US oil set for biggest weekly loss since Oct as Delta variant fans demand worries
US crude oil futures were on track for their biggest weekly decline since late October on Friday, with prices coming under pressure as top consumers impose travel restrictions amid the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. However, rising tensions in the Middle East provided a floor under the market. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures have dropped 6.6 per cent this week, the biggest weekly loss since the end of October. The market was unmoved at $69.09 a barrel, as at 0038 of GMT. Brent crude oil futures have given up 6.6 per cent, the most since mid-March and prices were down 2 cents at $71.27 a barrel on Friday. “Oil has been under pressure this week as moves to reinstate travel restrictions in China reflected the situation across Asia,” ANZ said in a report. “At least 46 cities have advised against travelling, and authorities have suspended flights and stopped public transport. This could impact oil demand as it comes towards the end of the summer travel season.” Japan is poised to expand emergency restrictions to more prefectures while China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, has imposed curbs in some cities and cancelled flights, threatening fuel demand. In the United States, daily new COVID-19 cases have climbed to a six-month high, with more than 100,000 infections reported nationwide as the Delta variant ravaged Florida and other states with lower vaccination rates. Worries over rising tensions between Israel and Iran limited the decline in prices. Israeli jets struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in Lebanon early on Thursday in response to two rockets fired towards Israel from Lebanese territory, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid heightened tensions with Iran. The exchange came after an attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman last Thursday, which Israel blamed on Iran. Two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed. Iran denied any involvement.
Reliance & BP Wants To Dominate Highway Retail In India: Find Out How?
Reliance BP Mobility will open retail stores at fuel stations situated along Indian highways. Reliance BP Mobility is the joint venture between Reliance Industries and UK’s BP dealing in fuel marketing. How It Will Operate Reliance Retail will be running these outlets which include its Smart Point convenience stores, digital stores, charging points for electric vehicles, cafés and other food and beverages outlets. The company could also get other food and beverage chains to open outlets at Reliance properties. The move is an attempt to tap into the emerging concept of highway retailing in India and to leverage its properties. Indian Highway Retailing: An Emerging Opportunity The market in India has seen a boom with the construction of world-class highways and the rising number of Indians taking road trips. India has a road network of 5.8 million kilometres as of 2017 which is just behind the leader, the US. The modern retail potential is even bigger considering the current road infrastructure in India. Highway retail in India could surge to a $2.7 billion opportunity by 2030. Competition Reliance had made an effort related to highway retailing a few years ago, but it failed to take off. This is a prime time for it to revive those ambitions since the competition is heating up with Singapore-based Cube Highways tying up with Bharat Petroleum. The duo will open branded food outlets, convenience shops and toilet facilities at petrol pumps. Reliance is aiming to expand its fuel retailing network from the present 1,400 stations to 5,500 in the next 5 years.
Govt to amend Income Tax Act to nullify retrospective tax demands
After Vodafone and Cairn Energy setbacks, Union government on Thursday moved to end retrospective tax by amending Income Tax Act. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to withdraw tax demands made on indirect transfer of Indian assets prior to May 28, 2012. Government also proposed to refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon. Tax raised for the indirect transfer of Indian assets before May 2012 would be “nullified on fulfillment of specified conditions” such as the withdrawal of pending litigation and an undertaking that no damages claims would be filed, a government statement said. This Bill impacts retro tax cases of at least two big companies — Cairn Energy Plc and Vodafone Group of UK. Both firms had won international arbitrations against levy of retrospective taxes on them. “Bill proposes to amend IT Act, so as to provide that no tax demand shall be raised in future on basis of said retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if transaction before 28th May, 2012,” said government.
