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As legacy waste piles up in state, nothing much has been done in terms of remediation — it rots away in quarries, out of sight and out of mind Of 18.262 million tonne, Karnataka has managed to remediate just 0.002 mn tonne With 18.262 million tonnes, Karnataka has the second-highest amount of legacy waste in India, only after Maharashtra. However, while Maharashtra with 36.451 million tonnes of legacy waste is striving hard to remediate it, not much has happened in Karnataka in that direction. Karnataka, so far, has remediated only 0.002 million tonnes, compared to 16.72 million tonnes remediated by Maharashtra. This assessment has been done by Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Solid Waste Management (SWM) experts point at various socio-economic factors and underline unique challenges that Karnataka faces in the remediation of its old landfills. Apart from old quarries being used as dumpsites, high costs incurred in the transportation of refuse derived fuel (RDF) generated from recovered landfill waste are some hindrances along the way. While the Solid Waste Management Rule, of 2016 mandates industrial units to derive 5% of their energy requirement from RDF, Karnataka has struggled to pinpoint cement industries that can use RDF as a substitute for fossil fuel Waste incineration Some highlight that the management policy of legacy waste trapped in landfills should be designed along with a facility of adequate capacity to collect, transport, and dispose of municipal waste being generated on a day-to-day basis. Although municipal waste incineration plants face social acceptance and environmental issues, they are essential in the current scenario. “With over 6,000 tonnes of solid waste in Karnataka still reaching the landfills every day, we need waste incineration plants to manage our day-to-day municipal waste and to ensure that it is not dumped in landfills. Unless we have a good capacity incineration plan to take care of fresh waste, the dumpsites cannot be remediated. While social acceptance of these plants is an issue, we can think of setting them up in red-zone industrial areas,” said an expert. Some SWM experts also highlighted shortfalls in planning and bringing in experts to assist urban local bodies (ULBs) such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in understanding the technologies available to remediate landfills and make decisions. “ULBs lack the expertise in evaluating and understanding the technologies available to remediate legacy waste. There should be a centralised mechanism and advisory body to help them evaluate not just the technology but also the pricing aspect. BBMP, a few years ago, looked at many technologies but could not finalise any. While the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) is supposed to help ULBs, it has not played its role in entirety so far,” said Sandhya Narayan of Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT). To help states remediate legacy dumpsites, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), under Swacchh Bharat Mission 2.0, Lakshya Zero Dumpsite, has been inviting proposals and sanctioning funds. However, Karnataka is yet to receive the Centre’s funds. “To receive the Centre’s fund, a proposal has to be submitted with a detailed remediation plan. It appears that DMA has failed to achieve that. Many other states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat have already received it,” added Ramprasad. According to the sources from DMA, the slow pace of landfill restoration in the state has been mainly due to the lack of funds. However, post an order passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) a few months ago, a sum of Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for clearing legacy waste in Karnataka and substantial progress has been made in the tendering process. Refuse derived fuel has no takers. This is also because there is a lack of trust regarding its quality. The cost of per tonne biomining of landfills is much higher in Karnataka compared to other states —V Ramprasad, a city-based SWM expert “So far, no serious efforts have been made to remediate landfills in Karnataka due to the lack of funds. However, since the money has been earmarked after NGT’s order, there is substantial progress in Karnataka in the tendering process for the remediation of landfills. Out of the total amount, 50% has been sanctioned to reclaim Bengaluru’s landfills as the city contains 50% of the total legacy waste in Karnataka. Remediation in Karnataka will also begin soon,” informed a source. Notably, NGT in April this year, ordered the state government to issue a grant for sewage and waste management. Complying with the order, Karnataka sanctioned Rs 967 crore for clearing old landfills and managing Sewage Treatment Plants. Although BM tried reaching out to the director of DMA, she remained unavailable to comment.

UltraTech, Dalmia push ahead with a concrete plan for green cement. But are there any takers?

