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New Delhi: India's fossil fuel emissions are projected to rise by 4.6 per cent in 2024, while China could see a marginal rise of 0.2 per cent, according to new research by a group of international scientists. As the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, discussed raising trillions of dollars to tackle <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword>, the group of scientists known as the "Global Carbon Project" warned that emissions from fossil fuels -- the main driver of warming -- could hit a record 37.4 billion tonnes in 2024, up 0.8 percent from 2023 levels. This comes despite rapid growth in renewable energy and a landmark agreement at COP28 in Dubai last year to move away from fossil fuels. The "<keyword id="23948569" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-carbon-budget-2024" source="keywords">Global Carbon Budget 2024</keyword>" report said total global CO2 emissions are set to go up from 40.6 billion tons in 2023 to 41.6 billion metric tons in 2024, which is on course to become the warmest year on record. "The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly dramatic, yet we still see no sign that burning of fossil fuels has peaked," Professor Pierre Friedlingstein of Exeter's Global Systems Institute, who led the study, said. The 'Global Carbon Project' team said India, the world's most populous country and fastest-growing major economy, may see its fossil fuel emissions rise by 4.6 percent. According to a UN report released last month, India's greenhouse gas emissions surged by 6.1 per cent in 2023, contributing to 8 per cent of the global total. However, the country's historical contribution to global CO2 emissions stands at only 3 per cent. India's per capita emissions remain low at 2.9 tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e), far below the global average of 6.6 tCO2e. India, the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged to reach net zero emissions (balancing emissions with removals) by 2070 and aims to achieve 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. China's emissions, which make up 32 per cent of the global total, are likely to increase slightly by 0.2 per cent, though there is a chance they could decline, according to the data released on Wednesday. Emissions from the United States and the European Union, which contribute 13 per cent and 7 per cent of the global total, are both set to decline, with drops of 0.6 per cent for the US and 3.8 per cent for the EU. Emissions from the rest of the world, which together account for 38 per cent of global emissions, could see a rise of 1.1 per cent. The researchers said that in 2024, coal emissions will likely increase by 0.2 per cent, oil by 0.9 per cent, and gas by 2.4 per cent, globally. Coal, oil, and gas contribute 41 per cent, 32 per cent, and 21 per cent of global fossil CO2 emissions, respectively. However, given the uncertainty in projections, it remains possible that coal emissions could decline in 2024, they said. The report also pointed out that emissions from international aviation and shipping, which account for 3 per cent of global emissions and are tracked separately from national or regional totals, are expected to rise by 7.8 per cent in 2024. However, these emissions will still be 3.5 per cent below the 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Globally, emissions from land-use changes, like deforestation, have dropped by 20 per cent over the past decade but are expected to rise in 2024. Permanent CO2 removal through reforestation and new forest planting now offsets about half of the emissions from permanent deforestation, they added. Technology-based CO2 removal accounts for only a tiny fraction -- around one-millionth -- of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. The report said that emissions from fires in 2024 have been above the average since the beginning of the satellite record in 2003, particularly due to the extreme 2023 wildfire season in Canada (which continued into 2024) and severe drought in Brazil. Land and ocean carbon sinks continued to absorb around half of the total carbon emissions, despite being negatively affected by climate change.

Global fossil emissions to reach record high in 2024; India's share to rise by 4.6 pc: Report

A recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/535/1/L18/7760380">study</a> has revealed an unexpected consequence of the global lockdowns imposed in 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19: a measurable cooling of the <keyword id="19899207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moon" source="keywords">Moon</keyword>'s surface. Indian researchers from the <keyword id="20178202" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Physical-Research-Laboratory" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Physical Research Laboratory" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Physical Research Laboratory">Physical Research Laboratory</keyword> (PRL) analysed night-time temperatures at six different locations on the Moon's near side between 2017 and 2023. Using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, they discovered a consistent temperature drop of 8-10 Kelvin during the strictest lockdown period of April-May 2020 compared to previous years. For instance, the coldest temperature was recorded in 2020, with a value of 96.2 K at one location. In contrast, post-lockdown years like 2021 and 2022 saw a gradual warming trend as human activity resumed. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111772552" title="Newly discovered Moon caves could shelter astronauts as they set up lunar bases!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The researchers posit that this unusual cooling can be attributed to a reduction in Earth's outgoing radiation during the lockdowns. As human activity slowed down, <keyword id="20107362" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="greenhouse-gas-emissions" source="keywords">greenhouse gas emissions</keyword> and aerosols decreased significantly. This meant less heat was trapped and re-emitted by Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a measurable decrease in the radiation reaching the Moon. Further, the Moon's surface acts as an amplifier of Earth's radiation signature. And this unique global event provided a rare opportunity to observe how changes in human activity on Earth can affect our nearest celestial neighbour. While the study presents a compelling correlation, the authors acknowledge that more data is needed to definitively establish the link between Earth's radiation changes and <keyword id="23366659" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lunar-surface-temperatures" source="keywords">lunar surface temperatures</keyword>. They suggest that future Moon-based observatories could play a crucial role in studying Earth's climate and environmental shifts. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112222991" title="Scientists want to send our endangered species to the Moon to “save” them" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>This unexpected finding highlights the interconnectedness of our solar system and the far-reaching impacts of human activities on our planet. As we continue to grapple with the challenges of <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword>, understanding these subtle interactions between Earth and the Moon can provide valuable insights into our planet's complex systems. (With inputs from TOI)

The Covid lockdowns did WHAT to the Moon?!

On Monday, July 22, Finance Minister <keyword id="22504403" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmal-sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmal Sitharaman</keyword> tabled the <keyword id="20613906" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="economic-survey" source="keywords">Economic Survey</keyword> 2023-24 in the parliament ahead of the much-awaited budget 2024 tomorrow. In addition to a socio-economic stock take, the comprehensive report also outlines the strides India has made on the environment and climate fronts last year. India is in a weird grey area when the climate blame-game is concerned. We continue to average some of the lowest per capita CO2 emissions in the world. But, being the most-populous country in the world, these small bits add up to make India the third-largest emitter of CO2 in the world, after China and the United States. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111923746" title="Economic Survey 2023-2024 highlights emerging job trends in AI, Cybersecurity, 3D Printing and Web Development" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, this is not to say that the country has been sitting the green transition out either. As highlighted in the Economic Survey, India has been making notable strides in tackling climate change and promoting <keyword id="19895783" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainability" source="keywords">sustainability</keyword> — efforts that will be crucial to protect billions in the coming years and decades. Let's take a look at these efforts and compare them with findings from other recent environmental reports to see the full picture. <h2><keyword id="21818512" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emission-intensity" source="keywords">Emission intensity</keyword> reduction</h2>The economic survey proudly states that India has reduced the emission intensity of its GDP by 33% from 2005 levels by 2019. This means the country is producing less greenhouse gas for every unit of economic activity. This is a commendable achievement because India’s original climate change target — or Nationally Determined Contribution — was set to precisely 33% reduction of emission intensity by 2030, before being revised to 45% in 2022. While the jump from 33% to 45% is still a significant one with barely half a decade to go, this progress is a clear sign that India’s climate policies are having a real impact. <h2><keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">Renewable energy</keyword> capacity</h2>According to the economic survey, 45.4% of India’s installed electricity generation capacity — which includes solar, wind, and hydropower — now comes from non-fossil sources, as of May 31, 2024. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111774972" title="Economic Survey shows India&amp;#39;s energy needs to grow 2.5x, healthy growth in formal employment" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>As per reports by the Ministry of New &amp; Renewable Energy, India added a record renewable energy capacity of 18.48 GW in 2023-2024, with solar installations amounting to 12.78 GW, followed by 2.27 GW of wind energy. However, industry experts have also noted that India Inc. cannot afford to run out of steam now, and must continue to add at least 50 GW for the next six years to meet the target of 500 GW of renewables by 2030. <h2>Indian energy needs</h2>India's energy needs are expected to grow 2 to 2.5 times by 2047, as per the latest economic survey. This necessitates a balanced approach to <keyword id="19951336" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-transition" source="keywords">energy transition</keyword> that considers resource limitations and the need for resilience to climate change. India has suffered from an overdependence on coal and fossil fuels in the past, accounting for around 75% of total energy generation in 2021, as per the Energy Information Administration. However, this number has been quickly falling, even dropping below a historic 50% in Q1 2024. <h2>Sovereign <keyword id="20177085" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-bonds" source="keywords">green bonds</keyword></h2>To fund green projects, India issued Rs 16,000 Crore in sovereign green bonds — financial instruments that support green projects at lower capital costs — in early 2023 and another Rs 20,000 Crore later in the year, the economic survey reports. As per the government, these proceeds were utilised in many eco-friendly projects, such as New and Renewable Energy, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Housing and Urban Affairs, Railways. To widen the investor base, the <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="keywords">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) also recently permitted eligible foreign investors to invest in such bonds. <h2>Mission LiFE and Green Credit Programme</h2>The survey also talks extensively about Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), which promotes sustainable living, and the Green Credit Programme (GCP), which incentivises eco-friendly actions by offering “green credits”. In the past few months, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and a few other states have reportedly approved thousands of hectares of degraded forest land for greening exercises as part of the GCP. <h2>International initiatives</h2>India has spearheaded several international initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), One World, One Sun, One Grid (OSOWOG), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States’ (IRIS) and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). Hundreds of nations are signed up for these climate coalitions and our participation will help reflect India's commitment to advancing global <keyword id="20000756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-action" source="keywords">climate action</keyword> and fostering international cooperation in sustainable development. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111923191" title="Economic Survey 2024 – industries grow by 9.5%, fueling economic growth to 8.2%" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The report even notes that India is currently the only G20 nation who is set not to cross the 2°C warming threshold. All in all, India’s economic survey and environmental reports together show a nation making impressive progress in combating climate change and advancing sustainability. These achievements will hopefully set a strong example for other countries to follow.

On the right track — Economic Survey 2023-24 outlines India’s commendable climate action

Amid the severe pollution gripping the national capital, <keyword id="19948557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="delhi-metro" source="keywords">Delhi Metro</keyword> recorded its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18, with a staggering 78.67 lakh passenger journeys, according to official data. This figure exceeded the previous high of 77.49 lakh passengers on August 20 of this year, the data said. On November 18, the Yellow Line, which connects Millennium City Centre in Gurugram to Samaypur Badli in Delhi, saw the highest passenger traffic, with a record 20.99 lakh commuters. The Blue Line followed closely with 20.80 lakh passengers, while the Red Line recorded 8.56 lakh commuters, 8.15 lakh in Pink Line and 7.93 lakh in Violet Line. The Magenta Line saw 6.19 lakh passengers, followed by the Green Line with 4.12 lakh commuters, 81,985 in Airport Line, 57,701 in Rapid Metro, and 50,128, in the Grey Line, as per the data. Thick grey haze continued to choke Delhi for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with pollution levels remaining alarmingly high at 488 in the 'severe plus' category. To encourage more people to use the metro in this scenario, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is running 60 extra trips on weekdays, offering more capacity than usual, an official statement said. The DMRC has recorded its 25 highest passenger journeys since August this year, the statement added. It emphasised that the more people opt for the metro over private vehicles, the greater the reduction in vehicular emissions, which will help improve the air quality of the city and its surrounding areas. In addition, the DMRC has introduced several measures to make travel more convenient for passengers, the statement read. These include the ability to book single or multiple journey tickets through various digital platforms, allowing passengers to plan their journeys anytime and anywhere without the need to stand in queues at the station. Furthermore, partnerships with organisations such as IRCTC, NCRTC, ITPO, and others have made it easier for people to not only travel by metro but also access interconnected travel options, along with various offers and events, all with seamless ease, the statement said. The DMRC also stated that it is one of the most <keyword id="24050954" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="environmentally-friendly-transport" source="keywords">environmentally friendly transport</keyword> options and the first metro system in the world to be registered for carbon credits with the United Nations for its environmental measures.

