India is keen to hand over abandoned mines to private players. While this can help meet growing domestic coal demand and reduce reliance on imports, it also raises questions about labour conditions, environmental impacts, and India’s coal policy
Digging deep: Inside Coal India’s push to reopen abandoned, underground mines
India is keen to hand over abandoned mines to private players. While this can help meet growing domestic coal demand and reduce reliance on imports, it also raises questions about labour conditions, environmental impacts, and India’s coal policy
Desolation and dust permeate the air at the now-abandoned Saunda D Colliery in Bhurkunda, in the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand. An underground mine, it had a capacity of producing nearly a million tonnes (MT) of coal annually.
On one side, rundown coal trucks and the rusty three-storey high conveyor belt stand beside dilapidated living quarters and the tin-roofed mine shaft, covered by wild shrubs and vines. On the other side, the mine’s project officer, surveyors and a small bank branch still occupy offices.
“Saunda D has been awarded to a private company. We are awaiting final formalities to be completed before the company takes over and begins operations,” R Mundra, Saunda D’s project officer tells CarbonCopy.
The revival of Saunda D is part of a broader push by the Ministry of Coal to lease out discontinued, underground mines to private companies. As of now, Coal India has identified 34 such mines. The aim is to extract high-quality coal that has so far remained untapped due to financial or technical constraints faced by Coal India Limited (CIL).
“Abandoned mines are being given to private companies on a revenue sharing model. Private players have to do all the work, including getting environment and forest clearances. But they have the right to sell coal, which was earlier only under CIL’s jurisdiction,” says RP Singh, general secretary of the National Coal Organisation Employees Association (NCOEA).
While this approach is expected to help meet growing domestic demand and reduce reliance on imports — which was ₹310,000 crore in FY24 — it raises a set of questions about labour conditions, environmental impacts, and whether India is doubling down on coal at a time its climate commitments call for a phasedown.
Why were these coalblocks discontinued?
Currently, Coal India operates a total of 313 mines, which include 131 underground mines, 168 opencast mines, and 14 mixed mines, according to its FY24 annual report.
In January 2024, it identified 299 discontinued mines to be closed scientifically — filling the mines and shafts with sand, mud and overburden soil, removing coal waste, and returning the excavated land to its original state through afforestation.
A press release dated 12 January 2024 by the Coal Ministry reads that, “historically, mine closures have been characterised by uncontrolled processes, leaving equipment and materials abandoned and mine sites neglected”.
But in Coal India’s 50-year run, only three mines have been closed in such a manner, according to IndiaSpend.
The rest were either abandoned — where mining activities have ceased permanently — or discontinued — where mining has stopped for financial or technical reasons, with a possibility of reopening in the future. These 34 underground mines going to private companies fall under the second category. These are mines where “good quality coal reserves are lying dormant but may not be financially viable for Coal India Limited (CIL) to mine”, according to a press release issued by the company on 19 June 2024.
The press release also points out multiple advantages of reviving these mines, like “conservation of resource, effective substitution of imported coal, provision of livelihood to the local communities” and even an environmental gain of “no land degradation as the mining infrastructure is already in place.”
About 20 km east from Bhurkunda, the District Commissioner Chandan Kumar offers a simple logic in his office in Ramgarh town. “The mines were discontinued several decades ago due to lack of technology. But [CIL] knew that it would be viable to mine in the future, so they weren’t closed. There is still some coal left in these mines, so they may be reopened,” he says.
If these are not viable for Coal India, why will private firms be successful running these?
Procuring expensive specialised machinery, putting up infrastructure and setting up safety protocols drives up the upfront cost. Also, there’s an added cost in carrying out exploration surveys to assess the state of the discontinued mine, and feasibility of actually mining, according to Lokesh Ray, a senior mining engineer and consultant based in Kolkata.
“The terms of the lease would have to be quite favourable for the private player due to the high capex,” says Rohit Chandra, Professor of Public Policy at IIT Delhi.
At the same time, however, the mines already exist, and haven’t been sealed. Expenditure on land acquisition, rehabilitation of displaced communities, exploratory digging, overburden removal, and digging of the main shaft of the underground mine will not be needed. And yet, private players are likely to face hurdles in re-opening the mines, according to Ray.
“These mines can contain methane gas, underground fires, and huge amounts of accumulated water. When the water is pumped out, there’s a chance that the mine’s roof might collapse. In other cases, old mine fires may spread. Also, these mines have old infrastructure which is not suitable for modern mining,” says Ray, adding that this will shoot up costs.