In April this year, India’s biggest cement producer, UltraTech, embarked upon a first-of-its-kind initiative to cut carbon emissions. The company decided to repurpose 57,000 metric tonne (around 1,000 truckloads) industrial waste to be utilised in its cement plant. Terming it ‘groundbreaking’, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, UltraTech, said in the company’s FY23 annual report that the move showcased innovation by utilising both sea and inland waterways to transport a bulk cargo carrier loaded with 57,000 metric tonne (MT) phosphogypsum. “It was safely moved from the Paradip port in Odisha to UltraTech’s jetty in the Amreli district’s Kovaya in Gujarat,” he added. Phosphogypsum, a by-product from fertiliser manufacturing, was sourced from IFFCO’s (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative) plant and used as a substitute for limestone in UltraTech’s cement facility. Besides reducing the company’s carbon footprint, it also helped in the utilisation of industrial waste, which is a significant environmental concern. To be sure, cement is the most used material in construction after water. This shows our dependence on this versatile material, the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the world after iron and steel. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) estimates, India’s cement industry is seen expanding at a faster rate than the world average. Various estimates analysed by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based research and advocacy organisation, also indicate that cement production in India will rise at a CAGR of 6%-8% till 2030. The projected rise in cement production poses several challenges, especially since the country has committed to achieving net-zero emission by 2070 amid growing concerns globally over climate change. Since cement is responsible for about 7% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the industry has a huge responsibility on its shoulders in the world’s transition to net zero. And more importantly in India, with the annual per-capita consumption of cement standing at 240kg, there is an urgent need to green the sector. The drivers of change As the country is witnessing a housing and infrastructure boom, cement producers are looking at multiple ways to decarbonise the sector. These include shifting to renewable power and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) at plants. For instance, UltraTech, which sold 100 million tonnes of cement in FY23, up 12% from FY22, has committed to go carbon neutral by 2050. The path is indeed challenging, but the company counts on three things as the key drivers to accelerate this journey — technological innovations, tax subsidies, and regulations. Another major player, Dalmia Bharat, has been working on product innovations contributing to the green transition of the industry. This includes exploring the use of alternative binders and incorporating supplementary cementitious to reduce the clinker content in cement. Dalmia is the first cement company to conduct technical trials of blended cement such as LC3 (limestone calcined clay cement) to replace traditional OPC (ordinary Portland cement), a high carbon-emission product, thereby lowering carbon footprint by almost 60%. It has also reduced water and energy usage. While product innovation and investment in newer technologies is expensive, what’s adding to the concerns of cement producers is the lukewarm response to blended cement which comes at a premium. “The construction industry in India has been accustomed to traditional cement for many years. There is resistance to change, both from construction professionals and consumers, who are more familiar with conventional cement. Overcoming this and encouraging the transition to blended cement requires effective education and promotion efforts. For example, government tenders still ask for ordinary Portland cement,” Arvind Bodhankar, executive director – environment, social, and governance, and chief risk officer, Dalmia Bharat, tells ET Prime. Experts believe that it will take time for the blended cement market to take off in the absence of a clear procurement policy and lack of an unambiguous definition of low-carbon or green cement in the country. Why blended cement Blended cement is prepared by mixing the clinker with some supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, slag, silica fume, volcanic ash, and other industrial byproducts, at the grinding stage. This innovative cement-based material offers enhanced efficiency while consuming less energy and generating fewer pollutants and lower carbon emissions. A recent report by the CSE on decarbonising the cement sector shows that OPC, which primarily uses limestone, has the highest emission intensity — one tonne produces 0.84 tonne CO2. CSE researchers estimate that in a ‘business-as-usual scenario’, emissions from India’s cement sector will nearly double by 2030 from the 213 tonnes of CO2 released by the sector in 2019-20. However, over the past two decades, companies have started replacing limestone with other raw materials to produce Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC), in which a certain portion of fly ash from power plants replaces limestone, and Portland Slag Cement (PSC), in which some amount of slag from steel plants replaces limestone. These blended cements have low emission intensity. Blended cement accounts for 73% of the cement produced in the country, according to a report by industry body Global Cement and Concrete Association (India). But with no definition of green cement that sets a threshold for carbon emissions of blended cement products available in markets, it is difficult to assess the demand. Dalmia has introduced cement blends INFRAPRO and INFRAGREEN in large-scale infrastructure projects such as Bharatmala and high-performance green blended cement for rapid exit taxiway in India’s first net-zero emission airport coming up in Noida. Meanwhile, UltraTech has been focusing on reducing the use of conventional raw materials and promoting the reuse of waste and by-products generated in other industries such as slag, fly ash, and gypsum to produce blended products such as PPC, PSC, PPC Super, and composite cement. CSE’s analysis shows that UltraTech Cement and Dalmia Cement, despite being among the top five emitters, have the lowest emission factors (the rate at which an activity releases greenhouse gas into the atmosphere) as of 2019-20. CSE researchers have conducted an extensive analysis of India’s cement sector over the last one year to explore ways to reduce the carbon footprint of this hard-to-abate industry. Parth Kumar, programme manager - industry programme at CSE, says that the report laid out three major strategies for 2030 for the decarbonisation of the cement sector — limiting OPC’s share to 10% and increasing blended from 73% to 90%, raising the share of alternate raw materials such as fly ash (from 35% to 45%) and slag (5%-8% above country average), and pushing up the overall thermal substitution rate to 50%. “Based on this, even as India’s cement production doubles to around 660 million tonnes by 2030, CSE’s proposed strategies can bring an estimated overall reduction of 42% in emissions compared to the ‘business as usual’ scenario, which means the emission increase will be around only 1.1x by 2030 compared to 2019-20,” Kumar says. The decarbonisation drive UltraTech is fast-tracking its green energy programme and is participating in a hybrid solar wind project of 648 MW, taking its total renewable energy basket to 1.25 GW on completion. The company also intends to increase the footprint of WHRS (waste-heat recovery system) to reach 425 MW from 232 MW by the end of FY26. “When all these projects are completed, I’m happy to tell you, that we have more than 60% of energy as green energy on our expanded base. WHRS accounts for around 25% and renewable energy, which is solar and wind accounts for