$1.7 trillion of public money spent on fossil fuels by governments globally

According to a new analysis by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), governments globally issued more than $1.7 trillion in public money to support fossil fuels, through subsidies, investments by state-owned enterprises (SOE), and lending from public financial institutions in 2022.  At the same time, financial support for renewable energy generation, grid integration of clean energy and battery storage increased. However, it remains insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The report found that  China ($266 billion), Saudi Arabia ($129 billion) and Indonesia ($72 billion) provided the largest amounts of subsidies for consumer prices. Several European countries also supported consumer prices for fossil fuels in 2022 for the first time including Germany ($49 billion), France ($42 billion) and Italy ($15 billion), due to the energy crisis with escalating prices of natural gas 

India to build its first strategic natural gas reserves by using depleted wells: GAIL

India is aiming to build its first strategic natural gas reserves by using old, depleted hydrocarbon wells to store the fuel and hedge against global supply disruption, the Business Standard reported.  According to Sumit Kishore, an executive director at GAIL, the strategic facilities would be constructed gradually in the western and northeastern areas of India, initially having the ability to store three to four billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas. India lacks natural gas storage facilities but has five million tonnes of strategic petroleum reserves. Two billion cubic metres of gas are presently stored by Indian firms for commercial usage in liquefied natural gas tanks and pipelines. Following government permission, Kishore estimated that the construction of the first strategic gas storage facility would take three to four years. India wants to increase the amount of natural gas in its energy mix from its current 6.2% to 15% by 2030. The country uses about 60 billion cubic metres of gas per year.

Indian govt makes biogas blending compulsory from FY2025

In an effort to reduce dependency on imports, the government of India has announced compulsory blending of compressed biogas in natural gas. Beginning in April 2025, 1% of biogas—which is produced from agricultural and municipal waste—will be mixed in with the gas used for cooking in homes and cars. The share will be increased to around 5% by 2028, according to the government statement. Additionally, by 2027, the government intends for aircraft turbine fuel to contain 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will increase to 2% by 2028. According to the announcement, SAF will apply to international flights first. Up until FY 2024–2025 (April 2024–March 2025), CBG blending will be voluntary, becoming compulsory from FY 2025–2026. The main goals of the Compressed Biogas Blending Obligation (CBO) are to stimulate demand for CBG in the city gas distribution sector, import substitution for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), save in forex, promote circular economy and to assist in achieving the target of net zero emission. 

COP28 host planning for “largest net-zero-busting” fossil fuel expansions

According to the Guardian, Adnoc —the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates — has the “largest net-zero-busting expansion plans” of any company in the world. The CEO of Adnoc, Al Jaber, will preside over UNFCCC climate negotiations starting November 30. Responding to the report, an Adnoc spokesperson said that the data and assumptions in this report are incorrect and misleading. However, the company did not provide its own figure for its planned expansion of oil and gas production. Another report by the Energy Monitor said that UAE is planning to extract 38 billion barrels of oil and gas between now and 2085, with significant further reserves that could also be extracted in that time. 

Fossil fuel producers planning expansions that’ll shatter climate targets : UN report

According to the recent Production Gap report  by the UN, plans to increase the production of fossil fuels by a number of nations, including the US, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, would “throw humanity’s future into question” and shatter climate targets. These plans would result in 460% more coal production, 83% more gas, and 29% more oil produced in 2030 than could be burnt to maintain the 1.5C scenario.  Additionally, the plans will generate 69% more fossil fuels than what is necessary to meet the riskier 2C objective. The nations planning to produce the most fossil fuels are Saudi Arabia (oil), Russia (gas and coal), and India (coal). The United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Canada also intend to be significant oil producers.  

Renewables not enough, thermal is needed to meet rising India’s power demand: Union Minister

The Indian government aims to increase thermal power capacity by 80 GW by 2031-32 , according to R. K. Singh, the Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy. He underlined that India’s growing energy needs cannot be met by renewable energy sources alone. “We had planned to build another 25 GW, but we already have 27 GW under development. However, we have made the decision to begin construction on a minimum of 55 GW to 60 GW of thermal capacity. We will continue to build capacity as long as demand keeps growing,” he stated. According to him, thermal energy will persist until energy storage becomes a financially viable option for continuous supply from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, he recently said that India cannot be forced to use less coal to provide for the rising energy demands in the country. Officials from the Petroleum Ministry echoed these sentiments while stating that India should maintain its stance that additional funding for the development and extraction of oil and gas resources is required in addition to the exploration of carbon-free alternatives. According to the Business Standard, the Ministry recommended this position during interministerial deliberations on COP28.

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