That said, for Coal India and a private company, the upfront costs for reopening an underground mine remains the same. When operations begin, even if one considers that expenditure on machinery is similar, the cost of labour is where the paths begin to diverge.
“Most underground mines in India are unprofitable for a PSU to operate as they are highly labour intensive. There is a high probability of accidents, and even deaths, due to the presence of methane in coal pores, which can ignite. Then, unions protest and production falters,” Sandeep Pai, director for research and strategy, Swaniti Global, tells CarbonCopy.
For such reasons, Coal India’s permanent workers might even prefer working at open cast mines. On the other hand, contract workers are paid daily wages and don’t have much of a choice. Therein lies an incentive for CIL to either use outsourced labour for extracting coal from underground mines, or hand it over to private companies for a cut of the revenue.
For private companies, the scenario is different. “They will engage in more mechanised mining, deploy about one-fifth of the PSU’s labour force. This will make the operation profitable,” says Pai.
In addition, private companies don’t have the burden of taking care of workers’ welfare like PSUs, and generally don’t allow worker unions, which further lessens costs, he explains.
The resulting savings can be large. “The cost of labour for private companies would be around 20-25% of CIL’s labour cost,” says NCOEA’s Singh. “The minimum monthly wage of a CIL permanent worker is around ₹45,000-₹50,000, while average pay goes up to ₹80,000-₹1,00,000. On top of that, there are benefits, quarterly and yearly bonuses, and medical benefits for families. CIL also invested in setting up colonies for their workers to stay at,” he says.
The private company, however, is not bound by any such strings. “They don’t have to give any benefits or housing to contractual workers, whose monthly wages would be range between ₹12,000-₹22,000. Contractors also take a percentage from the workers’ wages, and in some cases, they have cut a few days’ wages by reducing workers’ attendance. This leads to labour exploitation,” says Singh.
While these accounts suggest systemic issues in contract labour arrangements, their enforcement and practices may also vary across companies and regions.
Saving on labour costs is how private companies can make profits working these mines, where CIL may struggle. Two other individuals working at CIL, along with another union leader, corroborated Singh’s account, and confirmed that private companies indeed pay less wages to contract workers than what CIL pays its permanent workers.
What are the implications of such outsourcing for Coal India?
Last year, 23 such abandoned mines were awarded to private companies. These mines can potentially produce 34 million tonnes (MT) of coal every year, and have a combined reserve of 635 MT — more than half of India’s annual coal production target of 1.08 billion tonnes for FY25.
All 34 blocks will be leased on a revenue sharing model which has to be at least 4% per tonne sold. Companies that offer the highest revenue to CIL can mine for a maximum of 25 years, and are responsible for all operations and production of dry fuel — removing moisture from the extracted coal to make it more burnable.
The press release says that “the mine operator shall act as the agency responsible for selling coal mined from these mines at market driven price through an auction process”. If sold for the purposes of coal gasification or liquefaction, then the terms change — “in a year, a 50% on contracted percentage of revenue share of the authority will be provided to the operator”.
What does this mean for Coal India? “When the coal from these mines comes into the market, it will replace imports first. Then perhaps, Coal India will lose some percentage of the market. But it will have a revenue stream without putting in much effort,” says Chandra.
This needs to be understood. Right now, a significant part of Coal India’s revenue comes from e-auction, where coal is sold at a premium over market prices, explains Singh.
During FY24, around 84.4 MT of coal was sold through e-auction at a premium of 72%. Revenue earned through e-auction was ₹ 22,324 crore – nearly 16% of its revenue from sales. In FY23, the premium went as high as 252%, although the quantity of coal sold was 53.4 MT, according to Coal India’s annual reports.
Singh voices his concern, saying, “When private miners start selling high-quality coal at market prices, CIL’s e-auction revenue stream can be hurt. Having less production costs than CIL, they can offer coal at lower prices.” And yet, production from these mines would be just 34 million tonnes per year. Of these sales, too, CIL will get a share.
In January 2025, the bottom and top grade coking coal were selling at ₹3,085 and ₹18,155 per tonne respectively, according to the Ministry of Coal. If CIL gets 4% revenue from the sale of 34 MT of coal every year, even provisionally estimated at ₹11,000 per tonne, it will earn ₹1,496 crore — or just more than 1% of its FY24 revenue of ₹142,324 crore.
Since 4% is the floor rate, it can be higher. In Saunda D’s case, the rate could potentially go as high as even 22%, according to a union leader and two CIL employees. CarbonCopy could not independently verify this.
“Considering that auctions inviting private companies to take up mines remain under-subscribed and upfront coal auction prices are coming down, this works out for Coal India. For underground mines, there’s even less demand as the upfront cost of capital is quite high,” says Chandra.