Assam government approves ethanol production promotion policy
Eyeing to get investment in the Ethanol, Assam government has come up with Ethanol Production Promotion Policy 2021. The policy offered a huge range of incentives to investors’ investing in the sector. However, incentives will be applicable to Ethanol units selling their produce to the Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs) The State Cabinet has approved the Assam Ethanol Production Promotion Policy 2021. The Policy shall be valid upto 31st March 2026. Assam’s industries and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that Assam is the second State in the country to bring out an ethanol policy, and is thus among the pioneers in the line. The incentives under the Policy to standalone green-field ethanol producing industrial units – catering solely to Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs) for blending with petrol and diesel include Capital Subsidy at 20% of the cost of Plant and Machinery, with maximum Rs 5 crores – in addition to the 30% Capital Subsidy under provision of under North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS)2017. Besides power Subsidy Re 1 per unit, in addition to the Rs 2 per unit offered under Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam 2019, for a period of 5 years from the date of industrial production; subject to an overall maximum of Rs 75 lakhs per annum. 5% Interest Subsidy on working capital loan for 5 years subject to an overall ceiling of Rs 50 lakhs per annum, in addition to the 2% interest subsidy offered under Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam 2019; and the 3% interest subsidy under NEIDS 2017; The policy offered, “100% SGST Reimbursement for a period of 5 years, upper limit being 250% of Fixed Capital Investment; in addition to the reimbursement of the central share of the CGST, IGST and Income Tax offered under NEIDS 2017 for a period of 5 years; 100% Exemption of Land Conversion Fees for conversion of land to industrial class, Employment Incentive in the form of reimbursement of expenditure on account of provident fund contribution of permanent resident employees for 5 years; and Skill Development Subsidy of Rs 20,000 per employee, the incentive being applicable only for training of permanent resident employees. The eligible units shall also enjoy 100% exemption of Stamp Duty and Registration Fees, subject to a monetary ceiling of Rs 25 lakhs only. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas formulated the National Policy on Biofuels 2018, which aims to increase the usage of biofuel in the energy and the transportation sector. India’s net import of petroleum was 185 million metric tonnes at a cost of US $55 billion in 2020-21 with a lion’s share of its utilization having been in the transportation sector. Promoting the use of biofuel like ethanol as a blend stock with main automotive fuel like petrol or diesel can definitely alleviate the draining of the Forex Reserves. NITI Aayog has also brought out a detailed Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India. The minister said, ” Assam has four refineries and produces huge amounts of petrol and diesel, which ensures viability and promise for ethanol projects in Assam. IOCL, which has been importing ethanol for its blending programme and the company is contemplating setting up a captive ethanol plant. Several investors have sent feelers for investing in the sector.” He said Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) wherein Assam Government has recently raised its share to 26%, is undertaking a JV project with 2 European companies to set up a bio refinery near its existing refinery in Numaligarh which on being commissioned in 2022-23 shall convert 300,000 tons of dry bamboo annually into bio-ethanol and other biofuels. NRL has a 50% stake in the Rs 2600 crore project. Ethanol imports reached a record 750 million liters in 2019, covering over 30% of its total demand. Domestic ethanol production can attenuate the import graph, and the Ethanol Policy of Assam can go a long way in fulfilling that role.
Petrol price hike: Demand for CNG kits soars amid spike in fuel prices
Amid rising petrol prices across the country, people now prefer to install CNG kits in their four wheelers. In the recent days, there have been a lot of inquiries regarding the CNG kits and the installation process. However, due to the shortage of raw material, the price of CNG kits has also increased by about Rs 10,000. At the same time, people are unable to procure the kits on time. The cost of fuel in CNG vehicles is less as compared to petrol-run vehicles, and one can also get a better mileage. The four-wheeler drivers, who have the option of getting a CNG kit, are preferring to get it with the aim of cutting down on the fuel cost. In fact, the 4 kg cylinder of the CNG kit can run for about 150 km after a single refill. However, a car can run less than 100 km following a Rs 500 petrol top-up. Danish, who is into the CNG kit cylinders business in Ghaziabad, adjacent to Delhi, says: “Everyday, about 10 to 15 people come to my shop to inquire about getting CNG kits installation. But in view of the increasing demands of CNG kits, the goods are not arriving on time… so, it is difficult to install CNG kit in every vehicle. “Now CNG kits have started selling in the ‘black market’ as well. At the same time, the prices of CNG kits are also increasing due to this reason. “Earlier, a kit installation on the car used to cost around Rs 30,000 but now it is selling at around Rs 40,000,” he said. A customer who had come to install a CNG kit said that driving the car has become an expensive affair due to the hike in the price of fuel. Petrol price has crossed the Rs 100-mark in various states across the country, while diesel price is also about to hit the century-mark.
GAIL first quarter net profit jumps 500 per cent to Rs 1,530 cr
GAIL India Ltd, the nation’s largest gas marketer and transporter, on Thursday reported a 500 per cent jump in its June quarter net profit on the back of higher sales and margin boost in gas as well as petrochemicals. Net profit of Rs 1,529.92 crore in April-June was up from Rs 255.51 crore in the same period a year back, the company said in a statement. The profit was, however, lower than the Rs 1,907.67 crore earning in the preceding January-March quarter. The April-June 2020 quarter was heavily impacted by muted economic activity and restricted mobility due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. This impacted gas sales and demand for petrochemicals. This year, the second wave of coronavirus infections impacted economic activity but not to the extent witnessed last year as lockdown restrictions were more local. “The increase in the profits is mainly attributable to better physical performance in natural gas marketing and transmission, improved margins in gas marketing due to favourable market conditions and better price realization in petrochemicals and liquid hydrocarbons,” the statement said. With an increase in the volume of gas transported through GAIL pipelines, the profitability from the business at Rs 914.90 crore was up 27 per cent year-on-year but 3.6 per cent lower over the preceding quarter. Margins on gas sales helped the company report a segment profit of Rs 377.61 crore from a loss of Rs 545.46 crore last year. It was higher than Rs 280.89 crore profit in the preceding quarter. Profit from the petrochemical business at Rs 138.30 crore compared with a loss of Rs 154.43 crore last year. “During the quarter, natural gas transmission and natural gas marketing volume increased by 19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively as compared with corresponding quarter in the previous year. “The volume growth is due to the normalcy of the business activities as against nationwide lockdown during Q1 FY21,” it said. Turnover rose 44 per cent to Rs 17,386.63 crore. Manoj Jain, chairman and managing director, GAIL said the company is focused on the development of the national gas grid. The firm along with its joint ventures is executing pipeline projects of around 8,000 kms with an investment of around Rs 38,000 crore, he said. GAIL is also expanding polypropylene production capacity by setting up 500,000 tonnes PDHPP Unit at Usar (Maharashtra) and 60,000 PP unit at Pata (Uttar Pradesh) with an approximate investment of Rs 10,000 crore. During the current financial year, GAIL has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 6,600 crore. Jain added that GAIL is exploring possibilities for expanding its footprint in renewables.
Delta outbreak unlikely to derail oil rally this year, UBS says
Investment bank UBS expects oil prices to resume their upward trend despite concerns over a surge in infections of the coronavirus Delta variant and projects Brent crude to trade between $75 and $80 per barrel in the second half of 2021. Brent futures were down 0.6% at $69.99 a barrel on Thursday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were trading around $67.84 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday. “While regional differences remain significant in terms of reopening and the pace of vaccination, we believe the return to economic normalization will continue globally, lending support to oil prices in the months ahead,” the bank said in a note. Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates. UBS expects global oil demand to exceed 99 million barrels a day this year, driven by the pace of economic recovery. “With the OPEC+ group firmly in control of supply, and maintaining its cautious stance, the crude market is likely to tighten further. We think ongoing declines in global oil inventories should see prices resume their upward trend,” it said. Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, reached a compromise to increase oil supply from August to cool prices. Oil prices have fallen more than 10% since scaling their highest level in more than two years in early-July. “We continue to advise investors with a high risk tolerance to be long Brent, add exposure to longer-dated oil contracts, or sell its downside price risks,” analysts at UBS said.
