Solar leadership beckons India

Rakesh Kamal  |   Published: 29th Nov 2017  12:05 am Updated: 29th Nov 2017  12:14 am

Bullish as usual on coal, US President Donald Trump delivered a message to celebrate the opening of a Pennsylvania metallurgical coal mine. “We have withdrawn the United States from the horrendous Paris climate accord, something that would have put our country back decades and decades; we would have never allowed ourselves to be great again,” Repeated pleas of staying in the Paris climate accord by leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Nobel laureate Al Gore have fallen on deaf ears.

During the last few weeks, negotiators and observers from across the world participating in the climate negotiations at COP23 in Bonn were anxious. There was a fear that with the US withdrawing, many others would follow suit.

With Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the focus has shifted to other responsible high emitting countries like China, India and the European Union to tackle climate change. This Bonn Summit showed that climate leadership is now being looked more as a collaborative effort rather than that of an individual country.

Paris Commitments

Right on the first day, it was made clear by India and China that developing countries need to keep their Pre-2020 commitments as the Paris Agreement will come into force only after 2020. Under the Pre-2020 commitments, $100 billion in climate finance has been committed, of which only a fraction has been delivered. The developing countries negotiated and made sure that the Pre-2020 ambition and implementation formed a major part of the COP23 final text.
The discussion on who pays for the loss and damage caused by climate change has been a major contention. With Fiji preceding the talks, there was high expectation that this year will be the year of loss and damage. Developing countries have been demanding that a permanent agenda item on loss and damage and an expert group on finance be included but in the negotiations only succeeded in getting an expert dialogue to be held in 2018.
The snail’s pace of these negotiations also seems very discouraging to many. However, the negotiations have so far managed to give a strong push for countries to better their National Action Plans on climate change with clear targets. The long-term goals set at these conferences also signal positivity to the renewables market and the last few years of growth in the sector could be attributed to the momentum built for these climate negotiations.

Silver Lining

India is lately in a Catch-22 situation — with it being one of the top greenhouse gas emitters (only behind China, US and the EU) as well being vulnerable to climate change. With ever-expanding infrastructural growth, its emissions will only increase. A long coastline, snowy mountains, perennial rivers and dependency of agriculture on the monsoon make the country highly vulnerable to climate change.

But there’s a silver lining in all these dark clouds. Efforts made by the Indian government to promote renewables are now reaping benefits with the cost of renewable energy production falling to record low every month. Five years ago, solar companies in India were producing a kilowatt/hour for Rs 7 but now it is down to Rs 2.44; cheaper than coal. The recent Cabinet approval of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda) listing will increase equity base and help it raise more debt for funding projects.

The Indian government-supported International Solar Alliance (ISA) is also making headlines with its innovative approach and financial mechanisms to replicate successful programmes and promote solar in untapped markets. With more than 15 countries signing the ISA Framework Agreement, it will become a legitimate entity soon. Similarly, by expanding Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited on the lines of ONGC Videsh to enter the international market, India can sell solar energy in untapped markets in Africa thereby increasing the production demand.

Turning Point

While all the above by the Indian government are good initiatives, greater emphasis must be on the most beneficial and effective mechanisms to deploy solar (and not necessarily the easiest way out). Rooftop solar, rural electrification with renewable energy and solar parks should be prioritised in the same order because the losses are low in the first two options and the benefits are direct even if it is a difficult path.

Now all that is required is the right mix of policy and financial support to nurture the markets so as to take the various green initiatives forward. We must also not pass up on the opportunity of being one of the largest markets for solar energy. India’s dilemma can be its biggest opportunity by giving a thrust to greening businesses and by encouraging holistic and sustainable living. We are at a turning point in the renewable energy sector in the sub-continent and efforts must be made to keep the curve going.

To achieve the targets set by countries, there’s a need for increased efforts in domestic mitigation actions like decentralised rooftop solar and rural electrification. These efforts would be more successful if coupled with a mass awareness campaign. There is also a need for an ecosystem for innovation and technology development in the renewable energy space, which is completely missing.

