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Subject: Environment

  • No mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya in Odisha this year

    No mass nesting this year

    • The annual spectacle of the mass nesting of millions of Olive Ridley sea turtles near the Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha is likely to be missed this year, as the time for it is almost over.
    • It’s been around one month since the mass nesting of last year.
    • If they do skip the beach, this won’t be the first time.
    • In 2002, 2007, 2016 and 2019, the turtles had not shown up at Rushikulya.
    • The Rushikulya river mouth is considered the second-biggest rookery in India after Gahirmatha.
    • Mass nesting in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary occurred from March 9-23, 2021 and over 349,000 eggs were laid during this period.

    What could explain the miss in mass nesting

    • It is a natural phenomenon. During some years, they did not turn up for mass nesting even though a huge number had congregated in the sea.
    • Beach erosion might be one of the causes for the turtles staying away this year.

  • Major oil and gas producers form Net Zero Producers’ Forum

    About the Net Zero Producers’ forum

    • Five of the world’s major oil and gas producers are working together to ‘develop pragmatic net-zero emission strategies’.
    • Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Norway, collectively responsible for 40% of global oil and gas production, will come together to form a cooperative forum that will develop pragmatic net zero-emission strategies.
    • Energy producers are faced with unique responsibilities to furnish the world with energy but the climate crisis requires serious leadership and a strong alliance to deliver a path to net-zero.

    Strategies and technologies

    • The Net Zero Producers’ Forum will consider strategies and technologies which include methane abatement, circular carbon economy approach, development and deployment of clean energy and carbon capture and storage technologies, diversification from reliance on hydrocarbon revenues etc.

    Source:

    https://www.energy.gov/articles/joint-statement-establishing-net-zero-producers-forum-between-energy-ministries-canada

  • Major seismic hazard along Assam faultline

    Location of epicentre

    • An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on the Richter scale hit Assam around 8 am on Wednesday.
    • The primary earthquake had its epicentre at latitude 26.690 N and longitude 92.360 E, about 80 km northeast of Guwahati, and a focal depth of 17 km, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

    The faultline

    • The preliminary analysis shows that the events are located near to Kopili Fault closer to Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT).
    • The Kopili Fault is a 300-km northwest-southeast trending fault from the Bhutan Himalaya to the Burmese arc.
    • The fault is a fracture along which the blocks of crust on either side have moved relative to one another parallel to the fracture.
    • The area is seismically very active falling in the highest Seismic Hazard zone V associated with collisional tectonics where Indian plate sub-ducts beneath the Eurasian Plate the NCS report said.
    • HFT, also known as the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), is a geological fault along the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

    Need for earthquake preparedness

    • The Northeast is located in the highest seismological zone, so we must have constant earthquake preparedness at all levels.
    • Continuous tectonic stress keeps building up particularly along the faultlines.
    • Today’s earthquake was an instance of accumulated stress release — probably, stress was constrained for a fairly long time at this epicentre, and hence the release was of relatively higher intensity.

  • Limited sops make scrappage policy for vehicles unattractive

    Why the Vehicle Scrappage Policy is unattractive

    • The policy proposes to de-register vehicles that fail fitness tests or are unable to renew registrations after 15-20 years of use.
    • Limited incentives and poor cost economics for trucks in the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, coupled with lack of addressable volumes for other segments is unlikely to drive freight transporters to replace their old vehicles with new ones, said a Crisil report.
    • Though the scrappage volume of buses, PVs and two-wheelers is expected to be limited as well, the policy’s impact on new commercial vehicle (CV) sales could be sizeable, based on addressable volume, ratings agency Crisil Research said in its report.
    • The potential benefit from scrapping a 15-year-old, entry-level small car will be ₹70,000, whereas its resale value is around ₹95,000. That makes scrapping unattractive, Crisil said in the report.

  • [pib] Satellite-based real-time monitoring of Himalayan glacial catchments

    Melting of glaciers in Himalaya and GLOFs

    • The Himalayan region is home to the largest ice mass outside of the planet’s Polar Regions.
    • The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at a faster rate creating new lakes and expanding the existing ones.
    • The rising temperatures and extreme precipitation events make the region increasingly prone to a variety of natural hazards, including devastating glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
    • GLOFs occur when either a natural dam containing a glacial lake bursts or when the lake’s level suddenly increases and overflows its banks, leading to catastrophic downstream destruction.
    • However, the remote, challenging Himalayan terrain and the overall lack of cellular connectivity throughout the region have made the development of early flood warning systems virtually impossible.
    • In their recent work the Scientists point out that the surge of meltwater in mountain streams is most commonly caused by cloud-burst events during the monsoon season (June–July–August) time frame.

