yachts-1730520">serious implications</a>" for an aviation industry that has already faced challenges during the pandemic — potentially resulting in the loss of at least <a href="https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/canada-impose-tax-private-jets-210000704.html">900 jobs</a>. "The economic impact of the luxury tax will be significant and have not been studied with a comprehensive understanding of our industry," Anthony Norejko, President and CEO of the Canadian Business Aviation Association, <a href="https://cbaa-acaa.ca/CBAA/News/CBAA%20Luxury%20Tax%20Update.pdf">said</a> in a statement. With regards to the criticism of celebrities, some experts say focusing too much on the actions of any one individual can distract from the policy changes that are needed to generate real progress, like the significant <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-manchin-schumer-climate-bill-cheaper-energy-cleaner-air-jobs-2022-8">climate legislation</a> currently lingering in Congress. Others have <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/taylor-swift-private-jet-climate-change">pointed to</a> the way the oil company BP for instance, launched a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook">carbon footprint calculator</a> in the mid-2000s to put the onus of climate action more on individuals, rather than the fossil fuel industry. "My feeling is that while I would prefer Taylor Swift make more responsible transportation decisions, shouting at celebrities on the internet is not in my personal top 10 list of policy levers," NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/taylor-swift-private-jet-climate-change">told</a> Axios.

Canada is taxing luxury cars, yachts, and private jets as celebrities come under scrutiny for their emissions

Six million electric cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) are likely to be shipped globally in 2022, up from 4 million in 2021, a <keyword id="6371981" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gartner" source="Orion">Gartner</keyword> report showed on Thursday. The number of global public EV chargers will rise to 2.1 million units in 2022, up from 1.6 million units in 2021. The market research firm forecasts that electric cars will represent 95 per cent of total EV shipments in 2022 and the remainder will be split between buses, vans and heavy trucks. For the full year 2021, Tesla alone delivered 936,172 vehicles, just short of the promised 1 million vehicles but still an increase of 87 per cent over the previous year. At 'COP26' in November 2021, the <keyword id="12569371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zero-emission-vehicle-transition-council" source="Orion">Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council</keyword> agreed that vehicle manufacturers will commit to selling only zero emission vehicles by 2040, and earlier in leading markets, putting pressure on the automotive sector to prepare for the decarbonization in transportation. "EVs are an important powertrain technology to help reduce CO2 emissions from the transportation sector," said <keyword id="13040648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jonathan-davenport" source="Orion">Jonathan Davenport</keyword>, research director at Gartner. "The ongoing shortage of chips will impact the production of EVs in 2022, and while shipments of vans and trucks are currently small, their shipments will grow rapidly as commercial owners see the financial and environmental benefit of electrifying their fleets," Davenport added. With China imposing a mandate on automakers requiring that EVs make up 40 per cent of all sales by 2030 and automakers establishing new factories for manufacturing electric cars, Greater China will account for 46 per cent of global EV shipments in 2022. Western Europe is on pace to ship 1.9 million units in 2022, ranking No 2 in EV shipments. North America is expected to be the third highest region in shipments at 855.3 thousand EVs in 2022. "The EU's plans to cut CO2 emissions from cars by 55 per cent and vans by 50 per cent by 2030 is a catalyst to the uptake of EVs in Europe," said Davenport. To foster the transition to EVs, automotive manufacturers will have to address several factors such as lowering the price of EVs and batteries, recycling EV batteries and offering a wider selection of vehicle models. "Additionally, a major issue that must be addressed is lack of fast-charging availability for home and public charging," said Davenport. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/cost-of-owning-and-running-an-electric-scooter-vs-a-petrol-scooter/articleshow/89119184.cms">Here’s how much buying and owning an electric scooter costs in India versus a petrol scooter</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tesla-india-prospects-get-a-boost-as-states-compete-with-each-other-to-invite-elon-musk-to-their-backyard/articleshow/88890951.cms">Tesla India prospects get a boost as states compete with each other to invite Elon Musk to their backyard</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tesla-posts-record-profit-but-says-the-chip-shortage-means-it-wont-produce-any-new-models-in-2022/articleshow/89148649.cms">Tesla posts record profit, but says the chip shortage means it won't produce any new models in 2022</a>

