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Monday, 20 February 12
COAL BOOM AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN - SUNIL K KUMBHAT
 COALspot.com - The dawn of the 21st century has seen a shift in the world's commercial balance of power, with the dominance of the US, Europe and Japan challenged by the rapid industrialisation of hungry new economies. The rise of the so-called BRIIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India ,Indonesia and China - is giving birth to new global financial centres, vibrant industrial markets and above all surging demand for raw materials to supply new projects.
But where does environmental responsibility fit into this drive for resources?
Growing demand for thermal Coal has created a new coal boom, which is great news for Coal producing countries such as Indonesia, Australia , south Africa . The demand of coal is growing at a massive rate in Asia particularly India and China. Both the coal hungry countries are making efforts to secure supplies by acquiring Coal mines or forming Joint ventures for their new power generating plants.
The demand is fuelling the world prices of coal, although prices are still not as high as witnessed in 2008 when everything peaked before the global financial crisis but there all indications that by 2012/2013 coal prises will reach to record high.
The India and China are becoming the mainstay of the market . Both the countries are having huge Coal reserves ,but still they are importing huge qty of coal to meet there increased demand and as such they are effectively driving the world Coal market and its prices. India’s demand for coal is expected to grow at a faster rate than any other country in the world.
India's rich untapped mineral resources of more than 20 mineral types - including gold, copper, coal and bauxite but the fact that many of these resources are located in rural, heavily forested areas with predominantly tribal populations has raised concerns over the environmental impact of mining operations.
The country has a long history of environmental damage caused by both domestic and international mining companies, as well as the ecological problems from hundreds of abandoned mines in areas like Bihar's Jharia and Rhaniganj coal fields. Like China, India has been plagued by the environmental problems associated with illegal and unlicensed mining operations, which the country's Directorate General of Mines Safety has been ill-equipped to deal with due to funding deficiencies.
Similarly China has come under fire from human rights activists and environmental groups alike for its arguably lax approach to both worker safety (the country has become the mining disaster capital of the world in recent years) and environmental accountability. The Chinese Government's approach to corporate and environmental responsibility has been characterised by outside observers as simply paying lip service to the environment - hinting that ISO guidelines for mining would be welcomed - without implementing practical measures to promote change.
The environmental impact of mining operations in Brazil is also under sharper scrutiny than many other countries, primarily because its borders contain the lion's share of the Amazon rainforest, a haven for biodiversity and one of the most important eco-systems in the world.
As such, environmental awareness is particularly strong in the Brazilian mining industry. Experts from the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards are playing a leadership role in the further development of the recently introduced ISO 26000 international standard on social responsibility. Furthermore, licensing for new mining projects is often legally conditional on the drafting of comprehensive environmental impact studies, reports and extensive public consultations, particularly in areas inhabited by tribal groups.
Although carrying out mining operations in a region like the Amazon will be controversial, the environmental commitment seen here and echoed by many other Brazilian mining companies (including industry giant Vale, which has a complex environmental quality management system based on ISO 14001 standards) provides a useful model of awareness for other BRIC nations, and the global mining industry in general, to follow.
India is emerging as a fast economy, targeting 9-10% annual growth. Realizing the underlying growth potential will largely depend on it's ability to meet energy requirements. Energy sector whose growth targets inter alia depend on coal. At a 9% growth rate, the capacity requirement will be 960Gw and energy requirement will be 4,806 billion kWh. In the light of these projections, coal demand is estimated to rise many fold. Main concentration of Indian companies remains in Indonesia as many new mines are opened for exploration , exploitation and production .Today Indonesia is one of the most rapidly developing coal producing country in the world.
For a strong economy, one needs strong infrastructure and power plants. For strong infrastructure and power plants , one needs steel. Steel is the backbone of an economy, and it is metallurgical coal and thermal coal that is used to produce steel and electricity.
An increase in Coal production is the opposite of what the global climate change forums have wanted to see because coal without any doubt is one of the dirtiest and filthiest fossil fuel in terms of CO2 and when it comes to harmful emissions that most environmentalists and energy economists agree causes global warming.
Coal consumption is going in a direction that policy makers would prefer it not to go.
Critical question is whether there is a willingness amongst coal producers and power generating plants to make their technology cleaner, so it emits less greenhouse gases(GHG) which leads to global warming .Energy scientists have long been voicing concern on the rise in the level of Greenhouse gases, which leads to Global warming and climatic changes that are detrimental to economies worldwide.
The disastrous consequences for global climate change is one topic that has now taken very serious dimension but hardly been realised in a serious enough way by the nations across the world.
The new thermal plants being built are certainly more efficient than older ones. There exist technology to have emission-free power plants - the only constraint is the cost. The cost of clean coal technology is very high, yet when we look at the alternatives to coal, they are even higher than that - for example, nuclear, solar, wind. The real costs of all these alternatives are still to be determined, but there is no doubt that clean coal technologies can double the cost of coal in generating energy.
None of the alternatives appears to be commercially viable right now for required generation of energy without considering subsidies and tax incentives . If any country accepts sustainable growth and development as the way forward, it subsumes the climate change issues.
At the same time, no country can ignore the inherent contradiction in the expression ‘sustainable growth’.
Growth essentially involves exploiting natural resources for human benefit and countries have to strike a delicate balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth. It is easier said than done.
As the climate issue impinges on everyone, wisdom demands that nations sink their petty differences in approach and strategy to stem the danger from spreading further and squeezing the survival prospects of one and all.
Principally, the efforts boil down to reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, caused primarily by accelerated economic development through exploitation of fossil fuels rich in carbon dioxide.
Every action does not need to be official or based on protocols. In any case, every country need to adopt new methods and ways of doing things in optimising the use of exhaustible resources, energy and water. Corporations / Institutions must carry out energy analysis and incorporate environmental accounting practices to reduce green house gas emission levels at their facilities. The government, in turn, could enforce a form of taxation based on companies’ contribution to climate change.
Climate change is today's biggest problem, threatening mankind with extinction. The problem, largely of man's own doing, must be treated as an emergency by all.
The president of Indonesia issued a Presidential decree instructing all central and regional authorities to support the moratorium by suspending the granting of permits for the use of “primary natural forests” for two years. This Presidential decree is part of Indonesia’s efforts to comply with the bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Norway on forest conservation.
Various governments worldwide are beginning to put regulations in place and to encourage development of more sustainable sources of power generation in order to protect populations worldwide from the immediate detrimental effects on life and health, and to protect the environment for future generation.
By : Sunil K Kumbhat , Jodhpur( Rajasthan ) India
Views expressed herein are personal views of the author and not that of COALspot.com.
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Wednesday, 18 April 12
INDONESIA TO INTRODUCE EXPORT DUTY ON MINERAL ORES BY 6 MAY 2012
The Indonesian government is scheduled to issue regulation on export duty for minerals before May 6, 2012.
According to Bisnis Indonesia, as quot ...
Sunday, 15 April 12
THE SPOT FIXTURE RATES FOR SUPRAMAX IN SE ASIA SAW SOME SOFTENING OF CHARTER RATES - VISTAAR
COALspot.com - The market seem to be holding and except for Supramax and handy size index all other index was up with BDI up by 4.74 pct closing at ...
Friday, 13 April 12
MINERS OPPOSE GOVTS EXPORT TAX PLAN - THE JAKARTA POST
The Jakarta Post reported that, Indonesian mining companies have strongly protested the government’s plan to impose a 25 percent export tax on ...
Friday, 13 April 12
S&P CAUTIONS AGAINST NEW INDONESIAN MINING REGULATIONS - THE JAKARTA GLOBE
The Jakarta Globe reported that, Investors may have expressed concerns about looming new mining regulations, but ratings agency Standard & Poor& ...
Thursday, 12 April 12
FIRST QUARTER OF 2012 SAW AN ADDITIONAL 24.2 MILLION DWT OF DRY BULK CARRIERS ENTERING THE FLEET - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The inflow of newbuilt dry bulk vessels was larger than expected in the first quarter of 2012. As much as 24.2 million DWT were added to the fleet. ...
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- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Planning Commission, India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- White Energy Company Limited
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Australian Coal Association
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- PTC India Limited - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
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