India: Sugar mills allowed to produce ethanol from cane juice starting November

Government has permitted sugar mills to use sugarcane juice to produce ethanol starting November, Reuters reported. The world’s second-biggest sugar producer restricted diverting sugar for ethanol production in December 2023 to increase sugar output after cane crop was hit by below-average monsoon rains., the newswire said.

Government allowed distilleries to use B-heavy molasses, a byproduct with higher sucrose levels, for ethanol production, the government said in the notification. India also allowed distilleries to purchase up to 2.3 million metric tons of rice from the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) for ethanol production, the government said in a separate notification. India aims to increase ethanol production to blend 20% ethanol into gasoline by 2025-26, from around 13% now.

Police battalions in Assam’s forests may be regularised

The state government of Assam wants the centre to regularise its illegal diversion of forest land for commando battalions in the state’s Hailakandi and Geleky divisions. The HT reported the state government also appealed that MK Yadava, former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), Assam, who allegedly allowed diversion of lands illegally, be condoned, and that imposition of all penal provisions on the official be withdrawn.

Centre’s Forest Advisory Committee considered the two contentious proposals on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, adding that these forests have already been diverted and most constructions have come up. In 2023, MK Yadava, the then principal chief conservator of forests and head of the forest force in Assam, approved the construction of these commando battalions without prior forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Amendment Act.

Power plant in forest land: Green court notice to Centre, UP govt and Adani

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) sent notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government, and Mirzapur Thermal Energy UP Private Limited, over violation of a 2016 order of the NGT, which prohibited construction on Mirzapur forest division’s forest land, the Wire reported.

The green court asked Mirzapur Thermal Energy – an Adani Group subsidiary – to respond to claims that it is illegally building a coal-fired power plant on forest land in Uttar Pradesh. The tribunal’s direction, on August 16, came on a plea by Debadityo Sinha, the founder of the Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation, reported the Scroll. 

The outlet said Sinha told the court that Mirzapur Thermal Energy was “undertaking illegal construction activities at the site by clearing the vegetation and forest using massive earthwork and levelling the land”. NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter after the Hindustan Times reported in July that the 1,600-megawatt power plant is being built in one of India’s last remaining habitats for endangered sloth bears, in the state’s Mirzapur Forest Division.

China downplays speculation of an early peak in carbon emissions?

Bloomberg reported that China’s top energy officials downplayed growing talk that China’s carbon emissions have already peaked years ahead of target, saying on Thursday that just meeting the goal on time still required “great efforts.” 

The news outlet quoted Song Wen, director of China’s National Energy Administration’s (NEA) law and institutional reform department, saying at the launch of a report on the nation’s energy transition that “great efforts are still needed to achieve the goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality”. The report said the comments “downplay growing speculation that the country’s carbon emissions have already peaked years ahead of target”. Song also tells reporters that, “while China is confident that it will achieve its goal of hitting peak emissions before 2030, domestic energy demand is still growing and the outlook is uncertain”.

Climate group takes EU to court over green labelling of planes and ships 

Climate campaigners have taken the European Union to court over its inclusion of polluting planes and ships powered by fossil fuels in the bloc’s green investment rulebook, Climate Home reported. 

The outlet said that the coalition of NGOs behind the lawsuit lodged at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said the European Commission should review “flawed” sustainable finance criteria for the aviation and shipping sectors in the EU Taxonomy, a guide designed to funnel private investment towards net zero-aligned activities.

The NGOs claim the EU acted unlawfully in late 2023 when it introduced “loose” rules allowing a green label to be put on fossil fuel-powered planes and ships if they meet “weak” efficiency standards.

“The aviation and shipping criteria send completely the wrong signal to investors – directing investments to planes and ships that will pollute the climate for decades to come,” David Kay told the outlet. Kay is the legal director at Opportunity Green, which filed the complaint alongside CLAW-Initiative for Climate Justice, Dryade and Dutch NGO Fossielvrij.

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