more than 35%,” Atul Daga, executive director and chief financial officer, UltraTech, said on the company’s Q1FY24 investor call in July. According to a company spokesperson, UltraTech significantly scaled up its green-energy capacity during FY23, achieving over a 25% increase in WHRS and a 28% improvement in renewable energy. It currently has 555MW of green energy capacity, which includes 210MW of WHRS installed capacity and 345MW of renewable energy capacity. UltraTech’s green-energy mix is currently at 19%. Dalmia, meanwhile, has adopted a four-pronged approach. It involves increasing the usage of supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash, slag, and limestone; research and development of disruptive solutions for net zero; exploring carbon capture; utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies; and awareness about the benefits of blended/green to advance its green initiative. According to Kaustubh Phadke, India head, Global Cement and Concrete Association, one of the most important levers to decarbonise the sector is blended cement and it is something that can be implemented right now. “We are making a roadmap for the Indian cement and concrete sector to deliver net-zero CO2. Policy support is the most important parameter, and the government should ask for the use of blended cement in the construction. It must be included in the public procurement policy. Another key aspect is defining what is green cement. There is a need for a long-term agreement for the availability of fly ash and slag to the industry. We are also working to change the notion around blended cement compared to OPC,” Phadke tells ET Prime. Challenges ahead Blended cement typically requires investments in new technologies and alternative materials, which can increase production costs. In a price-sensitive market like India, the higher price of green cement can be a significant deterrent to its adoption. The cost difference between low-carbon or green cement and conventional cement can vary depending on several factors, including the specific type of green cement, the region, the availability of alternative materials, and economies of scale. It also depends on the definition of green cement. “If blended cement only means carbon-neutral cement, the cost would be double the current retail price. At the same time, green low-carbon cement, which also has a substantially lower footprint, may have a slightly higher or equivalent cost compared to conventional cement,” says Dalmia’s Bodhankar, adding that it is important to consider the lifecycle cost and long-term benefits of low-carbon cement in terms of environmental impact and operational savings. “As the demand for green cement grows, technological advancements occur, and economies of scale are realised, the cost difference between green cement and conventional cement is expected to decrease further,” he explains. According to UltraTech, the market acceptability of blended cement is slowly growing, but a key issue is that while the demand for cement is climbing up amid the housing and infrastructure boom, the availability of alternative materials such as fly ash and slag is a key challenge and fly ash is expected to reduce as we move away from thermal power plants. “Cement is a power-intensive industry. Moving away from coal-based thermal power plants to renewables would also reduce the carbon footprint in the manufacture of cement. However, round-the-clock availability of RE-based power is a big challenge given that the cement industry is a 24/7 operation. UltraTech is investing significantly in ramping up its green energy capacity,” says the company spokesperson. The cement producers also believe that India’s construction industry is highly fragmented with diverse practices and regional variations. Standardising green construction practices and promoting uniform adoption of blended cement across the country can be challenging due to these reasons. The policy framework Cement producers emphasise the need for fiscal incentives to drive technology innovation. They are demanding financial incentives, subsidies, or tax breaks for manufacturers, construction companies, and consumers who opt for green cement. These incentives could include grants for research and development, capital subsidies for adopting green technologies, or reduced taxes for green cement production. Financial support mechanisms can help bridge the cost gap between green cement and conventional cement, making it more accessible and attractive to the industry. According to Dalmia, India’s cement industry is the best globally in terms of carbon emission, but next-generation technologies required for manufacturing of blended cement such as CCUS need significant support. “While developed countries have stricter environmental regulations and incentives to promote green technologies, India’s regulatory framework for green cement is still evolving. Green procurement is another important step that needs to be taken by the government as well as institutional buyers. It can create the right demand signal for green construction projects,” says Bodhankar. Cement producers have also been pushing for a change in building codes by incorporating higher weightage for embodied carbon footprint, while policymakers can drive significant reductions in carbon emissions associated with the construction industry. This approach encourages the use of sustainable materials, promotes low-carbon construction practices, and fosters a shift towards more environmentally friendly buildings and infrastructure. Another area that needs attention is establishing standards and labelling systems specific to green cement, certifying its environmental performance and carbon footprint. These standards should provide clear definitions, testing methods, and labelling requirements to enable consumers and industry professionals to identify and choose green cement products easily. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has come out with standards for various categories of blended cement, but those are yet to be achieved. The CSE report shows that although BIS allows up to 70% slag usage for Portland cement, its share does not cross 60%. Similarly, for composite cement, while BIS allows a 50% share for slag, the current average share in the country is 25%. According to UltraTech, the government is helping the industry through several policy initiatives but to further accelerate the adoption of blended cement, the industry requires the availability of alternative raw materials to be dedicated to the cement sector. “Encouraging the use of blended cement in the government infrastructure projects will be a big boost to increased use of green cement. Making finance available for the funding of carbon capture and utilisation projects as well as any emerging technologies which will help reduce the carbon footprint is crucial as these are capital-intensive technologies,” says the company spokesperson. "We are making a roadmap for the Indian cement and concrete sector to deliver net-zero CO2. Policy support is the most important parameter, and the government should ask for the use of blended cement in construction." — Kaustubh Phadke, India head, Global Cement and Concrete Association The way forward GCCA India is working on its roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. A major part of it relies on the identification of new technologies, creation of supportive policy frameworks, public-private collaborations, financing mechanisms, and social acceptance. CSE’s report recommends that to accelerate cement-sector decarbonisation in this decade, the government should restrict the use of OPC and increase the permissible limit of fly ash in PPC while setting a clear target for production of blended cement. Further, there is an immediate need to come up with notified standards for refuse-derived fuel and define low-carbon or green cement and introduce fiscal incentives for the product.