Questions mailed to Coal India remain unanswered. The copy will be updated once CarbonCopy receives the responses.
What does it mean for India’s coal emissions?
Such plans of increasing coal production don’t align with India’s enhanced NDC scenario, where coal demand should drop to around 580 MT by 2050 –or with the country’s intensifying problem with climate change.
“Energy security in the future is problematic, and India has to consider all its resources and utilise them efficiently. Coal’s presence in the energy mix isn’t decreasing for the next 10 years, until the economics of climate change kicks in,” says IIT’s Chandra.
He’s referring to the fact that coal-related investments are being increasingly stigmatised globally because of better understanding of the consequences of climate change. “At some point in the next few decades, financing new coal assets will become prohibitively expensive,” he says.
Chandra also adds that all NDC commitments are aspirational, and now with US President Donald Trump’s actions, climate commitments may become less important globally.
For now, this attempt to revive underground mining has to be made more environmentally sound with better contract management, say experts. “Leases or outsourcing contracts should be very specific about the environmental responsibilities of whoever is taking up the contract. PCBs and state environmental regulators should be able to take punitive action against contractors if they are grossly violated,” adds Chandra.
“These underground mines under Coal India’s jurisdiction have good quality coking coal, which is expensive to import. These resources are lying abandoned, while India is unable to meet its huge coal demand domestically. It makes sense to give it to the private sector and monetise the asset,” added Pai.
As the country tries to balance energy needs with climate goals, how these mines are managed — and at what cost — will be critical to watch.
More heatwaves and hotter summer: IMD summer forecast
India will experience a hotter summer with more heatwave days in many states in the coming summer, which begins on April 1, and goes on till June 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its summer forecast, reported HT.
Above normal day and night temperatures are likely over most parts of the country along with above normal heatwave days especially over northwest and east India, IMD said in its forecast on Monday.
The outlet explained that normally there are four to seven heatwave days between April and June, but this time there could be between six and 10. The newspaper said that the weather office declares a heatwave when the temperature touches or exceeds 45°C (if it touches or exceeds 47°C, IMD declares a severe heat wave), or if the maximum temperature touches 40°C in the plains, 30°C in the hills, and 37°C in the coast, and is higher than normal by between 4.5°C and 6.4°C (if the deviation is higher than that, IMD declares a severe heat wave).
India at risk of losing lives as it lacks plans to fight extreme heat: Study
A new report found that Indian cities are not equipped to deal with extreme heat, Carboncopy reported. The report by Sustainable Futures Collaborative based its findings on nine cities — Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai, and Surat — projected to face the highest increases in heat index values.
The report said all nine cities have short-term measures (access to drinking water, changing work schedules, and boosting hospital capacity) but lag behind in long-term strategies, which can lead to a higher mortality rate due to heat.
Long-term measures — like making household or occupational cooling available to the most heat-exposed, developing insurance cover for lost work, expanding fire management services for heat waves, and electricity grid retrofits to improve transmission reliability — require dedicated resources, the report found as it recommended institutional changes like strengthening heat action plans in local governments, drawing on state disaster funds and authorising heat officers to implement measures.
India warmed slower than the rest, but warming to increase now: Harvard scientist
Increase in temperatures in India has been lower than in other parts of the world, according to the data from the US agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). But this will change and India will have to adapt to higher rates of warming, a Harvard University climate scientist was quoted by HT.
“The good news is that India has not warmed as quickly. …it is expected to warm faster in the next 20 to 40 years,” said Harvard University’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program co-director Daniel P Schrag at the four-day “India 2047—Building A Climate Resilient Future” conference. He said aerosols or pollution radiating heat back and massive irrigation in agricultural lands, which leads to an increase in soil moisture and evaporation, could be two explanations why warming may be slower in India.
South Korea wildfires ‘biggest on record’ killing 27 people
At least 27 people have been killed in South Korean wildfires that doubled in size in a day destroying hundreds of buildings in the south-eastern province of North Gyeongsang, reported the Guardian. The “snowballing damage” from the wildfires destroyed a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple, as well as houses, factories and vehicles, while burning more than 43,000 acres, reported Skynews. The blaze is only 68% contained, reported Reuters. It has been exacerbated by gusty winds and shown “unimaginable” scale and speed, according to Lee Byung-doo, a forest disaster expert at the National Institute of Forest Science, the newswire said. Lee added that climate change is projected to make wildfires more frequent globally, citing the unusual timing of wildfires that ravaged part of Los Angeles in January and a recent wildfire in northeast Japan.