Severe pollution pushes Delhi Metro to record its highest-ever daily ridership on November 18

After reporting <keyword id="21767878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="record-profits" source="keywords">record profits</keyword>, state-owned <keyword id="20459282" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fuel-retailers" source="keywords">fuel retailers</keyword> <keyword id="19908045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Oil-Corporation" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian Oil Corporation" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Indian Oil Corporation">Indian Oil Corporation</keyword> (<keyword id="6354733" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOC" source="Orion">IOC</keyword>), <keyword id="19908646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BPCL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BPCL" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="BPCL">BPCL</keyword> and <keyword id="20052221" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HPCL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HPCL" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="HPCL">HPCL</keyword> posted up to 90 per cent slump in their June quarter earnings as margins fell and they booked under-recovery on the sale of domestic cooking gas LPG at government-controlled rates. IOC, the nation's largest oil firm, reported 81 per cent drop in standalone net profit in April-June - the first quarter of current 2024-25 fiscal year - to Rs 2,643.18 crore as opposed to a profit of Rs 13,750.44 crore a year back, according to a company filing. Net profit also declined sequentially, when compared to an earning of Rs 11,570.82 crore in March quarter. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) posted 90 per cent drop in profit to Rs 633.94 crore as compared to an earning of Rs 6,765.50 crore in April-June 2023 and Rs 2,709.31 crore in the preceding March quarter. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) net profit dropped to Rs 2,841.55 crore in April-June from Rs 10,644.30 crore a year back and Rs 4,789.57 crore in January-March, its filing showed. The three fuel retailers made extraordinary gains from holding petrol and diesel prices despite a drop in cost. The price freeze was justified in the name of recovering losses they had suffered in the previous year when they did not raise retail prices despite a surge in cost. The gains arising from the price freeze were eroded with petrol and diesel prices being cut by Rs 2 per litre each just before general elections and a fall in refining margins. Also, the three had uncompensated <keyword id="20866844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LPG-subsidy" source="keywords">LPG subsidy</keyword> - IOC booking under-recovery of Rs 5,156.23 crore in April-June, BPCL Rs 2,015.10 crore and HPCL Rs 2,443.71 crore, according to the filings. As per an order of the oil ministry, when market determined price (MDP) of LPG cylinders is less than its effective cost to customer (ECC), oil marketing companies (OMCs) have to retain the difference in a separate buffer account for future adjustment. However, as on June 30, 2024, the three firms had a net negative buffer as the retail selling price was less than MDP. The three retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL had reported record profits totalling about Rs 81,000 crore in FY24 (2023-24), which was far more than their annual earnings of Rs 39,356 crore in pre-oil crisis years. This is because they resisted calls to revert to daily price revision and pass on softening in rates to consumers on grounds that prices continue to be extremely volatile - rising on one day and falling on the other - and that they needed to recoup losses incurred in the year, when they kept rates lower than cost. IOC in 2023-24 posted a standalone net profit of Rs 39,618.84 crore compared to Rs 8,241.82 crore in 2022-23. While the company could argue that FY23 was impacted by the <keyword id="21626914" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oil-crisis" source="keywords">oil crisis</keyword>, the FY24 earnings are higher than even the pre-crisis years - Rs 24,184 crore net profit in 2021-22 and Rs 21,836 crore in 2020-21. BPCL posted a net profit of Rs 26,673.50 crore in FY24, higher than Rs 1,870.10 crore earnings in 2022-23 and Rs 8,788.73 crore in FY22. HPCL's 2023-24 profit of Rs 14,693.83 crore is compared with a Rs 8,974.03 crore loss in FY23 and a profit of Rs 6,382.63 crore in 2021-22, according to the filings. The losses in FY23 had led to the finance minister announcing Rs 30,000 crore equity infusion in the three firms. Mid-way through the year, that support was halved to Rs 15,000 crore. The support was to happen by way of equity infusion via a rights issue. But after the record profits of 2023-24, the equity infusion plan has now been scrapped. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on February 1 last year, while presenting the annual Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal (April 2023 to March 2024), announced an equity infusion of Rs 30,000 crore in IOC, BPCL and HPCL to support the three state-owned firm's energy transition plans. In the interim budget that the finance minister presented in February this year ahead of the general elections, the capital support to the three oil companies was halved to Rs 15,000 crore. In the full budget for 2024-25, both plans have been scrapped. While other state-owned oil companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL (India) Ltd too have lined up billions of dollars of investment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, the equity support was limited to the three fuel retailers, which had suffered huge losses in 2022 when they held retail petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices despite a spike in raw material (crude oil) prices, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The board of IOC and BPCL had last year approved rights issues to raise to Rs 22,000 crore and Rs 18,000 crore, respectively. The government was to participate in the rights issue. The three companies, which control roughly 90 per cent of India's fuel market, 'voluntarily' have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices, resulting in losses when input costs were higher and profits when raw material prices were lower. They posted a combined net loss of Rs 21,201.18 crore during April-September 2022 despite accounting for Rs 22,000 crore announced but not paid LPG subsidy for the previous two years. Subsequent softening of international prices and government giving out LPG subsidies helped IOC and BPCL post annualised profit for 2022-23, but HPCL was in the red. In FY24, things changed dramatically, and the three firms posted record earnings.