In Delhi pilot project, cameras at fuel stations to check PUC validity

The Delhi government has launched a pilot project to penalise vehicle owners who have not renewed their pollution under control (PUC) certificates, by checking their PUC status at fuel stations, officials aware of the proposal said on Friday. As part of the pilot, CCTV footage of vehicle registrations from cameras installed at two fuel stations in north Delhi — at Model Town and Gulabi Bagh — is checked against PUC data from the Vahan database of the Union ministry of road transport and highways, officials said, adding that around 800 vehicles have been monitored per day starting September 13. “A private agency, which has technical expertise in the domain, has developed a mechanism which uses CCTV cameras to scan the registration number of vehicles coming to the fuel stations. These cameras have been installed at the entrance of the filling stations. Within seconds of the cameras scanning the registration number, the feed is relayed to computer monitors as well as mobile phones through the website of the agency. It flashes the status of the PUC of the vehicle after checking the status, and the PUC status is recorded in the website, and can be seen by authorised viewers,” a Delhi government official said, asking not to be named. On April 21, HT reported that the project to check a vehicle’s PUC status will be based on automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) technology. Delhi has 966 PUC checking centres, where the tailpipe emission standards of the vehicles can be checked by paying a nominal fee. According to transport department data, around 1.7 million active vehicles in the Capital do not have a valid PUC. Through the project, officials said, the government aims to check vehicular pollution — one of the contributors to the Capital’s poor air, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November last year. Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act makes it mandatory for vehicles to have PUC certificates. The owner of a vehicle plying without a valid PUC certificate is liable to be prosecuted and may be imprisoned for up to three months or fined up to ₹10,000, or both. The government launches crackdowns on polluting vehicles from time to time — especially during the high-pollution winter months — to make people aware that the PUC certificate is a mandatory document.