Electric car shipments likely to grow 50% in 2022, says a new Gartner report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President Biden aims for a carbon neutral US by 2050 with his newest <keyword id="12047043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="executive-order" source="Orion">executive order</keyword>.</li><li>The executive order focuses on utilizing the US government's purchasing power to accelerate change.</li></ul>Biden signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/08/executive-order-on-catalyzing-clean-energy-industries-and-jobs-through-federal-sustainability/">executive order</a> on Wednesday that addressed the climate crisis by allowing the <keyword id="12160305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="federal-government" source="Orion">federal government</keyword> to focus its $650 billion in annual spending on clean energy, electric vehicles, and construct more energy-efficient buildings. The new goals include a reduction in <keyword id="11949068" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="carbon-emissions" source="Orion">carbon emissions</keyword> by 65% by 2030 and net-zero emissions from all federal procurement by 2050.The order is also expected to spur the growth of climate-related union jobs, at least 10 gigawatts of new clean electricity production by the end of the decade, and increase demand from local solar and wind energy producers. "As the single largest land owner, energy consumer and employer in the nation, the Federal Government can catalyze private sector investment and expand the economy and American industry by transforming how we build, buy, and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings, and other operations to be clean and sustainable," the order read.Biden's executive order includes wider goals of transitioning the US electricity sector to clean energy by 2035 and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ipcc-15-c-degree-report-points-to-high-stakes-of-climate-inaction/a-45791882">identified 2050</a> as when the world needs to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in order to prevent more than 1.5 degrees of warming. Biden's order means all new federal vehicles — including heavy-duty trucks — will be zero-emission by 2035. It also establishes a "Buy Clean" policy to promote the federal government's use of lower-emission construction materials. And it prioritizes the purchase of sustainable products, including ones that do not contain PFAS, commonly-used chemicals <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas">identified by the Environmental Protection Agency</a> as harmful to human health. "The executive order will reduce emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities," the White House said <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/08/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-catalyzing-americas-clean-energy-economy-through-federal-sustainability/">in a statement</a>.On Wednesday afternoon, Biden visited a transportation facility in Kansas City, Missouri as part of an ongoing tour to promote his $1.2 trillion bipartisan <keyword id="11930606" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="infrastructure" source="Orion">infrastructure</keyword> bill. He emphasized the $66 billion investment in passenger and freight rail as well as $39 billion in new funding to modernize public transit.

President Biden signs executive order to make federal government carbon neutral by 2050

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The United Nations <keyword id="11901561" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="environment" source="Orion">Environment</keyword> Programme says the era of leaded petrol is officially over.</li><li>The milestone will prevent over 1.2 million premature deaths a year.</li><li>Leaded petrol causes heart disease, strokes, cancer, and stunts brain development, UNEP says.</li></ul>The era of leaded petrol is officially over in a milestone victory for human and planetary health, the United Nations Environment Programme <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/era-leaded-petrol-over-eliminating-major-threat-human-and-planetary">said on Monday</a>. UNEP estimates that banning the use of leaded petrol will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save the global economy $2.45 trillion each year, as well as decrease crime rates.Monday's milestone announcement comes after nearly two decades of campaigning by UNEP to eliminate the use of lead in petrol, which has contaminated air, soil, dust, drinking water and food crops. The global end of petrol use officially started in July after it was no longer provided by service stations in Algeria. The organization said leaded petrol causes heart disease, strokes and cancer, while also stunting brain development."The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge milestone for global health and our environment," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. "Overcoming a century of deaths and illnesses that affected hundreds of millions and degraded the environment worldwide, we are invigorated to change humanity's trajectory for the better through an accelerated transition to clean vehicles and electric mobility." Most high-income countries prohibited the use of leaded petrol by the 1980s, UNEP said. Yet, in 2002, when the organization started its campaign, nearly all low- and middle-income countries were still using leaded petrol. The organization said fast-growing global vehicle production still threatens air, water, and soil with pollution, and that the transportation sector is responsible for "nearly a quarter of energy-related global <keyword id="11984592" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="greenhouse-gas" source="Orion">greenhouse gas</keyword> emissions."The automotive industry is well underway with efforts to slow <keyword id="11949068" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="carbon-emissions" source="Orion">carbon emissions</keyword>, in part by ramping up the development and production of electrified vehicles. Several countries including Norway, the Netherlands, France, and Britain have already set forth plans to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles in the next 10 to 15 years.UNEP said the end of leaded petrol will help to satisfy many of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nations'</a> sustainable development goals, like clean water and energy, good health and well-being, and sustainable cities.