Get Going

India needs to plan before it is too late and promote research on renewables and support production of solar panels in India. Promotion of microgrids, environmental-friendly biofuels and continued support to the renewable industry is a must for efforts to be sustainable on a long-term basis.

So, to be a new leader in international forums in the ever-changing world energy dynamics, India needs to first internally educate its citizens on climate literacy, empower individuals to make better climate-friendly choices and make it an issue that people can relate to and demand the government to provide better cleaner alternatives. If you can win at home, you can conquer the world.

(The author works for climate reality, and is a clean energy and climate policy expert. @Rakeshkamal)

Originally published i Telangana Today on 29th November

BIS to revisit safety standards on use of hydrocarbons in fridges and ACs

The refrigeration and air conditioning committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formed a panel to consider amendments to refrigerant standards, proposed by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). If accepted by the committee, the amendments will enable wider use of hydrocarbons, a refrigerant gas which has significantly lower global warming potential (GWP) than other common gases.

Currently, India does not have any safety standards for refrigerating systems. To bridge this gap, the BIS committee had proposed the adoption of “ISO 5149: Refrigerating systems and heat pumps—Safety and environmental requirements” as the India standard in 2015.

But these standards restrict the use of natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons, according to CSE. ISO 5149, adopted by European countries and followed by Indian refrigerator and air conditioner manufacturers, states that the maximum charge size must not exceed 350-360 g of hydrocarbons, which corresponds to a maximum cooling capacity of around 1.5 tonnes. A change in the standard would allow Indian manufacturers to expand their production line to hydrocarbon air conditioning systems with higher cooling capacity.

In a workshop conducted in April this year, CSE invited experts from around the world to draft amendments along with industry and academia to include the safe use of hydrocarbons. The amendments were presented to the BIS committee on June 17 for review. CSE argued that ISO 5149 is restrictive for the use of natural refrigerants. Existing refrigerant gases are either ozone-depleting substances, have high GWP or are synthetic chemicals which may have unforeseen effects on the environment. They sought to dispel concerns surrounding the use of hydrocarbons, stating that safety studies for the refrigerant were performed decades ago with little consideration for technological improvements. ISO 5149 is based on this perception of diminished safety, they said.

Expanding the use of hydrocarbons is also important in the context of discussions being held under the Montreal Protocol on the phasing down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a common refrigerant. According to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) created under the Protocol, all sectors, except mobile air conditioning, have natural refrigerant alternatives which are less harmful to the environment. But the unusually restrictive safety requirements are becoming a hurdle for the safe use of these refrigerants. Amendments to ISO 5149 will help the Indian government negotiate from a position of confidence at the Montreal Protocol and move to patent-free, low-GWP, natural refrigerants.

Originally published in Down to Earth

G7 countries discuss HFC phase down amendment

In Dubai, parties to the Montreal Protocol had agreed to address HFCs under the Protocol 

Ministers and representatives of G7 countries and the European Commissioner for the Environment met last week in Toyama, Japan. The joint communiqué adopted at the meeting acknowledged the success achieved in 2015—the adoption of landmark global outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

The meeting recognised the importance of mitigating emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), including black carbon, methane, ground-level ozone and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Measures to reduce SLCPs can help slow the rate of near-term warming, while realising significant benefits for human health and food security.

HFC phase down

On measures to address fluorocarbons, G7 welcomed the decision in Dubai by parties to the Montreal Protocol to address HFCs under the Protocol, and support adoption of a Montreal Protocol HFC phase-down amendment in 2016. In the absence of an HFC phase down, HFC emissions are projected to grow 9-19 per cent by 2050, of projected global CO2 emissions under business-as-usual scenarios.