    Satelitte-based real-time monitoring

    • Satellite-based real-time monitoring of Himalayan glacial catchments would improve understanding of flood risk in the region and help inform an early flood warning system that could help curb disaster and save human lives, says a recent study.
    • This should be the future strategy to reduce loss of human lives during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), said a study carried out by scientists from IIT Kanpur.
    • The IIT Kanpur team suggests that efforts to help mitigate GLOF events in the future should include the creation of a network of satellite-based monitoring stations that could provide in situ and real-time data on GLOF risk.
    • The integration of monitoring devices with satellite networks will not only provide telemetry support in remote locations that lack complete cellular connectivity but will also provide greater connectivity in coverage in the cellular dead zones in extreme topographies such as valleys, cliffs, and steep slopes.

  • Eastern India most vulnerable to climate change, says study

    About the report

    • Published this week, the report on ‘Climate vulnerability assessment for adaptation planning in India using a common framework’ was conducted in 2019-2020 across 29 States.
    • It was part of a capacity building programme under the National Mission on Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.
    • The report was prepared by IISc, IIT-Mandi and IIT-Guwahati.

    Major findings

    • Along with Chhattisgarh in central India, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal are the eight most vulnerable States.
    • These eight most vulnerable States require prioritisation of adaptation interventions.
    • Jharkhand, with the highest vulnerability indices VI of 0.674, topped the list of States most vulnerable to climate change.
    • The major drivers for the vulnerability of all the States included lack of forest area per 1,000 rural population, lack of crop insurance, marginal and small operational land holding, low density of health workers, low participation of women in the workforce, yield variability of food grains, and a high proportion of the population below the poverty line.
    • Tamil Nadu and Kerala are among seven States that are the least vulnerable but there’s more to it meets the eye.
    • However, the vulnerability indices (VIs) for these seven States range from the lowest of 0.419 for Maharashtra to 0.468 for Uttarakhand, which is on the higher side.

  • India-U.S. climate partnership

    Leaders Summit on Climate

    • Leaders Summit on Climate included 40 heads of state and government.
    • At the summit, President of the United State and Indian Prime Minister launched the ‘India-U.S. climate and clean energy Agenda 2030 partnership’. 
    • The goal of the partnership are given below:
    • 1) Mobilise finance and speed clean energy deployment.
    • 2) Demonstrate and scale innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonise sectors, including industry, transportation, power, and buildings.
    • 3) Build capacity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts.

    India’s progress on NDC

    • Despite development challenges, India has taken many bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency, afforestation and bio-diversity.
    • That is among the few countries whose NDCs are 2-degree-Celsius compatible.
    •  India is targeting a 2030 GDP emissions intensity ( i.e., volume of emissions per unit of GDP) that is 33%-35% below 2005 levels.
    • It also seeks to have 40% of power generated from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
    •  India’s per capita carbon footprint is 60% lower than the global average.

  • Global Energy Review 2021 report

    Initial estimates for 2020 energy demand and CO2 emission was released recently in an annual report Global Energy Review by International Energy Agency (IEA).

    https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/BlankSiteASPX/media/WNNImported/mainimagelibrary/corporate%20branded/Global-Energy-Review-2021-(IEA).jpg?ext=.jpg

    • The Global Energy Review is annual update on the latest trends in world energy and CO2 emissions.
    • It covers all the main fuels and technologies, providing insights across regions, economies and countries.

    Highlights of the report:

    • Global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are on course to surgeby 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021 driven by in the resurgence of coal use in the power sector.
      • The second-largest increase in history.
      • This would be the biggest annual rise in emissions since 2010, during the carbon-intensive recovery from the global financial crisis.
    • CO2 emissions will increase by almost five per cent in 2021 to 33 billion tonnes.
      • The key driver is coal demand, which is set to grow by 4.5 per cent, surpassing its 2019 level and approaching its all-time peak from 2014, with the electricity sector accounting for three-quarters of this increase.
    • Global energy demand is set to increase by 4.6 per cent in 2021, led by emerging markets and developing economies, pushing it above its 2019 level.
    • Demand for all fossil fuels is on course to grow significantly in 2021, with both coal and gas set to rise above their 2019 levels.
    • Oil is also rebounding strongly but is expected to stay below its 2019 peak, as the aviation sector remains under pressure.
      • More than 80 per cent of the projected growth in coal demand in 2021 is set to come from Asia, led by China.
    • Electricity generation from renewables is set to leap by over eight per cent in 2021.
    • The biggest contribution to that growth comes from solar and wind.
      • Electricity generation from wind is projected to grow by 275 terawatt-hours, or around 17 per cent, from last year.
      • Electricity generation from solar PV is expected to increase by 145 terawatt-hours, up almost 18 per cent from last year.
      • Their combined output is on track to reach more than 2800 terawatt-hours in 2021.
    • Renewables are set to provide 30 per cent of electricity generationworldwide in 2021.
    • China is expected to account for almost half of the global increase in electricity generation from renewables, followed by the US, the European Union and India.