UN says use of leaded petrol is officially over, a landmark that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths per year

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Samantha Lee/Business Insider</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Commercial aviation generates only 2 to 3% of manmade carbon emissions, but that number is growing, with global passenger numbers expected to double before 2040.</li><li>As pressures from fuel costs, climate-change-conscious customers, and possible government regulations mount, airlines are working to find ways to reduce emissions, while continuing to grow their businesses and meet economic demands.</li><li>There are a number of initiatives the airlines are taking to reduce their emissions, but the technology to meaningfully reduce environmental effect is still years away.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/driving-the-future">Read more stories from Business Insider's Driving the Future series</a>.</li></ul>When 16-year-old climate activist <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/greta-thunberg">Greta Thunberg</a> traveled to New York to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in September, she chose to sail from her native Sweden, generating zero emissions during the journey.Thunberg refuses to fly, to reduce her own carbon footprint, and it's unquestionable that there are greener ways to travel than cruising in the stratosphere on two exhaust-spewing jet engines.But Thunberg's journey by sea is not something most of us could replicate; her trek across the Atlantic took 15 days. For most business travelers, or vacationers, that's longer than a whole trip usually lasts.The rest of us rely on air travel.But as society shifts toward seeking to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions, air travel, for all its benefits, poses a challenge as a growing number of customers seek to reduce their carbon footprint.While that may be difficult for an industry like air travel, airlines and manufacturers are eager to get on board. <h2>Emissions on the rise</h2>Flight-shaming argues that air travel is excessive and can be replaced with more efficient modes of <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword>, such as bus or rail, or, in business cases, video calls. While that's obviously more applicable to ultra-short-haul flying - think New York to Boston, or London to Paris - activists such as Thunberg criticize long-haul travel as well.The aviation industry contributes as little as 2 to 3% to global manmade emissions, by most estimates. But with passenger numbers <a href="https://www.airlines.iata.org/news/passenger-numbers-to-hit-82bn-by-2037-iata-report">predicted</a> to double to 8.2 billion annually by 2037, the share is likely to grow. The UN aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization, <a href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/A40/Documents/WP/wp_054_en.pdf">forecasts</a> greenhouse-gas emissions from airplanes could increase significantly.Much of these emission increases can be attributed to market growth. Industry watchers are seeing that expansion in developing airline regions like China and India, which is booming thanks to a rising middle class, and in mature markets like the US and Europe, where competition and the rise of ultra-low-cost-carriers has made leisure travel more accessible.<h2>'Reducing emissions will be a prerequisite for us to do business' </h2>Lars Andersen Resare has worked at Scandinavian Airlines for more than 20 years, serving in various roles since graduating from university in Stockholm.Since 2010, he's been the head of environment at SAS. In that time, the airline, which is the primary carrier for the Scandinavian region consisting of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, has seen a focus on environmental issues take on new importance. After all, it sits at the epicenter of "flygskam," or "flight shame," the buzzword that's become the descriptor of the flight-shaming movement."We have to transform and evolve our business model in order to secure it for a future." As demand for air travel surges, so does customer demand for improved efficiency, particularly among younger passengers. Similarly, the growing demand for government and industry intervention to address climate change presents both a threat and an opportunity for airlines like SAS."If we don't reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, society and the regulators will find ways to increase the cost of those emissions for us," Resare said during a recent phone interview. "If the aviation industry doesn't reduce their emissions, I can assume that the regulators will increase the cost. So rather than wait and see, our approach has been to get ahead of the curve."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Konwicki Marcin / Shutterstock.com</div></div></div>It's not just a fear of future regulations like carbon taxes that has SAS working on emission-reduction schemes, but also demands from customers, including corporate clients."We have to transform and evolve our business model in order to secure it for a future," he added.<h2>Ecotaxes are one option, but they're not the best solution</h2>Commercial aviation is, inherently, a gas-guzzling, greenhouse-gas-heavy industry, but there are a number of steps that airlines and governments are taking to improve efficiency and decrease emissions per passenger flown, even if fully clean flight is still a long way away.One option is a collection of ecotaxes, penalizing airlines - and passengers - for carbon emissions. The idea is that those measures would incentivize green initiatives and discourage excessive travel.But ecotaxes on their own, at least in the form that current taxes and proposals suggest, won't be effective enough, according to Samuel Engel, head of the aviation practice at the global consultancy ICF.The primary issue is that the taxes are misused, Engel said. Rather than going toward offsetting emissions or funding research and development of green technology, the funds collected go in the general-tax coffers. If they went directly to environmental projects - whether carbon offsets or research and development for more efficient aviation - they would serve a better purpose.While they could instead be used to discourage flying, ecotaxes, which typically amount to less than 15%, are too low to meaningfully affect consumer behavior. Anything higher than that could have a catastrophic effect on commercial aviation."Any increase in prices, whether it comes from fuel, from fares or from taxes, has an impact on demand," Engel said."But if you're looking to make a step-change in the use of air transit, the level of so-called ecotaxes that have been implemented to date is not going to give you that."While higher taxes could be more effective, "the economic pain of taxing aviation at that level would be so great that no one would choose to do it," he said. "It's not just the economic activity generated by aviation itself. It's that aviation underpins and lubricates the economy generally; so much of commerce and trade rests on easy access to air travel, and not to mention social cohesion."