It is a significant decision as the recent negotiations in Geneva were steered by developed countries, including the G7 countries, in informal settings. The negotiations in the contact groups tried to address the challenges put forward by developed countries to phase down HFCs. Once all the challenges are discussed in the forthcoming conferences, it is expected that the contact group will deliberate in detail over the four amendment proposals to the Montreal Protocol made by various countries, including India. Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the only non-profit to have come up with an alternate proposal titled “Getting the world off the chemical treadmill” to phase out HFCs, has suggested an equitable division of HFCs in its proposal as a way of breaking the current deadlock.

This statement by G7 countries shows that they are determined to continue the dialogue in the coming Montreal Protocol meetings to be held in Vienna, Austria, in July and in Kigali, Rwanda, in October. Countries are expected to continue informal discussions in the meantime with the hope that an agreement can be reached by the end of 2016 in Kigali.

Reviewing refrigeration standards

There is an urgent need to assess flammable refrigerants with changing technology

A standard is an agreed, repeatable way of doing something. Every product manufactured needs to follow a specific standard so that there is uniformity in it and manufacturers can be held accountable to maintain a certain quality.

With changing technology over the passage of time, there is always a need to keep improving the standards. For example, in electronic products there needs to be improvement in terms of energy efficiency and safety, along with having a low environmental footprint.

A standard document is made by forming a committee with the involvement of industry experts, academicians and civil society members.

The document does not have any legal binding until and unless mandated under law, but standard documents are made in many technical fields to evolve a common procedure and maintain the quality of the product. It is also made to have expert opinions in improving that particular product.

In the context of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector (RAC), the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) has a committee on refrigeration and air conditioning sectional committee which looks into refrigeration and air conditioning standards.

Currently, there is no existing standard document by the BIS which can address hydrocarbons that have a huge potential to replace hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). Negotiations are going on in the Montreal Protocol to phase out HFCs as they have a high Global warming potential (GWP).

The most commonly used refrigerants prior to 1930s were the natural ones—carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrocarbons. But due to the limitations of technology at that time, the challenges associated with natural refrigerants such as flammability, pressure and toxicity could not be overcome.

So, the chemical industry came up with high-ODP (Ozone depletion potential) and high-GWP chlorinated fluorocarbon refrigerants to replace HFCs. But advances in refrigeration technology over the past few decades have brought natural refrigerants back into the mainstream.

Need to introduce new standard

All refrigerants are dangerous if misused or applied incorrectly. In the refrigerant and air-conditioning industry, there is a need to rework on standards with developing technology and with more efficient alternatives which have a low GWP.

Natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons with low GWP can break the chemical treadmill that is being followed in the industry currently.

It is important for a developing country like India to develop its own version of a standard as it will help the local industry stay independent and take the decision to move in the direction in the best interest of the industry and the environment.

When doing this, it is advisable to follow an equivalent international standard or a widely acknowledged national or regional (for instance European) standard.

Global standards applicable to refrigeration and air-conditioning come mainly from the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), in addition to some of the regional and country-specific standards.

It is a common practice that international and regional standards are adopted at the regional and national levels. During this procedure, standards can be modified to suit the best local demands and conditions. Although the concerned IEC standard is under revision and India is a member of the ISO, we need to start the process of similar Indian standards as soon as possible as developing a India-specific standard requires significant technical resources, expertise and time.

Hydrocarbons have proved to be efficient refrigerant gases. They are currently being used in India, but the problem in scaling it up is the non-existence of a standard to address the concerns that are country specific.

The standard that is currently being followed by Godrej for hydrocarbon air conditioners in India is a European standard which limits the charge size of the air conditioner to 360 grams of hydrocarbon, thereby limiting the capacity of the air conditioner to under 1.5 tonnes.

To increase the capacity of the air conditioning, the charge size needs to be increased but without compromising on the safety of the equipment. So, a new standard needs to be designed for Indian conditions which can accommodate the country’s requirements of having a higher capacity and have use of the technology like leak detection sensors, safety valves and so on.