Delay in prevention of deforestation ‘doubles’ cost of mitigating climate change: study
“Delaying action” on deforestation and forest degradation by five years “doubles” the costs of mitigating climate change, according to new research published in Nature. Using an energy-economy model and a land-use model, researchers investigated the cost of different mitigation measures under a middle-of-the-road emissions pathway. They found that meeting climate objectives would be possible, even with forest disturbances, but only with “accelerated decarbonisation”. They conclude: “Our results suggest that immediate, ambitious mitigation action is the most effective way to prepare for so-far underexplored consequences” of forest disturbances.
Sea ice coverage in Arctic last winter lowest on record: Scientists
US scientists said that the Arctic ended winter with the lowest sea ice coverage on record, according to the Press Association. The Arctic tends to reach its maximum sea ice level in February or March each year and then starts a melt season through to September.
AP reported that the National Snow and Ice Data Centre reported that the peak measurement taken on Saturday was about 30,000 square miles smaller than the lowest previous peak in 2017, described as a “difference about the size of California”. With the Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the world, this latest development is “a symptom of climate change that will have repercussions globally”, the article added. Researcher Jennifer Francis warned that “disappearing sea ice is a particularly worrisome story because it’s truly an early warning system alerting us about a variety of hard-to-see changes”.
The NYT reported that US scientific agencies monitoring weather and climate data – similar to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre – have come under attack under the Trump administration.
Climate change drives surge in global energy demand
Record-high temperatures helped drive a “surge” in global energy demand growth in 2024, reported the Financial Times, citing new research from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA found that greenhouse gas emissions from energy use rose 0.8% in 2024, half of which was due to increased demand for cooling. The report said intense heatwaves in China and India drove up the use of coal to generate the electricity needed to power air conditioners, which pushed global energy demand up 2.2% compared with a rate of 1.3% over the previous decade and a 1.8% rise the previous year. Production of electric cars and the expansion of data centres needed for artificial intelligence were also to blame for rising power demands, with server capacity increasing by a fifth – mostly in the US and China, the report said, adding that “Global electricity consumption rose by nearly 1,100 terawatt hours, more than twice the average annual increase over the past decade.”
1.7 lakh hectares of forest area diverted for non-forestry purpose in 9 yrs
The Indian government informed Parliament that during its tenure from 2014 to 2024, forest area measuring 1,73,396.87 hectares has been diverted for various non-forestry purposes, including infrastructure projects under the provisions of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, reported HT.
The Centre said the National Forest Inventory programme of Forest Survey of India (FSI) is based on a robust statistical design under which every year, field inventory data is collected from about 20,000 sample plots spread over the entire country. To ensure scientific accuracy, transparency, reliable ground truthing and correct assessment of forest cover, FSI increased its ground truthing points from 3,414 in ISFR 2021 to 8,494 in ISFR 2023, reported the newspaper.
Environment minister Bhupender Yadav said assessment of forest cover includes all lands, more than 1 hectare in area, with a canopy of more than 10% irrespective of ownership and legal status.
“During the period from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the forest area measuring 1,73,396.87 hectares has been approved for various non-forestry purposes including infrastructure projects under the provisions of Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980,” he said.
India: Parliament passes disaster management amendment bill
India’s Upper House of Parliament passed amendments to India’s national disaster management law despite “numerous concerns” raised by activists and opposition parties, the Wire reported, adding that there is “fear that it gives more power to the government in tackling disasters while taking away the power of states”. According to the outlet, “many” members of the house called the bill “anti-federal” and asked that it be referred to a parliamentary committee “as it affects the lives, livelihood[s] and security of 1.4 billion of our countrymen”. It added that activists called it a “terrible development” that ignores issues raised by citizens “during these times of changing climate and extreme weather events such as cloudbursts, droughts and floods”.
Ritabrata Bannerjee, an MP from West Bengal, pointed out that 250,0000 Indians were ”displaced due to climate-induced disasters” in 2022. The Hindu quoted Home Minister Amit Shah saying: “The freebies distributed by [states] cannot be compensated from disaster management funds.”
Only 102 of over 200k wetlands notified in country, shows data
Out of estimated over 200,000 wetlands in India, only 102 have been notified and even these are concentrated in three states and one Union territory, data from the environment ministry revealed, HT reported citing official data. While Rajasthan notified 75 wetlands and Goa 25, both Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh have notified one each, the ministry’s data, shared in response to an RTI and available on the ministry’s Wetlands of India Portal, showed.