Biden seeks to boost fuel economy to thwart Trump rollback
The Biden administration wants automakers to raise gas mileage and cut tailpipe pollution between now and model year 2026, and it has won a voluntary commitment Thursday from the industry that electric vehicles comprise up to half of U.S. sales by the end of the decade. The moves are big steps toward President Joe Biden’s pledge to cut emissions and battle climate change as he pushes a history-making shift in the U.S. from internal combustion engines to battery-powered vehicles. They also reflect a delicate balance to gain both industry and union support for the environmental effort, with the future promise of new jobs and billions in new federal investments in electric vehicles. The administration on Thursday announced there would be new mileage and anti-pollution standards from the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department. It said the auto industry had agreed to a goal that 40% to 50% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Both the regulatory standards and the voluntary target will be included in an executive order that Biden plans to sign later Thursday. The standards, which still have to go through the regulatory process including public comments, would reverse fuel economy and anti-pollution rollbacks done under President Donald Trump. At that time, the increases were reduced to 1.5% annually through model year 2026. The White House didn’t release information on the proposed annual increases late Wednesday, but Dan Becker, director of the safe climate campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity, said an EPA official gave the numbers during a presentation on the plan. The official said the standards would be 10% more stringent than the Trump rules for model year 2023, followed by 5% increases in each model year through 2026, according to Becker. That’s about a 25% increase over the four years. Last week, The Associated Press and other news organizations reported that the Biden administration was discussing weaker mileage requirements with automakers, but they apparently have been strengthened. The change came after environmental groups complained publicly that they were too weak to address a serious problem. Transportation is the single biggest U.S. contributor to climate change. Autos in the U.S. spewed 824 million tons (748 million metric tons) of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in 2019, about 14% of total U.S. emissions, according to the EPA. The voluntary deal with automakers defines an electric vehicle as plug-in hybrids, fully electric vehicles and those powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Environmental groups praised the higher standards but said the administration should be moving faster. “This proposal helps get us back on the road to cleaning up tailpipe pollution,” Simon Mui of the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement. “But given how climate change has already turned our weather so violent, it’s clear that we need to dramatically accelerate progress.” Scientists say human-caused global warming is increasing temperatures, raising sea levels and worsening wildfires, droughts, floods and storms globally. “We urgently need to cut greenhouse gas pollution, and voluntary measures won’t cut it,” Becker wrote in an email. Several automakers already have announced similar electric vehicle sales goals to those in the deal with the government. Last week, for instance, Ford’s CEO said his company expects 40% of its global sales to be fully electric by 2030. General Motors has said it aspires to sell only electric passenger vehicles by 2035. Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, also pledged over 40% electrified vehicles by 2030. The Trump rollback of the Obama-era standards would require a projected 29 mpg in “real world” stop-and-start driving by 2026. It wasn’t clear what the real world mileage would be under the Biden standards. Under Obama administration rules, it would have increased to 37 mpg. Automakers said they would work toward the 40% to 50% electric vehicle sales goal. “You can count on Toyota to do our part,” said Ted Ogawa, the company’s North America CEO. General Motors, Stellantis and Ford said in a joint statement that their recent electric-vehicle commitments show they want to lead the U.S. in the transition away from combustion vehicles. But they said the change is a “dramatic shift” from the U.S. market today, and can only happen with a policies that include incentives for electric vehicle purchases, adequate government funding for charging stations and money to expand electric vehicle manufacturing and the parts supply chain. The United Auto Workers union, which has voiced concerns about being too hasty with an EV transition because of the potential impact on industry jobs, did not commit to endorsing a 40% to 50% EV target. But UAW said it stands behind the president to “support his ambition not just to grow electric vehicles but also our capacity to produce them domestically with good wages and benefits.” Under a shift from internal combustion to electric power, jobs that now involve making pistons, fuel injectors and mufflers will be supplanted by the assembly of lithium-ion battery packs, electric motors and heavy-duty wiring harnesses. Many of those components are now built overseas, such as China. Biden has made the development of a U.S. electric vehicle supply chain a key part of his ambitious plan to create more auto industry jobs. “We are in a global competition for who gets to make the clean cars of the future, and President Biden’s leadership means that we’ll develop that manufacturing and those supply chains right here in America,” said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. He praised the announcement Thursday as “good news for our planet and our auto industry.” In the infrastructure bill awaiting passage in the Senate, there is $7.5 billion allocated for grants to build charging stations, about half of what Biden originally proposed. He wanted $15 billion for 500,000 stations, plus money for tax credits and rebates to entice people into buying electric vehicles. Only 2.2% of new vehicle sales were fully electric vehicles through June, according to Edmunds.com estimates. That’s up from 1.4% at the same time last year. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation,