After record profits, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL see profit slump in Q1

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A space elevator could make it much cheaper and faster to get goods to other planets, like Mars.</li><li>The Obayashi Corporation based in Japan announced in 2012 plans to begin building one by next year.</li></ul>Imagine a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/diamond-nanothreads-make-space-elevator-2014-10">long tether</a> linking Earth to space that could launch us to orbit at a fraction of the cost and slingshot us to other worlds at record speed.That's the basic idea behind a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thoth-12-mile-space-tower-elevator-astronauts-travel-major-flaws-2015-8">space elevator</a>. Instead of taking six to eight months to reach Mars, scientists have estimated a space elevator could get us there in <a target="_blank" href="https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2024-2714">three to four months</a> or even as quickly as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576520306275">40 days</a>.The concept of space elevators isn't new, but engineering such a structure would be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-elevator-on-earth-moon-2019-9">no easy feat</a>, and many other issues besides technology stand in the way.That's why the ambition to seriously build one is fairly recent.The Japan-based company Obayashi Corporation thinks it has the expertise.<h2 id="172cf8db-a1ea-4e1a-9bef-3740ea9e942a">Japan aims to build a space elevator by 2050</h2><div type="image" title="A view of Tokyo Skytree Tower among other buildings" height="1500" width="2216" msid="110745965" hostid="261" sizebytes="238662"></div>Known for constructing the world's tallest tower, the Tokyo <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-japan-skytree-opens-to-the-public-2012-5">Skytree</a>, Obayashi Corporation announced in 2012 that it would reach even loftier heights with its own space elevator.In a report that same year, the company said it would begin construction on the $100-billion project by 2025 and could start operations as early as 2050.We checked in with Yoji Ishikawa, who wrote the report and is part of the company's future technology creation department, to see how the project is progressing ahead of 2025.While Ishikawa said the company likely won't start construction next year, it is currently "engaged in research and development, rough design, partnership building, and promotion," he told Business Insider.Some have doubted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-up-the-ante-space-race-sky-ladder-to-mars-2021-6">such a structure</a> is even possible."It's been sort of a kooky idea," said Christian Johnson, who published a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/uploads/5/4/3/4/5434385/johnson_jspg_v22.pdf">report</a> on space elevators last year in the peer-reviewed Journal of Science Policy &amp; Governance."That said, there are some people who are real scientists who are really on board with this and really want to make it happen," Johnson said.<h2 id="2118aa46-187e-4e1d-808b-32a243783761">A cheaper route to space</h2><div type="image" title="Artwork of a space elevator concept with a futuristic vehicle rising above earth" height="1500" width="2394" msid="110745967" hostid="261" sizebytes="148158"></div>Launching humans and objects into space on rockets is extremely expensive. For example, NASA has estimated its four <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-orion-spaceship-enters-moon-orbit-progress-toward-astronauts-2022-11">Artemis moon missions</a> will cost $4.1 billion per launch.The reason is something called the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-big-falcon-spaceship-construction-musk-mars-missions-2018-9">rocket equation</a>. It takes a lot of fuel to get to space, but the fuel is heavy, which increases the amount of fuel you need. "And so you see the kind of vicious cycle there," Johnson said.With a space elevator, you don't need rockets or fuel.According to some designs, space elevators would shuttle cargo to orbit on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-take-tiny-first-step-toward-space-elevator-180970212/">electromagnetic vehicles</a> called climbers. These climbers could be remotely powered — like through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aptera-electric-vehicle-launch-edition-solar-panel-car-2023-1">solar power</a> or microwaves — eliminating the need for on-board fuel.In his report for the