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/David Becker</div></div></div><h2>Reducing airline emissions requires a variety of approaches</h2>Airlines are taking a number of steps to reduce fuel use and emissions, including better optimizing ground operations and flight plans. For many airlines, replacing older planes with new, more efficient jets is a major part of the effort.The current generation of commercial airplanes - including the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner widebody jets, and the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max narrow bodies, plus new regional jets like the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 series - achieve up to 20% better fuel-efficiency than the previous generation. While that improvement is significantly offset by the growth in air travel, that's improved efficiency off the bat on each individual route flown by the new planes.Consequently, this cuts down on emissions per passenger per ride, and it offers an obvious appeal to airlines: lower fuel costs."We have received about 84 new aircraft in the past year and retired older aircraft," Alison Lathrop, Delta Air Lines' managing director of global environment and sustainability, said. "That has a significant impact on our overall emissions."Small changes to existing aircraft can also help. For example, American Airlines said it decreased fuel use by 4% by installing small vertical pieces, called winglets, onto the ends of wings on most of its planes. The devices improve the wing's lift by changing its aerodynamic profile.Another promising option airlines are focusing on is alternative fuel, made from a variety of sources. These can emit as much as 80% less carbon and fewer byproducts overall when burned compared to conventional jet fuel.Obstacles like limited availability and production capacity remain, which make alternative-fuel use for entire commercial flights cost-prohibitive.SAS recently launched a program that allows passengers to purchase biofuel to replace conventional jet fuel for their flights, based on time increments. For example, a passenger can choose to replace 10 minutes' worth of fuel for their share of the flight.Delta is working with biofuels too, using them to take delivery of 20 new Airbus planes from a factory in Mobile, Alabama, and transporting them to Delta hangers.The biggest impact, however, would have to involve replacing combustion engines with something more efficient.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">SASA rendering of a large electric plane.</div></div></div><h2>What about electric planes?</h2>A variety of manufacturers, from startups to mainstays like Airbus, are looking to build electric planes, which would dramatically cut emissions. These are years away from carrying commercial passengers across oceans or even states, but a variety of efforts to bring these from concept to reality are underway.In addition to working with startups on small planes for short routes, airlines and manufacturers are looking toward a future of mainline electric planes.In May, SAS entered a partnership with Airbus to work on developing and implementing a large electric commercial passenger airplane, one which could carry 100 passengers or more, alongside cargo."We're looking at the prerequisites to commercialize a hundred-seater aircraft that is propelled fully or partially by electricity," Resare said. "Those technologies will not be commercialized until the 2030s, which is a bit beyond our current activities."Various airlines are also planning to expand the use of carbon offsets to keep future growth carbon-neutral. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, is a program developed by the ICAO to help keep commercial aviation emissions from exceeding a baseline set by 2020 levels. That's a goal for the entire aviation industry, not just individual airlines.CORSIA sets a marketplace for carbon offsets and encourages biofuel use. It focuses on international aviation, not domestic flights, but individual airlines have set more ambitious goals. There has been criticism that the scheme does too little, too slowly, and that its emphasis on biofuels can lead to deforestation, but its establishment offers a framework for airlines.Notably, carbon offsets don't directly reduce emissions; instead, they fund ecofriendly activities that have a positive effect, cancelling out the negative impact of an action - airlines are increasingly offering them to passengers, at a cost, for their flights. SAS has offered offsets since 2007, while Delta, which was the first US airline to offer offsets, is launching a new calculator tool that passengers can use to purchase offsets for their flights.<h2>The way forward</h2>There are a number of technologies and options on the horizon, but reducing the aviation industry's emissions in the short term is no doubt challenging. Short- and medium-term goals are difficult to meet even with today's new airplanes and carbon offsets.Genuine positive steps, like the use of more efficient planes by legacy airlines like Delta and American, are offset by the explosion of commercial aviation in developing markets.Until a future in which low-emission alternative fuels are readily available and large, long-haul electric planes are in commercial use, meaningful immediate progress will be difficult to attain without cutting back on flying.Engel posed a solution, saying "there's not much change unless customers are either willing to step up and pay for their carbon output, or vote with their feet by choosing airlines that are greener than others."Despite the rise of flight-shaming, most airlines report <a href="https://skift.com/2019/10/22/finnair-sees-no-impact-from-flight-shame-movement/">little to no impact</a> on demand."Until consumers take responsibility for their own carbon output, it's going to be difficult for the airlines to do this by themselves," Engel added.Engel says that so far, consumers aren't too interested in that. "When airlines offer voluntary offsets, the uptake is well under 1 percent," he said.Biofuels represent a promising option, but limited availability right now, combined with certification requirements, makes it too expensive to be a practical option. Plus, some biofuels use less-efficient stock feeds, which can emit even more byproducts than traditional jet fuel.Additionally, there are concerns that the mass adoption of alternative biofuels will lead to significant deforestation, and human-rights abuses seen in other cash-crop industries.Ultimately, unless demand changes, or the airline sector shrinks because of another factor - like a major global recession or a sustained jump in oil prices - any emission reductions will be around the margins, despite airlines' efforts to maintain growth while mitigating the impact of the same.In the meantime, Engel suggests looking to other sectors of transportation industry to help reduce pollution."If you want to spend a dollar reducing carbon, why spend that in the air instead of on the ground, when it can have more of an effective and immediate impact on the ground?"<h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/driving-the-future">Read more stories from Business Insider's Driving the Future series here.</a></h2> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-737-max-airplane-crash-incidents-recover-lawsuits-scrutiny-2019-7">Will Boeing recover from the 737 Max crisis?</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Airlines have a vested interest in reducing emissions, but it's not an easy task. Here's what they're doing, and why.