Driving the energy economy through bio-fuels
There are immense benefits on the economic, environmental and social front India’s population is expected to grow from the present 1.35 billion to 1.7 billion by 2042. Quite predictably a large proportion of this population will settle in the urban areas. The trajectory over the period from 2017 to 2042 indicates that urban population will increase from 30-40 per cent in these 25 years and by 2027 itself it would have crossed the 40 per cent mark. The present per capita energy consumption in India is 1208 KWH vis-a-vis the global average of 3200 KWH. Given India’s growth and development needs, its usage still stands somewhere between the two ends of the spectrum. The country clocked a steady annual rise of 3.5 per cent in energy demand between the first two decades of this millennium. Energy consumption had doubled in this period. An annual growth rate of 4.5 per cent in the energy demand by 2035 is hardly surprising given the country’s development imperatives. The present consumption of energy is in industry, transportation, construction, agriculture and households in descending order. Understandably, demand shall rise in all these sectors in the coming years. While efficient methods of use can ease the stress on resources, it certainly cannot slow down the rate of increase in demand for energy. India accounts for 18 per cent of the world’s population, but produces only 0.6 per cent of the world’s natural gas and 0.4 per cent of crude oil. India imports 83.6 per cent of its crude oil requirement. Also 47.2 per cent of India’s natural gas requirements are imported. The total expenditure towards this amounted to ₹9,250 billion in 2019-20. India follows only the US and China in fuel consumption and is set to precede China in the consumption of mineral oil. With around two-third of the imports coming from West Asian and Gulf countries, India’s skewed reliance on them can be a matter of concern. As observed by the International Energy Association, the political disturbances in this region are very likely to impact the supply to India, impacting its economy. Search for domestic sources It makes sense therefore, to explore possibilities of finding indigenous sources, including alternative forms of fuel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is optimistic in this regard. He expressed that bio-fuels would reduce India’s dependency on mineral oil and also contribute to mitigating pollution. It will prove to be an additional source of income to farmers and also generate employment. Work is already progressing on mixing ethanol in transportation fuel. We have also started using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in public transport vehicles. However, in order to reduce import of CNG, prospects of indigenously manufacturing bio-CNG from waste are being explored. The transportation sector contributes roughly 6.3 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While 72 per cent vehicles rely on diesel, 23 per cent uses petrol and the remaining run on CNG and LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). It thus becomes imperative to substitute diesel with alternative fuel. India is also the largest consumer of vegetable oil. With the right resources and processes 220 crore litres of vegetable oil used in cooking can be reused, to manufacture bio-diesel by 2022. With a capacity to produce 40 per cent of the total requirement of diesel India would be able to save on the import of 32 crore barrels amounting to more than $22 billion of foreign exchange. This can bridge one-third of the current account deficit caused by oil imports. This will also ease the pressure on the Rupee in the international market and help in improving forex reserves. In an effort to accomplish the goal of sustainable and environment friendly development by 2030, the government has decided to step up domestic manufacture of bio-fuels by 10 per cent every year. The government has advanced the target of blending 20 per cent ethanol in petrol to 2025, from 2030. It is evident that a stronger strategic plan and integrated efforts are necessary to match this right intent. The impact of crude oil and gases on climate change is alarming. This will be one of the key agendas at the sitting of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP26) at Glasgow in November 2021. Use of biofuels is likely to gain momentum as a result of this conference. Biofuels are a renewable source of energy and being captive in nature, facilitate energy security. Biofuels use agriculture-based feedstock and, therefore, contribute to sustainable decarbonisation through circular bio-economy.Collection of agriculture waste as feedstock creates employment in rural areas, and is a sustainable revenue stream for farmers to boost the rural economy. Rural entrepreneurship gets a fillip to build a robust ecosystem to facilitate supply chain for feedstock, bio-aggregations and transportation.