Wetlands comprise approximately 4.8% of the total geographical area of the country; and 6% of the world’s surface at the global level, the report said, adding that at least 6% of India’s population relies directly on wetlands for their livelihood, according to the Wetlands For LiFE report of the environment ministry released last month.
Anand Arya, a Noida-based birder, challenged the 2017 wetland rules in the top court in 2018 in a bid to protect the Dhanauri wetlands in Greater Noida from conversion into a real estate project. The case led to a landmark order in December 2024, when the SC directed state wetland authorities to complete ground truthing and demarcation of boundaries of wetlands identified for State by Space Application Center Atlas (SAC Atlas), 2021.
Take workers’ inputs while making effective heat action plans: Harvard researchers
Harvard University researchers recommended establishing a dialogue with workers on formulating heat action plans in India, HT reported. The report said interventions should be tailor-made as per the needs of different sectors and their differentiated experience of extreme heat. The recommendations came after discussions with over 150 experts were held at a four-day conference from March 19 in Delhi.
The newspaper explained that different workers will have different needs for adaptation. Indoor workers in restaurants, warehouses, and industrial laundries face fundamentally serious but different challenges than outdoor construction workers or farm labourers. Delivery workers lacking a common workplace have entirely different sets of challenges, researchers from Harvard Law School concluded, following the interdisciplinary gathering in India, the report pointed out.
Auction for offshore mineral blocks met with resistance and delays
A proposal to auction off 13 offshore mineral blocks that were launched in November 2024, has been resisted by fishers in Kerala, who say it will adversely impact livelihoods, reported Mongabay.
A study from University of Kerala’s Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries found that the rocky reefs where offshore mining is proposed help sustain marine biodiversity and ensure fishery productivity. Apart from environmental considerations, bottlenecks in technology and regulation could impact industry
India raises gas prices from April
India raised domestic natural gas price by 25 cents to $6.75 per mmbtu (million British thermal unit) for April after the previously decided annual increase kicked in, according to an oil ministry notification. The news was covered by Reuters, ET and other media.
The increase will marginally push up cooking costs for households using piped natural gas. Running costs of CNG vehicles may go up, while city gas distributors and fertiliser makers will also be affected. The price ceiling for natural gas from difficult fields barely changed to $10.04 per mmbtu for the next six months from $10.16.
China: Climate fight will advance even without US
China’s top climate envoy Liu Zhenmin said the world’s transition to clean energy will continue, even as the US’ second withdrawal from the Paris Agreement puts unprecedented stress on the fight against global warming, reported Bloomberg. Liu’s remark came during the Boao Forum for Asia – an influential conference attended by Asian leaders, according to the news outlet. It added that “developed countries have promised to pony up $300 billion a year for the effort, and Liu said it was incumbent on those that remain to meet that goal even without Washington”.
The Strait Times reported that China and France will “hold three high-level dialogues” in 2025. The newspaper added that both sides “commended their countries’ joint efforts towards addressing climate challenges” and agreed to “deepen cooperation” in fields, including nuclear energy, “intelligent connected vehicles” and green hydrogen. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, Guo Jiakun, said the Trump administration’s fresh 25% auto tariffs move “violates WTO regulations” and “undermines the rule-based multilateral trading system”, Xinhua reported. Chinese president Xi Jinping is expected to meet heads of German automakers BMW and Mercedes on Friday this week in Beijing, Reuters reported.
Authorities mull intelligent green monitoring system
China is advancing an “intelligent environmental monitoring system” that integrates space, air, ground and sea, with a focus on addressing environmental issues that directly affect people, reported China Daily. Jiang Huohua, director of environmental monitoring at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said authorities are embracing rapid technological advances to enhance monitoring capabilities.
China issued guidelines to promote high-quality development in the environmental protection equipment industry, the outlet added. The guidelines call for expanding the development of robots and remote-operation equipment, particularly for environmental monitoring. They also promote the use of advanced technologies such as virtual reality and digital twins to improve monitoring efforts, Jiang said.
No conclusive data establishes correlation of deaths with air pollution: Govt
In a written response in Rajya Sabha, minister of state Kirti Vardhan Singh said pollution is one of the factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases, but no conclusive data establishes a direct correlation of deaths, including by lung cancer, exclusively with air pollution, reported HT. The minister of state Kirti Vardhan Singh told Parliament that pollution is one of the factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases.
₹858 crore meant to curb pollution still unutilised, says House panel
India’s fund of ₹858 crore for controlling air pollution has remained unutilised, according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, reported HT.
