Environment: January 2022 Current Affairs | Environment for UPSC CSE PDF Download

1. Solar Waste

According to a report by the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), India could generate over 34,600 tonnes of cumulative solar waste in India by 2030.

• India does not have a solar waste management policy, but it does have ambitious solar power installation targets. 
• NSEFI is an umbrella organisation of all solar energy stakeholders of India. Which works in the area of policy advocacy and is a National Platform for addressing all issues connected with solar energy growth in India.

India stares at pile of Solar e-waste

• By 2050, India will likely stare at a pile of a new category of electronic waste, namely solar e-waste, says a study made public
• Currently, India’s e-waste rules have no laws mandating solar cell manufacturers to recycle or dispose waste from this sector.
• India’s PV (photovoltaic) waste volume is estimated to grow to 200,000 tonnes by 2030 and around 1.8 million tonnes by 2050.
• India is among the leading markets for solar cells in the world, buoyed by the government’s commitment to install 100 GW of solar power by 2022.
• So far, India has installed solar cells for about 28 GW and this is largely from imported solar PV cells.
• Solar cell modules are made by processing sand to make silicon, casting silicon ingots, using wafers to create cells and then assembling them to make modules.
• India’s domestic manufacturers are largely involved in assembling cells and modules.
• These modules are 80% glass and aluminium, and non-hazardous.
• Other materials used, including polymers, metals, metallic compounds and alloys, and are classified as potentially hazardous.
• India is poorly positioned to handle PV waste as it doesn’t yet have policy guidelines on the same…a lack of a policy framework is coupled with the fact that even basic recycling facilities for laminated glass and e-waste are unavailable.
• Despite the e-waste regulation being in place for over seven years, only less than 4% of estimated e-waste is recycled in the organised sector as per the latest estimates from the Central Pollution Control Board.
• While the solar sector continues to grow robustly, there is no clarity on solar waste management in India.

Key Points

About

• Solar wastes are the electronic waste generated by discarded solar panels. They are sold as scrap in the country. 
• It can increase by at least four-five-fold by the next decade. India should focus its attention on drafting comprehensive rules to deal with solar waste.

Report

It is likely that India will be faced with solar waste problems by the end of this decade, and solar waste will end up being the most prevalent form of waste in landfills soon. Solar panels have a life of 20-25 years, so the problem of waste seems distant. 

• While photovoltaics generate only about 3% of global electricity, they consume 40% of the world’s tellurium, 15% of the world’s silver, a substantial chunk of semiconductor-grade quartz and lesser but still significant amounts of indium, zinc, tin and gallium. 
• The market value of raw materials recovered from solar panels could reach USD 450 million by 2030. 
• The value of recoverable materials might surpass USD 15 billion by 2050, which would be enough to power 630 GW with two billion solar panels.

Globally, it is expected that End-of-Life (EoL) of solar panels will drive the solar panel recycling business in the next 10-20 years.

Other Countries Handling Solar Waste: 

• European Union: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive of the EU (European Union) imposes responsibility for the disposal of waste on the manufacturers or distributors who introduce or install such equipment for the first time. 
• PV (Photovoltaic) manufacturers are solely responsible for the collection, handling and treatment of modules at the end of their lifecycle, according to the WEEE Directive.

UK:

• The UK also has an industry-managed “take-back and recycling scheme”, where all PV producers will need to register and submit data related to products used for the residential solar market (Business-to-Consumer) and non-residential market.

USA:

• While there are no federal statutes or regulations in the US that talk about recycling, there are some states who have proactively defined policies to address end-of-life PV module management If the conditions prevail, annual GHG emissions in 2050 will be 90% higher than those of 2020.

Issues in India’s Steps towards Reducing Emissions:

• In India, vehicle technology is changing rapidly with changes in fuel quality, exhaust treatment systems of the Internal Combustion Engines (ICE), electrification of vehicle segments and steps towards hydrogen-powered vehicles.
• But the current and future batches of ICE vehicles are likely to have a substantial share in on-road fleet till 2040, if not beyond. 
• This not only requires substantial tightening of the emissions standards but also modification of technical parameters for testing of vehicles to reduce the emissions in the real world.