Monty Rakusen/Getty ImagesBrook Porter, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and founding partner at the venture fund G2VP, tells Business Insider that buses will be the first transportation sector to go all-electric.<ul class="summary-list"><li style="font-weight: 400;">A partner at Kleiner Perkins who cofounded a $350 million spinoff venture fund says buses will be the first transportation sector to go 100% electric. </li><li style="font-weight: 400;">An engineer by training, Brook Porter explains that diesel engines don't make sense for vehicles that stop and start often. Batteries do, especially because you can optimize them for a given route. </li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Urban landscapes, where buses are most common, also have some of the strictest emissions regulations. </li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Porter is betting on it. His venture fund G2VP was one of seven investors involved in a $155 million funding round for the electric bus company Proterra. </li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime">Click here for more BI Prime articles</a>.</li></ul>It sounds counterintuitive. Buses are heavy, they travel long distances, and they're not as flashy as electric cars and trucks. How could they possibly lead the electric vehicle revolution? They already are.In 2018, at least 10% of new bus purchases in the US were electric, according to the nonprofit CALSTART. That's five times greater than the sales of electric vehicles overall in the same year - and the margin is likely to be even greater for 2019. "We asked a question eight years ago about what segment of transportation would go all-electric first," said Brook Porter, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, who helped spin off a new venture fund called G2VP in 2016. "It turns out it's going to be electric buses." Porter is among the many VCs betting on it. In 2018, his $350 million venture fund joined a $155 million investment round for the electric bus company Proterra, according to data from PitchBook.He gave us four reasons why he thinks it's a safe bet.

You Searched For "transport sector emissions" and got 11 results

Budget 2024: Key sustainability and energy initiatives that Indian government plans to implement this year

Ankush Banerjee

Coal India to invest ₹24,750 crore on eco-friendly transportation

IANS

The supply chain crisis is wreaking havoc on the environment as carbon emissions from ships and seaports reach the highest rate since 2008

Bethany Biron

The US wants to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Here are the 15 states where coal is king.

Catherine Boudreau

Aviation's best bet for cutting emissions is a new kind of fuel but there's nowhere near enough of it

Bianca Giacobone

Canada is taxing luxury cars, yachts, and private jets as celebrities come under scrutiny for their emissions

Jacob Zinkula

Electric car shipments likely to grow 50% in 2022, says a new Gartner report

IANS

President Biden signs executive order to make federal government carbon neutral by 2050

Karen K. Ho

UN says use of leaded petrol is officially over, a landmark that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths per year

Jake Epstein

Airlines have a vested interest in reducing emissions, but it's not an easy task. Here's what they're doing, and why.

David Slotnick

A Kleiner Perkins partner reveals 4 reasons why buses will be the first transportation sector to go 100% electric

Benji Jones,Benji Jones

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides