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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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Friday, 10 February 12
TONNAGE KEEPS ON COMING - DREWRY
Drewry Maritime Research’s latest edition of its Dry Bulk Forecaster pulls no punches in its assessment of a market that looks certain to cont ...
Friday, 10 February 12
GIVE PERMIT POWERS TO GOVERNORS: MINERS - THE JAKARTA POST
The Jakarta Post reported that, following clashes between mining companies and local residents, the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) wants to tra ...
Thursday, 09 February 12
AUSTRALIA'S EPIC TO ACQUIRE 15,500 HA COAL EXPLORATION LICENCES IN EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA
COALspot.com - Epic Resources Limited to acquire two coal concessions in Kutai Barat regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
According to company's ...
Thursday, 09 February 12
RESOURCE ALAM BUYS 28,521HA CONCESSIONS - INSIDER STORIES
Insider Stories reported that, PT Resource Alam Indonesia Tbk (KKGI), owned by Adijanto family, today announced acquisition of 75% interest in PT Ka ...
Tuesday, 07 February 12
DRY BULK MARKET FINALLY STOPS DECLINE, POSTS FIRST RISE IN MORE THAN A MONTH - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
After falling to near record lows, not seen since the mid-80s the dry bulk market has finally stopped its path to "hell", with the industr ...
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- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- The University of Queensland
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Planning Commission, India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
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