The panel noted with shock that “amount to the tune of ₹858.00 crore allocated for ‘Control of Pollution’, which is 27.44% of the annual revised estimates (RE) allocation of the Ministry, remains unutilised since the approval for continuation of Control of Pollution Scheme till 2025-26, is awaited, even at the fag end of the financial year,” the committee said, while adding that “the rising environmental pollution in the country not only results into a number of pollution related human diseases and health conditions but negatively impact our ecology too.”
The newspaper said the panel headed by BJP MP Bhubaneshwar Kalita noted that pollution, whether it be air, water or noise, has gone beyond permissible limits during the last few years and has serious consequences for the health and well being of the citizens of the country. Air pollution, especially, has assumed gigantic proportions and has become a national issue.
US: Fossil fuel firms get direct email line to Trump to avoid air pollution control norms
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump offered fossil fuel companies an “extraordinary opportunity” to avoid their requirements to curb air pollution, the Guardian reported. The newspaper said the administration has set up a new email address, where companies operating coal and oil power plants can request a presidential exemption from their obligations to cut dangerous toxins under the Clean Air Act. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged to repeal environmental laws and allow “unfettered fossil fuel expansion”, the article said, adding that “rewriting these rules will take time”. This is why his government has “turned to an obscure and rarely used corner of the Clean Air Act to suspend pollution rules”. This allows businesses to be exempt if the technologies to curb emission are not available and the project is in the national security interest, the report said. The NYT reported that Trump government also allows companies to apply for exemptions on restrictions to chemicals, such as mercury and arsenic,
Trump govt cancelling hundreds of grants to tackle impacts of wildfires and air pollution?
US senate Democrats are accusing Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of trying to illegally cancel hundreds of grants and “sometimes citing faulty authority to do so”, E&E News reported. The report revealed that Democrats on the Senate’s environment and public works committee have obtained a list of 400 grants that the EPA is aiming to cancel.
The grants, many of which were funded through president Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), include support for communities affected by wildfires and efforts to tackle air pollution, The EPA has described the grants as “unnecessary programmes”, costing more than $1.7 billion, but a letter from the senators argues that their termination is a violation of contractual obligations and court orders, the newspaper report said.
Black carbon major cause of glacier melt, monsoon disruption and extreme weather: Study
Black carbon, a short-lived but highly potent climate pollutant, is responsible for nearly half of global warming, reported DTE citing new research. Scientists have warned that cutting black carbon emissions could be one of the fastest ways to slow climate change and mitigate extreme weather, the outlet said.
The study, released by the Clean Air Fund and backed by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), found that black carbon — commonly known as soot — along with other superpollutants are responsible for nearly half of global warming to date and pose a serious threat to the water security for billions of people.
Black carbon accelerates the melting of glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice, particularly in the Arctic and the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the study warned. In South Asia, black carbon emissions also disrupt monsoon rainfall patterns, increasing the risk of flooding and extreme weather events, which in turn threaten food security and livelihoods.
Plastic pollution killing seabirds: Study links ingestion to multi-organ failure, brain damage
Plastic pollution is causing a health crisis in seabirds, according to a new study, which found that ingesting plastic causes neurodegeneration similar to Alzheimer’s in chicks as young as 90 days old. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, also discovered that chicks had cell rupture and multi-organ failure, affecting the stomach, liver, brain and kidneys. Scientists discovered 403 plastic fragments in a single 90-day-old chick, linking ingestion to neurodegenerative disease similar to Alzheimer’s, reported DTE.
Researchers from the University of Tasmania analysed short-tailed shearwaters, a marine wildlife species from Lord Howe Island, Australia, between 2022 and 2024. Describing the findings as alarming, scientists studied seabird chicks under 90 days old. They found their health was heavily compromised. The chicks ingested plastic through their parents, as they had not yet left the nest. The research also found evidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to the progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
‘Massive increase’: World adds record levels of new renewables capacity in 2024
The latest International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) annual statistical release showed that 585 GW of new “clean” power capacity was added globally last year, reported BusinessGreen. Renewables accounted for 92.5% of all electricity capacity brought online in 2024, with the sector delivering a record annual growth of 15.1%, it added.
Solar was “by far the fastest-growing form of renewable power”, reported Yale Environment 360, accounting for 77% of the new capacity, while wind accounted for 19%. According to IRENA’s data, China installed more renewable power in 2024 than all other countries combined, it adds. The G7 and G20 countries accounted for 14.3% and 90.3% of new capacity, respectively, reports Axios. Despite the increase, the world is still not on track to reach the international goal of tripling renewable energy from 2023 to 2030, reported the Associated Press. According to IRENA’s calculations, it is currently expected to be 28% short of this goal, the article adds.
