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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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Sunday, 22 January 12
FREIGHT MARKET DROPPED TO THE LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2008
COALspot.com - "The markets continued to soften almost reaching 2008 levels breaking the 1,000 point mark", said Capt. Reddy of Vistaar Sh ...
Saturday, 21 January 12
ASIAS PREMIER COMPREHENSIVE OPEN CUT MINING CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 2012
As the only such conference in the region for miners and service providers, IBC Asia’s Open Cut Mine Planning & Operational Excellence con ...
Saturday, 21 January 12
COAL MARKETS CELEBRATES A DECADE OF BRINGING BUYERS & SELLERS TOGETHER
In 2012, IBC Asia’s premier Coal Markets conference series – Asia’s only globally focused coal import, export and supply chain eve ...
Saturday, 21 January 12
SAMIN TAN COMPLETES BUMI PLC TAKEOVER - INSIDER STORIES
Insider Stories reported that, Indonesian coking coal miner PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal Tbk (BORN), that is controlled by stellar businessm ...
Thursday, 19 January 12
SOUTHGOBI RESOURCES SELLS MORE THAN FOUR MILLION TONNES OF COAL IN 2011, 58% MORE THAN 2010
COALspot.com - SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX: SGQ, HK: 1878) has successfully complets year 2011 on guidance in terms of coal sales and production.
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- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- PTC India Limited - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Australian Coal Association
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- VISA Power Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Planning Commission, India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
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