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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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Saturday, 07 January 12
COAL MARKETS SEE FALLING SPOT PRICES
COALspot.com – World’s thermal coal spot prices have slipped this week..
globalCOAL index in Newcastle Port, benchmark for Asian mark ...
Friday, 06 January 12
COAL INDIA LINKED COAL PRICES WITH INTERNATIONAL COAL PRICES
COALspot.com - Consumers of indigenous coal in India to pay International prices in the future. Coal India has recently moved from UHV pricing mecha ...
Friday, 06 January 12
CLARIDEN GLOBAL BRINGS YOU INDONESIA MINING 2012
Capitalizing Business & Investment Opportunities in an Uncertain Market.Press Release - Clariden Global brings you Indonesia Mining 2012, the dedi ...
Friday, 06 January 12
THE PANAMAX MARKET EXPERIENCED A SLOW START TO 2012 - FEARNLEYS AS
Handy
As usual after a holiday owners and charterers both try to get a feel of the market. An Armada of Supras were talking to ballast towards USG, ...
Thursday, 05 January 12
DRY BULK MARKET TAKES A PLUNGE OF LOW ACTIVITY - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
As was widely expected the first days of the new year are characterized by significantly low chartering across the board of the dry bulk market, pus ...
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- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- MS Steel International - UAE
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- The University of Queensland
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
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