Three Haryana districts farm fire hot spots

Haryana's Fatehabad, Kaithal, and Jind districts have been identified as stubble-burning hotspots, with over 500 fires recorded in each district last winter, according to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). Haryana has submitted an action plan to reduce fire counts, with some districts aiming for near elimination. Data shows that nine districts had zero or few incidents, while four had fewer than 100. The CAQM highlighted Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, and Hisar as districts of concern. Punjab remained the largest source of farm fires, reporting 49,922 instances last year. Fatehabad, Kaithal and Jind districts in Haryana have been identified as stubble-burning hotspots with a fire count of over 500 in each district last winter, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Friday, following a meeting with the state last week. The body also said Haryana submitted a state action plan for the management of paddy stubble burning to bring down fire counts substantially — including near elimination in some districts. Data shared by Haryana to CAQM in the meeting held on September 15, which CAQM shared on Friday, showed that out of the 22 districts, nine had zero or few farm fire incidents last year while four districts — Palwal, Panipat, Rohtak and Sonipat — had fewer than 100 incidents. “The other districts of concern are Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala, Yamuna Nagar and Hisar,” the CAQM said. Four review meetings have already been held between Haryana and the body ahead of winter in the presence of the chief secretary and district collectors, it added. Based on satellite data from last year, Haryana classified villages into three categories — red zone or “high risk” villages, where the active fire locations (AFL) were the highest; yellow zone or “moderate risk” villages, where AFLs were moderate; and green zone or “low risk” villages, where fire counts were lowest. A total of 147 villages are in the red zone, 582 in yellow, and the remaining 6,175 villages in green. “Most of the red zone villages are located in Fatehabad (49), Kaithal (36), Jind (24), Sirsa (11) and Karnal (10),” the CAQM added. Between September 15 and November 30 last year, Haryana reported 3,661 fires – almost half of the 6,987 fires in 2021. Punjab, however, remained the largest source of farm fires, recording 49,922 instances. The count was 71,304 fires in 2021. Delhi and the national capital region annually face a public health crisis in the run-up to and during most of the winter. The crisis begins with the farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, where farmers set fire to miles and miles of paddy fields after harvest to clear them of residue. Meteorological conditions such as a lack of winds that would otherwise blow local pollutants away and festival fireworks during Diwali worsen the crisis. An amalgamation of factors creates conditions that force the shutting of schools, halting of construction work, limits on business, etc. “With the action plan in place, Haryana is expected to witness a drastic decline in stubble burning cases this year,” the CAQM added. Experts, meanwhile, said that like the previous years, timely intervention from the federal green authority and proactive measures on the part of the state are imperative in controlling farm fires and the subsequent air quality crisis. “This year too, early intervention of the CAQM for proactive monitoring of on-ground preparedness and the same time, the state government’s strategic interventions in vulnerable districts before the onset of winter are critical. Over the years, Haryana has shown considerable progress in controlling farm fires in the state,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment.

The India Story| Battling India's air pollution challenge

This week on The India Story, Vikram Chandra decodes the critical air pollution issue especially in North India and explores the steps that can be taken to combat the severe bad air conditions entire Indo-Gangetic plains grapple with every winter. A recent study has revealed that air pollution reduces the lifespan of the capital's residents by nearly 12 years. It's well known that exposure to unhealthy levels of particulate matter takes a toll on the lungs and hearts of a significant portion of the population in the country. In recent years, medical studies have linked poor air quality to an increased vulnerability to various forms of cancer, cognitive disorders, and stunted development in children. This week on 'The India Story,' Vikram Chandra discusses the critical issue of air pollution, especially in North India, with experts Dr. GC Khilnani, Chairman of PSRI, and Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director of the Centre for Science and Environment. The conversation explores the steps that can be taken to combat the ‘airpocalypse’ that Delhi and the entire Indo-Gangetic plains grapple with every winter. Can the opposition's INDIA alliance pose a challenge to the BJP's political dominance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? Author and veteran journalist Minhaz Merchant discusses all this and more in his new book, 'Modi: The Challenge of 2024' with Vikram Chandra. An exclusive conversation with Grandmaster Rameshbabu 'Pragg' Praggnanandhaa, who shares insights into his recent Chess World Cup success and his preparations for the upcoming Asian Games.

Geen vlees, wel privéjets: de superrijken ondermijnen de moraal om de klimaatcrisis aan te pakken

Hoe ver klimaatontwrichting uit de klauwen gaat lopen, hangt grotendeels af van onze klimaatmoraal. Maar die wordt constant ondermijnd door de superrijken, die hun vervuilende gedrag gewoon kunnen afkopen, schrijft Sjors Roeters. Wat doet dit met de rest van ons, aardbewoners zonder privéjet? