World Biz
China doubles down on coal as energy crunch bites
China has stepped up spending on coal in the face of extreme weather, a domestic energy crunch and rising global fuel prices, raising concerns Beijing’s policies may hinder the fight against climate change.
The country is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases driving global warming, and President Xi Jinping has vowed to reduce coal use from 2026 as part of a broad set of climate promises.
Beijing has committed to peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Overall carbon emissions in China have fallen for four consecutive quarters on the back of an economic slowdown, research reported by climate monitor Carbon Brief showed in early September.
But at the same time, slowing growth has led authorities to rely on smokestack industries in an effort to boost the economy.
The push to shore up coal power which still makes up most of China’s energy supply has alarmed analysts who warn that it will make an eventual transition to a renewables-dominated energy mix more difficult.
Spooked by an energy shortage last autumn, Chinese authorities in spring ordered coal producers to add 300 million tonnes of mining capacity this year the equivalent of an extra month of coal production for the country.
In just the first quarter of 2022, regulators endorsed the equivalent of half the entire coal-fired power plant capacity approved in 2021, according to Greenpeace.
Inefficiencies
Authorities have also burned and mined more coal in recent weeks in order to meet increased air conditioning demand and make up for shrunken hydropower dams during China’s hottest-ever summer.
Premier Li Keqiang in June called for “releasing advanced coal capacity, as much as possible, and implementing long-term coal supply”.
The independent Climate Action Tracker warns that even the “most binding” climate targets laid out by Beijing would be in line with global warming of between three and four degrees Celsius before the end of the century well above the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5C.
To meet that goal, it said, China would “need to reduce emissions as early as possible and well before 2030” as well as “decrease coal and other fossil fuel consumption at a much faster rate than currently planned”.
Beijing’s unwillingness to let go of coal stems partly from inefficiencies in its power grid that prevent surplus energy from being transported across regions.
Coal and gas give local officials a ready source of energy and are, in practice, “the only way for local officials to avoid power shortages”, energy researcher Lauri Myllyvirta wrote in a Carbon Brief report.
‘Politically crucial year’
China has made real progress in building up renewable energy capacity.
The current operating solar capacity in the country accounts for nearly half the global total, according to San Francisco-based non-governmental organization Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
But unlike wind or sunlight, stockpiles of coal and gas can be held for long periods of time and deployed as needed, giving local authorities a sense of security.
Yet, building more coal facilities means less focus on fixing problems with the grid, Myllyvirta said in comments to AFP, warning plant owners would be motivated to “slow down the transition as they will have an interest in making use of their brand-new assets”.
At the same time, the central government wants to “avoid large-scale blackouts, which we witnessed last winter in the northeastern provinces, in this politically crucial year for Xi”, Byford Tsang, senior policy adviser at climate think-tank E3G, told.
President Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term in power at a major Communist Party meeting next month.
Tsang said skyrocketing international energy prices driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine also pushed Beijing to shore up domestic coal production, pointing to a 17.5pc drop in coal imports in the first half of this year compared to a year earlier.
Expanding coal capacity as a quick fix, however, goes against “immediate annual cuts in coal use that the UN and leading research organizations have called for”, GEM analysts said.
GEM said all of China’s proposed new mines could together emit as much as six million tonnes of greenhouse gas methane each year once operational. That is roughly equivalent to the annual methane emissions of Austria, according to World Bank data.
“The more coal China builds now, the harder it becomes to finance and deliver renewable energy projects later,” Wu Jinghan, climate and energy project leader for Greenpeace East Asia, told AFP.
“The longer we wait to transition, the steeper the transition pathway becomes,” Wu said. “That means more disruptive and higher risk, financially and environmentally.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to bolster the count of foreign students in the nation’s universities to at least 500,000 by 2030, as outlined in a decree setting forth national development objectives.
The decree stipulates, “The number of foreign students pursuing higher education in Russian higher learning institutions and scientific organizations should rise to at least 500,000 by 2030.”
As per the Russian Education and Science Ministry, the current tally exceeds 355,000 foreign students studying in Russian universities. Acting Minister Valery Falkov previously highlighted Russia’s position as the world’s sixth-largest host of foreign students.
TASS calculations reveal a notable surge of over 20% in foreign student enrollment across Russian universities over the past five years. Predominantly, foreign applicants admitted to Russian universities hail from China, Vietnam, former Soviet republics, as well as various Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (25 April) called for speaking out against all forms of aggression and atrocities, and say ‘no’ to wars.
“We must speak out against all forms of aggression and atrocities, and say ‘no’ to wars,” she said adding that Bangladesh supports the UN Secretary General’s ‘New Agenda for Peace.
The prime minister was addressing the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) held at the ESCAP Hall (2nd floor), United Nations Conference Center (UNCC) here.
She arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday on a six-day official visit to Thailand.
The PM said the pre-condition for sustainable development is lasting peace and security.
“We must settle regional disputes and tension through dialogue. Our mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain paramount,” she said.
Hasina called upon the Asia-Pacific region, especially ASEAN, to redouble their efforts to end Rohingya crisis as all efforts at regional connectivity, integration, and prosperity will continue to be marked by a missing puzzle without it.
“The origin of their crisis has been in Myanmar, and its solution also lies in Myanmar,” she declared.
“As long as that solution remains out of reach, all our efforts at regional connectivity, integration, and prosperity will continue to be marked by a missing puzzle. Let us redouble our efforts to put that puzzle back in place,” she said.
She said that in August 2017, when thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh, Bangladesh offered them temporary shelter.
“With an ever growing population, this has now become one of the largest humanitarian situations in the world,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that In the backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts in Myanmar, the Rohingya repatriation process is also getting delayed.
“This is creating serious security risks within and beyond our territories,” she said.
She called upon the Asia-Pacific region, especially ASEAN, to play a proactive role in resolving the volatile situation in Myanmar.
“We must ensure that the Rohingya can go back home in safety and dignity at the earliest possible,” she said.
The prime minister said that the Asia-Pacific region must stand united against its common enemies of poverty and hunger.
She said Bangladesh has reduced poverty from 41.51 percent to 18.7 percent between 2006 and 2022.
It also reduced extreme poverty from 25.1 to 5.6 percent during the same period.
“We remain confident about eradicating extreme poverty by 2030,” she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh has made notable progress on food security, with focused interventions on maternal and child nutrition.
“Our current priority is to address inequalities through income distribution, asset ownership, and social protection,” she said.
The prime minister said that Asia-Pacific region must put up a united front in tackling the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and transboundary pollution.
“We need to push for ambitious climate financing goals beyond 2025 at COP-29. We need to cooperate on cross-border water management and air quality improvement. We must all prepare for growing extreme weather events,” she said.
In this connection, she suggested looking into Bangladesh’s experience in disaster risk reduction.
“We appreciate UN-ESCAP’s support in improving our early warning capabilities,” she added.
Briefly describing various development programmes and achievements of her govebrment, the prime minister said that much of the development gains are affected by climate impacts.
“As a low-lying delta, Bangladesh has no option but to invest heavily in climate resilience,” she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh is already recognised as a global leader in climate adaptation.
“We are happy to share our traditional and innovative solutions with other vulnerable countries,” she said.
She said that Bangladesh has urged developed and emerging economies in the region to raise their time-bound emission reduction targets.
“For economies in transition, it is important to have a just energy transition.”
In Bangladesh, she said, “we are working on long-term energy security with a sound mix of clean and renewable energy.”
“We shall continue to do our part in pursuing a circular and low-carbon economic growth pathway.”
She underscored the need for increased and easy access to financing and technology from both the public and private sectors.
“I invite UN-ESCAP to help build the capacity of climate-vulnerable countries to mobilise adequate international climate financing.”
PM Hasina said that Bangladesh now provides critical links to the Trans-Asian Highway and Railway networks.
“Our physical and digital infrastructures are being developed to foster regional trade and connectivity.”
She said Bangladesh offers access to the Bay of Bengal for land-locked territories in its neighbourhood.
“We stand ready to work together with all regional partners through mutual understanding and cooperation,” said the prime minister.
The ongoing internet disruption, which began last night due to a cut in the country’s second submarine cable near Singapore, is expected to persist for at least 4-5 days, according to Mirza Kamal Ahmed, managing director (additional charge) of the Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC.
Ahmed, the official of the state-owned bandwidth provider, informed The Business Standard that the international consortium is in search of a special purpose ship necessary for restoring the undersea cable.
“The exact duration cannot be specified,” he stated, adding, “Based on past instances, it is likely to take a minimum of 4-5 days.”
Internet users are experiencing significant disruption as the accidental cut in Bangladesh’s second submarine cable, South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5), is blocking Singapore-Kuakata traffic, the source of 1700 GBPS bandwidth.
“We are serving all our users with the help of other sources of bandwidth – the international terrestrial cable (ITC) and the first submarine cable,” informed Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan, secretary general of the ISP Association of Bangladesh.
However, he mentioned that users are encountering some lag on Saturday afternoon.
“As the main broadband usage peaks during the night, we could learn about the full extent of the disruption and any resulting delays tonight,” he added.
The Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) has issued sincere apologies for the temporary inconvenience to its customers.
Efforts are underway to repair the cable through the SEA-ME-WE 5 and restore connectivity promptly, stated the BSCPLC in a statement released today (April 19).
Currently, Bangladesh requires around 5,200 GBPS of internet bandwidth, with half of the demand being met by ITC companies importing bandwidth from India.
For the remaining half of the demand, the country relies on the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company.
The first submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 4, located in Cox’s Bazar, is presently supplying approximately 850 GBPS bandwidth.
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