Solar Module Capacity under ALMM rises to 74.23 GW
India expanded the Approved List of Module Manufacturers (ALMM) capacity by adding 8,067 MW of solar module manufacturing capacity, Mercom reported. The outlet said Asote Solutions, MKU Holdings, and Axitec Energy India, contributing 152 MW, 1,183 MW, and 18 MW, respectively, are the new additions to the list, taking the total number of module manufacturers to 95.
In the latest ALMM update, 1,020 MW solar module manufacturing capacity was removed, with nine companies deleted from the list, the Mercom report said, adding the cumulative ALMM capacity increased by 10.48% to 74,235 MW from 67,188 MW in February 2025.
Indian utility ends 2 GW solar tender with lowest price of $0.03/kWh
Uttar Pradesh Power Corp. Ltd. awarded 2 GW of solar capacity to four bidders at tariffs of ₹2.56/kWh to ₹2.57/kWh, reported PV Magazine.
The outlet explained that NTPC Renewable Energy secured the largest share, winning 1 GW at ₹2.56/kWh. ReNew also won 300 MW at this price. Adani Renewable Energy Holding Twelve, a unit of Adani Green Energy Ltd., received 400 MW, while Hindustan Power’s Fastnote Biofuels secured 300 MW, both at INR 2.57/kWh. The report said that developers can build projects anywhere in India, provided they connect to the interstate transmission system.
NHPC tenders 1.2 GW solar projects with energy storage systems
NHPC issued a request for selection to set up 1,200 MW interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar projects with a 600 MW/ 2,400 MWh energy storage system (ESS) anywhere in India, Mercom reported.
The tender has a greenshoe option of up to 1,200 MW. Bids must be submitted by April 24, 2025. Bids will open on April 29. Bidders must submit a bid security of ₹942,000 (~$10,974) per the rated cumulative installed capacity of solar components. They must also furnish ₹1.3 million (~$15,145.4) per rated cumulative installed capacity of the ESS component as part of the bid security.
China’s non-fossil fuel capacity tops 2,000 GW ‘first time ever’, 58% of total installed power
China’s installed non-fossil-fuel power capacity “surpassed two terawatts (TW) for the first time” as at the end of February, representing a “cumulative increase of 103%” since 2021, the beginning of the 14th five-year plan, according to People’s Daily. South China Morning Post also covers the story, stating that “non-fossil fuels now account…for 58.8% of China’s total installed power capacity, edging closer to Beijing’s 60% target for this year”. China issued 256m green electricity certificates (GECs) in February, a “five-fold increase year-on-year…involving 64,000 renewable energy projects”, China Energy News reported. China has also issued a “digital transformation” plan to make its light industry “more high-end, intelligent and greener”, said Xinhua. State broadcaster CCTV says China has connected to the grid a 200 gigawatt (GW) wind power plant – the country’s “largest single-machine onshore wind power project” – in the province of Inner Mongolia, meeting annual demand for “about 670,000 people”.
India ends import duty for items needed to make EV batteries, phones
India will impose no import duties on several goods used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries and mobile phones amid broader tariff cuts to help local producers withstand the potential impact of reciprocal US tariffs, Reuters reported, quoting finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said: “We aim to boost domestic production and enhance export competitiveness by reducing duties on raw materials.”
India will exempt from import duty 35 items used to make EV batteries and 28 items used in mobile phone manufacturing, she said. India has been preparing to mitigate the impact of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs set to take effect from April 2.
Reuters reported that India was open to cutting tariffs on more than half of the US imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal that the two nations are negotiating, citing two government sources. Last week, an Indian parliamentary committee recommended that the government cut tariffs on the import of raw materials to support local manufacturers.
India orders Samsung to pay $601 million in tax for telecom imports
According to a government order, India has slapped Samsung with a tax demand of $601 million. The accusation leveled at the electronics giant is that it avoided paying tariffs on the import of key telecoms equipment, according to a report by Reuters. This will eat away majorly at the net profit of $955 million that Samsung made in India last year. However, this isn’t the first time Samsung has faced such accusations. In 2023, it received a warning from the India government for misclassifying a transmission component used in mobile towers that it imported to evade taxation.
‘Musk’s Starlink satellite internet costs 53% more over 30 years, maintenance twice as expensive’
US president Donald Trump is making changes to a $42 billion broadband subsidy programme that will benefit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink over optical fibre, but some state and federal officials worry the technology isn’t robust enough to connect Americans on a mass scale and at affordable rates, reported Bloomberg & ET.