India has a range of unique concerns which the European standard does not address. One of the major issues is that India has very high temperatures in most regions and so needs higher-capacity air conditioning unlike European countries. Standards in Europe are based on room size which is a challenge to implement with practical problems like no regulation on installation.

The good news is that the concerns that exist have proven solutions with experiments conducted in labs which need to be discussed and the larger group of members made aware of.

To counter all these concerns having an Indian standard which can take the local requirements into account can be a game-changing solution. A standard needs to be designed which will address not only the safety concerns, but also stress on improving efficiency and providing scope for scaling up to accommodate requirements.

Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment is organising a workshop on “Addressing challenges in safety standards for hydrocarbon refrigerants in the RAC sector” on April 26‐27, 2016 to address some of the concerns and propose the way forward for creating a new standard.

Originally published in Down to Earth 

Negotiations on Montreal protocol one step closer to phasing out HFCs

Parties to the Montreal protocol negotiated in Geneva last week at the 37th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), with the intention of phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The Montreal Protocol was mainly intended to negotiate Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) that cause damage to the ozone layer. ODS have been replaced by HFCs, which have a very high global warming potential (GWP). All parties met in Dubai last year and formed a contact group to discuss the phasing down of HFCs.

The first day of the conference began on a positive note. It discussed the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) report and primarily focused on the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. In its report, TEAP presented 80 different alternatives which have the potential of replacing HFCs. After the presentation, the parties requested TEAP to come up with a matrix which could help them compare different alternatives to HFCs and were mainly disappointed that cost implications and economic feasibility did not reflect in the report which would help them make a decision. The parties also had an opportunity to meet TEAP informally later in the week. TEAP has announced that it will rework the report and submit it along with the second report which is due to be submitted in Vienna in July.

Discussion on exemption for High Ambient temperature and intellectual property rights took centre stage for the next two days of the conference. After many bilateral discussions in backrooms, the US submitted a reworked proposal on exemption for High Ambient temperature countries which would qualify 34 countries to get the exemption if the proposal is passed in Extraordinary MOP in Vienna. Safety standards also stood out as a major concern for many parties.

Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) hosted a side event on “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) impediments to an HFC phase down”. Based on the findings of a patent analysis done by commissioning a study to Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), CSE made a revolutionary suggestion to exclude the mobile air conditioning (MAC) from amendment to solve the IPR issue. The MAC sector only contributes between 10 to 15 per cent of emissions or tonnage of refrigerant gas but the IPR issue, which is very specific to it, has been blocking negotiations to go forward. And as there are natural alternatives available in every sector other than the MAC, CSE expressed concerns that this might lead to a delay or a weak HFC amendment, which would be detrimental. CSE, in its presentation suggested that the MAC sector could be excluded from the negotiations now and could be reviewed in a technical review process later when a natural alternative became available.

The last day of the negotiations under the Montreal protocol in Geneva ran late into the night just like the previous meeting in Dubai. After the initial announcement in the plenary in the morning, the whole day was suspended and meetings were held in the backrooms. The parties finally met officially in the contact group at 9 pm but could not come to a consensus on the text to be discussed. They, however, have come up with a working draft of informal group consulting on solutions for challenges on funding issues and flexibility of implementation and solutions on funding challenges. These documents are expected to carry forward the discussion in Vienna.

Overall, in this conference, progress has been made on High Ambient temperature exemption, funding and flexibility of implementation. But it was a disappointment that parties could not find solutions to all the challenges identified and come to a consensus on text and are yet to start discussing the amendment proposals put forward by various groups. The plenary was suspended and not concluded, leaving scope for the contact group to meet again before the next plenary meeting in Vienna.

Originally published in Down to Earth

Negotiations pick pace as US proposes amendment text on exempted countries

Parties to the Montreal Protocol finally started discussing the different challenges they face on the third day of talks at the 37th Open-ended Working Group in Geneva. 

The discussion extended late into the night with an extra session and covered challenges like finance, intellectual property rights (IPR), flexibility, exemptions, relationship with Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) phase-out, non-party trade provisions and legal aspects of moving HFCs from UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to the Montreal Protocol. 

Most of the challenges had been identified and discussed in the Dubai meeting last year and a fierce debate was expected as parties had enough time to work on and present their concerns and possible solutions. 

After a number of informal closed door sessions with some countries, the US put forward a proposal by submitting an amendment text on High Ambient Temperature (HAT) countries for negotiation. This has been a long-standing demand of Middle Eastern countries as available technology is not suitable for or has not been tested for HAT countries. The amendment text proposed by the US uses the Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA) to derive the daily highest temperatures. It allows exemption for 34 countries, mostly from the Middle East and Africa. The list of countries was strategically read out instead of being provided along with the amendment text. One would assume that India would make it to the list, but the country was not considered for HAT exemption because it does not satisfy all the parameters as per the data set chosen carefully. Although there were many models to define High Ambient Temperatures, the data sets were chosen so as to include some specific countries. 

The amendment text allows an exemption for Parties (countries) where an average of at least two months per year over 10 consecutive years witness a peak monthly average temperature of above 35°C. Multi-split air conditioners for commercial and residential purposes, split ducted air conditioners (residential and commercial) and ducted commercial packaged (self-contained) air conditioners were include in the list of exempted equipment which can use HFCs for four additional years even after the phase-down in HAT countries. 

IPR is another major impediment and India repeated its stand by saying that all expenses incurred for IPR should be paid by the multilateral fund of the protocol. But experts felt that the discussion was not as exhaustive as expected as IPR has always been described as a major impediment from the time the negotiations began. Many delegates and participants were surprised that the discussion was cut short and want it to be bought back to the table or discussed in informal meetings.

Originally published in Down to Earth

Montreal Protocol talks begin on a positive note in Geneva

Negotiations over phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) began as part of Montreal Protocol in Geneva on a slow but positive note.

According to experts, who have been part of such talks for years, feel that all the Parties have more or less agreed to discuss the important issue of how to reduce the use of HFCs. It is an achievement as there was a time when the Parties did not even talk about it.

It was expected that the HFC phase down negotiations will continue to discuss the challenges identified in the previous meeting held in Dubai last year where a contact group was formed on the feasibility and ways of managing HFCs.

Important topics

The first half of day 1 during the plenary session witnessed the passage of the agenda for the week which included:

• Presentation and discussion of the report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) over information on alternatives to ozone-depleting substances
• Resolving challenges by generating solutions on the feasibility of managing HFCs
• Discussing the amendment proposals submitted by Parties after the challenges were talked upon

After the presentation of the TEAP report on the proposed alternatives to HFCs, mainly in high ambient temperature countries, the Parties had various queries and comments.

Doubts on costs, feasibility

Most of the questions raised regarding the TEAP report were related to economic feasibility, cost implications, need for a user-friendly matrix to explain alternatives to HFCs, lack of energy efficiency as a parameter in choosing an alternative, assumptions on forecast and so on.

The TEAP will rework on the report based on the issues raised by the Parties and present a second report in the follow-up conference in Vienna in July.

Post lunch, many parties pointed out that the contact group should either discuss the challenges one by one in the order mentioned in Dubai or on a priority basis the next day.

Low-volume-consuming countries were specific about the need for capacity building and disposal mechanisms. India and China focused on issues such as intellectual property rights and employment opportunities. Columbia mentioned about the need for differential HFC phase down schedules between developing and developed nations. It also discussed about financial mechanisms as the reason for the success of the Protocol and the need to focus on strengths.

Most Parties agreed that the safety standards for refrigerant gases have gained prominence with natural refrigerants becoming a potential solution to escape the chain of chemical treadmill.

Some natural refrigerants have drawbacks such as toxicity, flammability and high pressure requirement to be favoured as replacements. With the advancement of technology, however, most past concerns have turned into opportunities.

Published Originally in Down to Earth