Obayashi Corporation, Ishikawa wrote that this type of space elevator could help drop the cost of moving goods to space to $57 per pound. Other <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150211-space-elevators-a-lift-too-far">estimates</a> for space elevators in general have put the price at $227 per pound.Even SpaceX's Falcon 9, which, at around $1,227 per pound, is one of the cheaper rockets to launch, is still about five times as expensive as the higher cost estimates for space elevators.There are other benefits besides cost, too.There's no danger of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starship-launch-rocket-blows-up-explosion-elon-musk-mars-2023-11">rocket exploding</a>, and the climbers could be zero-emission vehicles, Johnson said. At a relatively leisurely pace of 124 miles per hour, the Obayashi Corporation's climbers would travel slower than rockets with fewer vibrations, which is good for sensitive equipment.Ishikawa said the Obayashi Corporation sees a space elevator as a new kind of public works project that would benefit all of humankind.<h2 id="9b867284-638a-4663-81f7-dd5d2daf3eba">There's not enough steel on Earth to make a space elevator</h2><div type="image" title="A concept drawing of a space elevator" height="1469" width="2040" msid="110745968" hostid="261" sizebytes="199258"></div>Right now, one of the biggest obstacles to building a space elevator is what to make the tether or tube from.To withstand the tremendous tension it would be under, the tube would have to be very thick if it were made out of typical materials, like steel. However, "if you try to build it out of steel, you would need more steel than exists on Earth," Johnson said.Ishikawa's report suggested Obayashi Corporation might use <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-carbon-nanotubes-chip-technology-2012-10">carbon nanotubes</a>. A nanotube is a rolled-up layer of graphite, the material that's used in pencils.It's much lighter and is less likely to break under tension compared to steel, so the space elevator could be much smaller, Johnson said. But there's a catch.While nanotubes are very strong, they're also tiny, a billionth of a meter in diameter. And researchers haven't made them very lengthy. The longest is only <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=a761485efff327148ca8f12f1a61d72926876eb9f1ff79e01bd3bae87b010bd1&amp;postID=6650e5c01b5ec2934a993757&amp;postSlug=space-elevator-pros-cons-japan-design-revolutionize-space-travel-2024-5&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41467-019-12519-5">about</a> 2 feet.To be properly balanced while still reaching geosynchronous orbit — where objects stay in sync with Earth's rotation — the tether would need to be at least 22,000 miles long, per Ishikawa's report."So we're not there," Johnson said of the nanotube length. "But that doesn't mean it's impossible."Instead, researchers might need to develop an entirely new material, Ishikawa said.<h2 id="bdebce69-42a2-49c3-8c7b-61da7b90225b">Other obstacles</h2><div type="image" title="A circular object floats in a body of water offshore" height="1500" width="2124" msid="110745969" hostid="261" sizebytes="108774"></div>Whatever the material turns out to be, there are still other problems.For instance, a space elevator's tether would be under such incredible tension that it would be prone to snapping, Johnson said. A lightning strike could vaporize it. There's also other weather to consider like tornadoes, monsoons, and hurricanes.Locating the tether base at the equator would lessen the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hurricanes-never-hit-europe-2018-10">likelihood of hurricanes</a>, but it would still need to be in the open ocean to make it more difficult for terrorists to target, Johnson said.It would also take a lot of trips to make up for that giant price tag for construction.That's only scratching the surface of the challenges. And they can't all be solved by one company, Ishikawa said. "We need partnerships," he said. "We need different industries.""Of course," Ishikawa said, "raising funds is very essential."That's a lot of obstacles to overcome to start construction in time for operation by 2050, especially since Ishikawa estimated it would take 25 years to build. He noted that the 2050 estimate always came with caveats about the technology progressing. "It's not our goal or promise," he said, but the company is still aiming for that date."I think that those time estimates are optimistic," Johnson said, "even assuming there was a breakthrough tomorrow."