India pushes back on calls to set net-zero target ahead of COP26
India is under diplomatic pressure to commit to a net-zero climate target ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) meeting in Glasgow in November, but the country has pushed back on tougher targets and asserted the developing world’s right to economic growth. Its refusal to set a net-zero target is at odds with other major Asian economies. In October 2020, China committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, shortly after Japan’s 2050 pledge. Now Indonesia is targeting for 2060. With India the world’s third largest emitter of CO2 behind China and the US, its administration was expected to make a strong, positive statement at the July 22-23 G20 summit in Naples. This it did — restating its determination to stick to existing commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement — while highlighting the disparity between developed countries’ emissions and those of emerging economies. “We should not be shifting goalposts and setting new benchmarks for global climate ambition,” Indian Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said July 23 following the summit. Instead, developed countries should be doing more to ensure the developing world had the “carbon space” to grow. “Keeping in view of the legitimate need of the developing countries to grow, we urge the G20 countries to commit to bringing down per capita emission to global average by 2030,” a ministry statement said. India has a strong case to argue when it comes to per capita emissions. According to S&P Global Platts Atlas of Energy Transition, India’s per capita CO2 emissions was 1.66 mt in 2019, compared with 15.55 mt for the US, 16.56 mt in Australia and 8.11 mt in Germany. A diplomatic faceoff is clearly brewing, with the G20’s official Naples communique unable to agree much more than “to update or communicate ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by COP26.” Delivering on NDCs Under its existing NDCs, India has committed to 40% installed generation capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030 and to reduce emissions intensity by 33%-35% by 2030 from 2005 levels. India is on track to achieve this with renewable energy capacity, including hydropower, standing at 143.28 GW, or 37% of India’s total installed capacity of 384.12 GW. Further, India has already achieved carbon emission reductions of 28% on 2005 levels, according to the Power Ministry. A voluntary 2030 target of 450 GW of renewable capacity, meanwhile, is seen as a stretch but one that could be met with the help of large industrial sector investments by parties seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. Other recent steps include a vehicle scrappage policy to promote fuel efficient vehicles, electric vehicle subsidies, incentives for renewable component manufacturing and for solar rooftop installations. A hydrogen policy placing a purchase obligation on consuming sectors is awaited. India’s climate policy was “development centric,” according to Kaushik Bandyopadhyay, chairperson, Centre for Business Sustainability at Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow. “Mitigation and adaptation actions are not only intended to serve the cause of emission reduction, but also to provide development co-benefits,” he said. Missing milestones What is missing is an emissions reduction policy, one that builds political consensus despite regional differences, according to another policy expert. “The government would have to identify the big polluters and mandate them to reduce emissions … it would need deadlines and milestones,” said G Chandrashekhar, a policy commentator and commodities columnist. “This is going to be a tough call — it needs enormous political will to achieve it.” A formal carbon market would help send a consistent price signal to polluters, but talks are yet to produce any material proposal. Meanwhile, India continues to push for developed countries to follow up on a pledge to provide $100 billion/year for developing economies to help in decarbonization efforts through to 2025. That commitment was “reaffirmed” in the Naples communique. “It is the big elephant in the room,” said Aarti Khosla, director, Climate Trends. “I am not sure if a serious finance package will be delivered. Any outcomes here might only be symbolic than real.” Coal-fired emissions growth About 70% of India’s energy needs are met by the combustion of coal. This share may fall in future but the fossil fuel is set to remain the dominant source of power demand growth, and this would rise by 4.4% from 2020 through to 2030, according to Roman Kramarchuk, S&P Global Platts Analytics head of Future Energy Analytics. “Our Platts Analytics Global Integrated Energy Model estimates that India is accounting for 7% of total global energy combustion CO2 emissions in 2021 and we project that, under a most likely scenario, emissions will grow faster than the rest of the world,” Kramarchuk said. “India’s most likely case: emissions in 2040 would account for 15% of our estimated 2 Degrees global 2040 combustion CO2 emissions,” he said.