India overtakes China as the biggest importer of Russian oil globally in July

Based on a comparison of import data, India surpassed China as the world’s largest importer of Russian oil in July, the Economic Times reported. This happened as Chinese refiners reduced their purchases due to decreased fuel production profit margins. At 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), Russian crude accounted for a record 44% of India’s total imports last month. According to data on Indian shipments obtained from trade and industry sources, this represented a 12% increase over a year ago and a 4.2% increase over June. According to Chinese customs data, that exceeded China’s 1.76 million barrels per day of oil imports from Russia through pipelines and ships in July. Following Western nations’ imposition of sanctions against Moscow and its curtailment of energy supplies, Indian refiners have increased the import of discounted Russian oil.

Falling battery and storage cost key to limit India’s coal capacity by 2032: Report

In order to maintain India’s coal generation until 2032, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) costs need to decrease by 7% per year, according to a collaborative study conducted by Ember and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). According to the report, if further reductions of 15% per year are made, India’s coal capacity could be limited to 260 gigawatts by 2032—matching the projections under the National Electricity Plan. A staged plan for India’s coal phase-down in the electricity sector is presented in the report. The expansion of coal generation will first slow down as renewable capacity increases, and then there will be a plateau where the cost-effectiveness of combining renewable energy with storage increases. Renewables and storage are predicted to eventually surpass current coal facilities in terms of competitiveness, the report said. 

Chevron to set up tech centre in Bengaluru, invest ₹83 billion

A minister from the state government of Karnataka said that Chevron intends to invest ₹83 billion in Bengaluru, India. An Economic Times report said that this will be the oil and gas company’s largest tech center outside of the United States. Many engineering jobs would be created by Chevron’s proposed new research and development hub, according to a post made on social networking platform X by Karnataka Commerce, Industries, and Infrastructure Minister MB Patil. According to Akshay Sahni, the incoming head of Chevron India, the business plans to hire over 600 people by the end of 2025 and the billion-dollar investment will be distributed over five to six years, the report said.

Large polluters set eyes on esports industry for advertising: Report

A new report found that major polluters are now targeting the esports industry—which is popular with young people—for advertisements, the Guardian reported.  These polluters are oil firms, petrostates, airlines, and automakers. Electronic sports, or esports, are competitive video games that spectators watch, with some of them reaching peak viewership numbers in the millions. Since 2017, the carbon-intensive corporations have entered into at least 33 significant arrangements with the growing industry, according to the campaign organisation Badvertising. The majority of the agreements, the researchers discovered, included automakers. Five more included fossil fuel corporations, three involved airlines, two involved petrostates, and two involved the US military. 

Australia’s biggest lender to stop financing fossil fuel firms not complying with Paris goals

By the end of this year, the Commonwealth Bank, the biggest lender in Australia, will no longer finance fossil fuel firms that don’t adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement, the Guardian reported. CBA stated that clients would not be eligible for “new corporate or trade finance, or bond facilitation with a maturity beyond 31 December 2024” if they did not follow an emissions route that would keep global temperature increases to the “well below 2C goal of the Paris agreement.” According to its annual climate report, the bank established “core criteria” that included having a medium-term plan to reduce emissions by 2035 and a net-zero goal covering at least 95% of the carbon pollution from extraction and processing. 

China cuts permits for new coal power plants by almost 80%: Greenpeace 

In the first half of this year, China cut the number of permits for new plants by nearly 80%, according to Greenpeace East Asia, saying time would tell whether it was a turning point. Greenpeace examined project records and discovered that, from January to June, 14 new coal plants with a combined capacity of 10.3 gigawatts were passed. This was an 80% decrease from 50.4 gigawatts in the first half of previous year. Government approval of 90.7 gigawatts in 2022 and 106.4 gigawatts in 2023 caused concern amongst climate scientists. China boasts more solar and wind power installations than any other country in the world, but the government claims that because wind and solar electricity are not as dependable, coal plants are still required during times of high demand. Although China’s energy grid prioritises renewable energy sources, analysts are concerned that once the additional capacity is constructed, China may find it difficult to wean itself off of coal. Government meteorologists have cautioned that as a result of climate change, the nation needs to get ready for more extreme weather occurrences. In recent months, the government has released a ton of documents aimed at cutting carbon emissions and hastening the switch to renewable energy sources. 

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