Space elevators could get us to Mars in record time — and Japan is planning one for 2050

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A well in Kazakhstan leaked 140,000 tons of methane into Earth's atmosphere in 2023, scientists say.</li><li>That's equal to nearly enough gas for nearly 800,000 cars over a year.</li></ul>A methane well in Kazakhstan is estimated to have released 140,000 tons of gas into Earth's atmosphere, as it leaked for 205 days in one of the world's worst-ever blowouts, environmental scientists said.The new figures were reported in a <a target="_blank" href="https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/6709/">pre-print analysis</a> by research teams from France, Spain, and the Netherlands. It was released on Tuesday but has not been peer-reviewed.The BBC also published <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68166298?">an analysis on Thursday</a> about the scientists' findings.Using satellite data, the scientists said they documented some 127,000 metric tons of methane ejected in the Karaturun East oil field in 2023, when a fire there lasted from June to December.That amount of methane is equal to emissions from 791,318 gas-powered cars being driven over a year, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results">Environment Protection Agency website's calculators.</a>Methane is estimated to have around 28 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. It also accounts for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023">30% of the world's rise in temperatures</a> since the Industrial Revolution.The Karaturun leak began during exploration drilling at the well on June 9, when a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-03/giant-methane-leak-in-kazakhstan-shows-climate-risk-of-gas-exploration">blowout created a 32-foot-high fire</a> and a 50-foot-wide crater that made it difficult to seal up.It was eventually plugged on December 25 when well operator Buzachi Neft injected drilling mud into the wellbore, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.upstreamonline.com/safety/kazakh-operator-halts-gas-fire-at-well-that-has-been-burning-since-june/2-1-1576636?zephr_sso_ott=ODBzqL">per oil and gas newspaper Upstream.</a>The scientists in Europe said it's often difficult to measure how much gas is released in remote leaks like this one, and that they showed how satellite data could be effective in assessing the damage or in discovering unreported leaks.They detected 115 methane emissions over the six months of the Kazakh leak, their analysis said.The Kazakh leak is one of the most disastrous ever recorded, according to Luis Guanter of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, who was part of the research team.He told the BBC that "only the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nord-stream-pipelines-attacked-remote-explosives-uk-intelligence-2022-9">Nord Stream sabotage</a> may have led to a stronger leak."Buzachi Neft, the operator of the well, denied to the outlet that such a vast amount of methane was leaked, saying only a "negligible" amount was released.Buzachi Neft did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

A methane well that leaked for 6 months has released a year's worth of emissions for 791,000 cars: report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Global carbon emissions rose in 2022 from an increase in air travel and coal power, a report found.</li><li>A spike in clean power like solar and wind kept the growth in emissions from being worse.</li></ul>Global carbon-dioxide emissions hit another record in 2022, but the increase wasn't as bad as it could have been because of the strong growth of solar and wind power, as well as other renewable-energy sources. The <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-co2-emissions-rose-less-than-initially-feared-in-2022-as-clean-energy-growth-offset-much-of-the-impact-of-greater-coal-and-oil-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings by the International Energy Agency</a> underscore that even as the world continues to burn fossil fuels at an unsustainable level, the energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine is likely to speed the shift to clean energy.European countries that had relied on oil and gas from Russia are looking elsewhere for energy, and many are trying to step up the adoption of renewables.But the head of the IEA said more needed to be done, especially by energy companies raking in windfall profits."International and national fossil fuel companies are making record revenues and need to take their share of responsibility, in line with their public pledges to meet climate goals," the IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-co2-emissions-rose-less-than-initially-feared-in-2022-as-clean-energy-growth-offset-much-of-the-impact-of-greater-coal-and-oil-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Thursday in a statement</a>. "It's critical that they review their strategies to make sure they're aligned with meaningful emissions reductions."Carbon emissions grew to 36.8 billion metric tons in 2022, nearly a 1% increase over 2021, mainly driven by more people hopping on planes and a wave of gas-to-coal switching in Asia because the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices soaring. Still, the growth of solar, wind, electric vehicles, and heat pumps helped prevent a massive spike in emissions. Without the increase in clean technologies, the year-over-year increase in energy-related emissions would have been almost triple, the report found. Renewables accounted for 90% of the global growth in the supply of electricity, and one in every seven cars sold globally last year was electric, the IEA said.Extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and intense because of the climate crisis, are also influencing emissions, particularly droughts and heat waves. In the US, summer heat waves led to major spikes in electricity demand met by natural gas, the IEA found. In Europe, there was the opposite effect because of a mild winter, and the bloc's emissions fell. Meanwhile, China's emissions stayed flat in 2022 compared with previous years because industrial production slowed amid strict COVID-19 policies.

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A methane well that leaked for 6 months has released a year's worth of emissions for 791,000 cars: report

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Carbon emissions hit a record last year, but rapid growth in renewable energy kept the increase from being far bigger

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