The report said fiber, which involves stringing cable to a user’s home, costs at least $1,500 per location to install. By contrast, Starlink, which is part of Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Inc., offers a standard residential kit for around $600, though those costs, too, can fluctuate.
The outlet said Starlink’s satellites need replacing every five years, making their total cost to consumers much higher in the long run, according to the state analysis. Fiber’s overall cost to serve a quarter-million homes is roughly $4 billion less than satellite service over 30 years, according to the state analysis, and would save an individual household $15,600 over the same period.
A shift toward satellite generally translates into profit for Starlink, which is one of two low-earth orbit satellite providers that’s operational in the US right now, with 7,000 satellites, the rpeort said.
BYD overtakes Tesla as it motors through $100bn in EV revenues
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company BYD has reported global revenues of more than $100 billion for the first time, reported the Times. The outlet said “outstripping Elon Musk’s Tesla”, BYD has “overtaken US rival Tesla in the global battle for supremacy in the EV market”.
ET stated that in 2024, BYD reported staggering revenues of $107 billion, selling 4.27 million vehicles worldwide—more than double Tesla’s 1.79 million deliveries. Tesla, in contrast, generated $97.7 billion in revenue, experiencing its first annual sales decline of 1.1%.
India’s top oil and gas explorer prepares for a looming glut
India’s largest explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is seeking to diversify its business to trading liquified natural gas and growing its renewable capacity in order to shield its core business from volatile oil prices, reported the ET quoting Arunangshu Sarkar, director for strategy at the state-run giant.
According to the International Energy Agency, the world is entering an era of cheaper energy prices, with growing electricity use leading to a surplus of oil and gas. ONGC is among the several oil majors looking to diversify their business strategies as the global economy moves away from fossil fuels. “Globally, we are heading to a glut in oil supplies which means prices will reduce,” Sarkar said in an interview.
Centre gears up to supply 906 million tonnes of coal to power sector in 2025-26
The Ministry of Coal’s domestic coal supply will be 906.1 million tonnes (MT) for FY 2025-26, to meet the Ministry of Power requirement for the financial year 2025-26, the Parliament was informed on Monday.
There is adequate availability of coal in the country at present, the ET reported, adding that as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the coal stock at domestic coal-based power plants stands at 53.49 million tonne (MT) as on March 10, 2025, in comparison to 44.51 MT on the corresponding day of the last year 2023-24 with a growth rate of 20.20 per cent. The current coal stock is sufficient for about 20 days at 85 percent plant load factor (PLF), Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
India mulls scrapping import tax on US LNG, boost purchases, sources say
India is considering a proposal to scrap import tax on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported quoting four government and industry sources. The United States is India’s second biggest supplier. India pledged to increase U.S. energy purchases by $10 billion to $25 billion in the near future, while both countries agreed to target $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.India currently imposes a 2.5% basic customs duty and an additional 0.25% social welfare tax on LNG. Report said China’s 15% import tax imposed last month on LNG imports from the U.S. could divert trade of the super-chilled fuel to India, where the International Energy Agency expects a 60% jump in gas use between 2023 and 2030, with imports of LNG doubling over that period.India can also raise U.S. imports of petrochemicals, ethane, propane and butane, the source said.
Oil executives bluntly criticize Trump tariffs and ‘drill, baby, drill’
Oil executives are warning that Trump’s tariffs and his “drill, baby, drill” message are disrupting energy markets, which “is already affecting investment”, according to an anonymous survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, reported CNBC.
Bloomberg said the survey is “full of anonymous energy executives complaining about how the new Trump administration is creating massive uncertainty for their business”. Reuters also covered the story and highlighted that US oil producers are also “grappling with geological limits to production growth”, as the Permian basin – the nation’s top oilfield – nears peak output.
US: Trump to impose tariffs against countries that buy Venezuelan oil
Donald Trump issued an executive order that could impose tariffs of 25% on all goods imported into the US from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, reported the NYT. On or after 2 April, a tariff of 25% may be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, either directly or indirectly through third parties, the order said.
China discovers major oilfield in South China Sea
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced that it has discovered a “major oilfield in the eastern South China Sea, with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes”, reported Xinhua and Reuters. Xinua said the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield marks a breakthrough in China’s offshore oil exploration, as it is the country’s first large-scale integrated clastic oilfield discovered in deep to ultra-deep layers, CNOOC said. Situated about 170km from Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, the oilfield sits at an average water depth of 100 metres. Test drilling has yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic metres of natural gas, demonstrating its potential. Reuters reported that the field is “not in a disputed part of the South China Sea and lies within China’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which runs for 200 nautical miles or 370km from its coast.