  • A fresh push for green hydrogen

    Green hydrogen could help significantly in India’s transition to low carbon future. However, there are several challenges in ramping up its manufacturing. The article suggests measures to deal with these challenges.

    Increasing the production of green hydrogen

    • India will soon join 15 other countries in the hydrogen club as it prepares to launch the National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHEM). 
    • India will soon join 15 other countries in the hydrogen club as it prepares to launch the National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHEM). 
    • In 2030, according to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), green hydrogen demand could be up to 1 million tonnes in India across application in sectors such as ammonia, steel, methanol, transport and energy storage. 

    Dealing with challenges

    Several challenges in scaling up to commercial-scale operations persist. Following are five recommendations.

    1) Decentralise green hydrogen production

    • Decentralised hydrogen production must be promoted through open access of renewable power to an electrolyser (which splits water to form H2 and O2 using electricity).
    • Currently, most renewable energy resources that can produce low-cost electricity are situated far from potential demand centres.
    • Producing oxygen at such locations and then shipped, it would significantly erode the economics of it.
    • A more viable option would be wheeling electricity directly from the solar plant.
    • However, the electricity tariffs could double when supplying open-access power across State boundaries.
    • Therefore, operationalising open access in letter and spirit, as envisioned in the Electricity Act, 2003, must be an early focus.

    2)  Ensure access to round-the-clock renewable power

    • To minimise intermittency associated with renewable energy, for a given level of hydrogen production capacity, a green hydrogen facility will store hydrogen to ensure continuous hydrogen supply.
    • Therefore, as we scale up to the target of having 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, aligning hydrogen production needs with broader electricity demand in the economy would be critical.

    3) Blending green hydrogen in industrial sector

    • We must take steps to blend green hydrogen in existing processes, especially the industrial sector.
    • Improving the reliability of hydrogen supply by augmenting green hydrogen with conventionally produced hydrogen will significantly improve the economics of the fuel.
    • This will also help build a technical understanding of the processes involved in handling hydrogen on a large scale.

    4) Facilitate investment

    • Policymakers must facilitate investments in early-stage piloting and the research and development needed to advance the technology for use in India.
    • The growing interest in hydrogen is triggered by the anticipated steep decline in electrolyser costs.
    • Public funding will have to lead the way, but the private sector, too, has significant gains to be made by securing its energy future.

    5) Focus on domestic manufacturing

    •  India must learn from the experience of the National Solar Mission and focus on domestic manufacturing.
    • Establishing an end-to-end electrolyser manufacturing facility would require measures extending beyond the existing performance-linked incentive programme.
    • India needs to secure supplies of raw materials that are needed for this technology.
    • Further, major institutions like the DRDO, BARC and CSIR laboratories have been developing electrolyser and fuel-cell technologies.

    Consider the question “Even before it has reached any scale, green hydrogen has been anointed the flag-bearer of India’s low-carbon transition. In lights of this, examine the challenges India faces in scaling up its green hydrogen production and suggest the ways to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    Hydrogen may be lighter than air, but it will take some heavy lifting to get the ecosystem in place.

  • Frame protection rules for exotic animals not included in WPA

    The Delhi High Court issued an order directing the Centre to take a decision on framing rules to confer protection for exotic animals that are currently not under the purview of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

    Key highlights:

    • The court’s order came in response to a petition filed by animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India about the status of a male hippopotamus rescued from the Asiad Circus in Uttar Pradesh.
    • The court directed that the hippo be permanently kept in a spacious facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
    • The hippo was in the company of a rescued female hippopotamus and was receiving expert veterinary care.
    • The facility met the Central Zoo Authority’s Guidelines on Minimum Dimensions of Enclosures for Housing Exotic Animals of Different Species and recommended that the facility be allowed to provide the hippopotamus with lifelong care.

    About Hippopotamus:

    • Hippopotamus is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal and ungulate native to sub-Saharan Africa.
    • It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus.
    • After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl.
    • Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the Hippopotamidae are cetaceans from which they diverged about 55 million years ago.