Emissions Testing Methods:

• Most countries have formulated regulations for testing vehicles at the manufacturing end and when in use. 
• The vehicle certification procedures consist of testing engine performance and emission compliance on the engine chassis dynamometer in the laboratory. 
• A drive cycle (a series of continuous data points of speed and time that approximates driving pattern in terms of acceleration, deceleration and idling) is followed to achieve acceptable test results. 

This is expected to simulate realistic driving intended for the vehicle type that has a bearing on emissions.

Testing Methods Formulated by India:

• The Indian Drive Cycle (IDC) was the first driving cycle formulated for vehicle testing and certification in India based on extensive road tests. The IDC was a short cycle comprising six driving cycle modes of 108 seconds (reflecting a pattern of acceleration, deceleration and idling). 
• But the IDC did not cover all the complex driving conditions that are normally observed on Indian roads. 
• Subsequently, as an improvement over IDC, the Modified Indian Drive Cycle (MIDC) was adopted, which is equivalent to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). MIDC accounts for wider speed profiles and is a better-suited cycle than the IDC. MIDC is also significantly close to the idling conditions observed in real-world driving. 
• Despite the improvements, MIDC may still represent vehicular emissions during on-road conditions adequately because of variations in traffic density, land-use patterns, road infrastructure and poor traffic management. 
• It has therefore become necessary to adopt the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedures (WLTP), which is a global harmonised standard for determining the levels of pollutants from ICE and hybrid cars.

Measure Emissions in Real World: 

• For the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) tests, the European Commission, the United States and China suggest that the driving cycles and laboratory tests do not reflect the likely emissions during real driving conditions, which are more complex than laboratory driving cycles.
• RDE is an independent test to overcome the limitations of WLTP and equivalent laboratory tests. A car is driven on public roads over a wide range of conditions. 
• The International Centre for Automotive Technology in India is currently developing RDE procedures that are likely to come into force in 2023. The RDE cycle must account for conditions prevailing in the country, such as low and high altitudes, year-round temperatures, additional vehicle payload, up and downhill driving, urban and rural roads and highways.

Initiatives to Reduce Emissions in India

• Shift from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat StageVI (BS-VI) emission norms: Bharat stage (BS) emission standards are laid down by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine and spark-ignition engine equipment, including motor vehicles. 
• The central government has mandated that vehicle makers must manufacture, sell and register only BS-VI (BS6) vehicles from 1st April 2020.
• Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025: The roadmap proposes a gradual rollout of ethanol-blended fuel to achieve E10 fuel supply by April 2022 and phased rollout of E20 from April 2023 to April 2025 Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicle (FAME) Scheme: The FAME India Scheme is aimed at incentivising all vehicle segments. 
• Two phases of the scheme: Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on 31st March, 2019 Phase II: started from April, 2019, will be completed by 31st March, 2024. 
• National Hydrogen Energy Mission: It aims to cut down carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable sources of energy while aligning India’s efforts with global best practices in technology, policy and regulation.

2. Meeting Emission Norms: Coal based Power Plants

According to the analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based non-profit, 61% of the coal-based power plants located near million-plus population cities, which have to meet their emission standards by December 2022, will miss their deadlines.

Coal Based Thermal Power

Key Points

Background 

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had in 2015 set new emission norms and fixed a deadline to meet it. 
• India initially had set a 2017 deadline for thermal power plants to comply with emissions standards for installing Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) units that cut emissions of toxic sulphur dioxide. 
• This was later changed to varying deadlines for different regions, ending in 2022.

