17 May 2020

Introduction:

According to the latest analysis of CREA (Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air), the emissions of toxic carbon dioxide have declined in the country.

Reason for the decline:

• An economic slowdown, renewable energy growth and the impact of Covid-19 have led to the first year-on-year reduction in India’s CO2 emissions in four decades.
• Emissions fell by around 1% in the fiscal year ending March 2020, as coal consumption fell and oil consumption flatlined.

Highlights of the analysis:

• Carbon dioxide emissions have fallen by 15% in March and 30% in April.
• Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 30 million tonnes in the financial year 2019- 2020.
• Power and transportation sectors which are the major contributors of Carbon dioxide have shown a fall in the emissions. This is in contrast to the 929 million tonnes which were emitted last year.
• Power generated from coal-fired plants fell by 15% in March and 31% in the first three weeks of April.
• Renewable energy (RE) generation increased by 6.4 % in March and decreased slightly by 1.4% in the first three weeks in April.
• The consumption of oil fell down by 18% in March as compared to last year.
• This analysis is based on the data collected from various ministries.