Categorisation of Power Plants 

• Category A: The power plants which have to meet the December 2022 target are those which are located within 10 km radius of the National Capital Region (NCR) or cities having millionplus population. 
• There are 79 coal-based power plants in this category as per a categorisation list of a task force, constituted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 
• Category B and C: 68 power plants have been put in Category B (compliance deadline of December 2023) and 449 in Category C (compliance deadline of December 2024). 
• The power plants which are located within 10 km radius of critically polluted areas or non-attainment cities fall under category B while the rest others (75% of total) fall in category C. 
• CSE Analysis: Major Defaulters: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. 
• These defaulting stations are run largely by the respective state governments. At least 17 Indian states have coal-based thermal power stations. 
• A state-wise comparison highlighted the following: Except for Assam (AS), none of the other states among these 17 will 100% comply with the stipulated deadlines. This state has a 750-megawatt power station that makes it an insignificant per cent of total coal capacity. 
• State-run units on the wrong: A majority of the coal thermal power capacity that is likely to meet the norms belongs to the central sector followed by the private sector. Among the plants belonging to the state sector, some have floated the tender or at various stages of a feasibility study or simply have not framed any action plan to date.

Impact of Penalty Mechanism

The penalty imposed on non-compliant units will be more feasible to pay rather than bearing the legalised cost of retrofit of pollution control equipment (FGD) to meet the new norms.

• The April 2021 notification also introduced a penalty mechanism or environmental compensation for plants that will not meet the respective deadlines, in addition to revising the deadlines. 
• The environmental compensation that will be levied too will fail to act as deterrence for this expected non-compliance as it is too meagre as compared to the cost of effective emission control by a coal thermal power plant. 
• Sulfur Dioxide Pollution Source: The largest source of SO₂ in the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities. 
• Smaller sources of SO₂ emissions include: industrial processes such as extracting metal from ore; natural sources such as volcanoes; and locomotives, ships and other vehicles and heavy equipment that burn fuel with a high sulfur content. 
• Impact: SO₂ can affect both health and the environment. 
• Short-term exposures to SO₂ can harm the human respiratory system and make breathing difficult. People with asthma, particularly children, are sensitive to these effects of SO₂. 
• SO₂ emissions that lead to high concentrations of SO₂ in the air generally also lead to the formation of other sulfur oxides (SOx). SOx can react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form small particles. These particles contribute to Particulate Matter (PM) pollution. Small particles may penetrate deeply into the lungs and in sufficient quantities can contribute to health problems.

India’s Case 

• India’s sulphur dioxide (SO₂ ) emissions recorded a significant decline of approximately 6% in 2019 compared to 2018, the steepest drop in four years, according to a report from Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
• However, India remained the largest emitter of SO₂. 
• Air Quality sub-index has been evolved for eight pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃, and Pb) for which short-term (upto 24-hours) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

Bioenergy Crops Create Cooling Effect on Cultivated Areas

A new study has found that converting annual crops to perennial bioenergy crops can induce a cooling effect on the areas where they are cultivated.

• The researchers simulated the biophysical climate impact of a range of future bioenergy crop cultivation scenarios. Eucalyptus, poplar, willow, miscanthus and switchgrass were the bioenergy crops used in the study. 
• The study also demonstrated the importance of the crop type choice, the original land use type upon which bioenergy crops are expanded, the total cultivation area and its spatial distribution patterns. Bioenergy Crops Crops from which Biofuels are produced or manufactured are called Biofuel crops or Bioenergy Crops. “Energy crops” is a term used to describe biofuel crops. 
• Wheat, corn, main edible oilseeds/edible oils, sugarcane, and other crops are among them. Biofuels have a number of advantages over fossil fuels, including the ability to burn cleaner and emit fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the sky. They’re also environmentally friendly, and energy corporations frequently mix Biofuels with gasoline.

Key Points

• −0.08 ~ +0.05 Global Net Energy Change: Cultivation area under bioenergy crops occupies 3.8% ± 0.5% of the global total land area, but they exert strong regional biophysical effects, leading to a global net change in air temperature of −0.08 ~ +0.05 degrees Celsius. 
• Global air temperature will decrease by 0.03~0.08 °C, with strong regional contrasts and inter-annual variability, after 50 years of large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation. 
• Can Impact Carbon Capture and Storage: Large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) has been identified as a major negative emission technology (NET) for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. 
• Large Spatial Variations: Large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation induces a biophysical cooling effect at the global scale, but the air temperature change has strong spatial variations and inter-annual variability. 
• Temperature changes in the bioenergy crop scenarios may have very large spatial variations and important climate teleconnections to other areas of the globe. 
• Protect Permafrost from Thawing: Strong cooling effects in Eurasia, between 60°N and 80°N, may protect permafrost from thawing or reduce methane emissions from wetlands. 
• Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight. 
• Eucalypt is Superior to Switchgrass: Cultivating eucalypt shows generally cooling effects that are more robust than if switchgrass is used as the main bioenergy crop, implying that eucalypt is superior to switchgrass in cooling the lands biophysically. 
• Cooling effects are more for eucalypt and the greatest warming effects are seen for switchgrass. 
• Replacing forests with switchgrass not only results in biophysical warming effects but could also release more carbon through deforestation than converting other short vegetation to bioenergy crops.

3. India State of Forest Report-2021

Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released the India State of Forest Report-2021.

• In October, 2021 an amendment was proposed by MoEFCC to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to bring significant changes to forest governance in India.

Key Points

• About: It is an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India. 
• The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th. 
• India is one of the few countries in the world that brings out such a survey every two years, and this is widely considered comprehensive and robust. 
• The ISFR is used in planning and formulation of policies in forest management as well as forestry and agroforestry sectors. 
• Three categories of forests are surveyed – very dense forests (canopy density over 70%), moderately dense forests (40-70%) and open forests (10-40%). 
• Scrubs (canopy density less than 10%) are also surveyed but not categorised as forests. 
• New Features of ISFR 2021: It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
• The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 37.15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011-2021, but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
• Forest cover has increased in 20 tiger reserves in these 10 years, and decreased in 32. 
• Buxa (West Bengal), Anamalai (Tamil Nadu) and Indravati reserves (Chhattisgarh) have shown an increase in forest cover while the highest losses have been found in Kawal (Telangana), Bhadra (Karnataka) and the Sunderbans reserves (West Bengal). 
• Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

Findings of the Report: Increment in Area

• The forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase with an additional cover of 1,540 square kilometres over the past two years. India’s forest cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019. Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km. 
• Tree cover is defined as all tree patches of size less than one hectare occurring outside the recorded forest area. This covers trees in all formations including scattered trees. 
• Increase/Decrease in Forests: The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%) and Odisha (1.04%). z Five states in the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have all shown loss in forest cover.
• States with Highest Forest Area/Cover: Area-wise: Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland. 
• The term ‘forest area’ denotes the legal status of the land as per the government records, whereas the term ‘forest cover’ indicates presence of trees over any land. 
• Mangroves: Mangroves have shown an increase of 17 sq km. India’s total mangrove cover is now 4,992 sq km. 
• Forest Prone to Fires: 35.46% of the forest cover is prone to forest fires. Out of this, 2.81% is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51% is highly prone.
• By 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures. 
• Forests in all states (except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland) will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots. Ladakh (forest cover 0.1- 0.2%) is likely to be the most affected. 
• Total Carbon Stock: The total carbon stock in the country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019. 
• Forest carbon stock is the amount of carbon that has been sequestered from the atmosphere and is now stored within the forest ecosystem, mainly within living biomass and soil, and to a lesser extent also in dead wood and litter. 
• Bamboo Forests: Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

Concerns: Decline in Natural Forests:

• There is a 1,582 sq km decline in moderately dense forests, or “natural forests”. 
• The decline, in conjunction with an increase of 2,621 sq km in open forest areas – shows a degradation of forests in the country. 
• Also, scrub area has increased by 5,320 sq km – indicating the complete degradation of forests in these areas. 
• Very dense forests have increased by 501 sq km. 
• Decline in Northeast Forest Cover: The forest cover in the region has shown an overall decline of 1,020 sq km in forest cover. The Northeast states account for 7.98% of total geographical area but 23.75% of total forest cover. 
• The decline in the Northeastern states has been attributed to a spate of natural calamities, particularly landslides and heavy rains, in the region as well as to anthropogenic activities such as shifting agriculture, pressure of developmental activities and felling of trees.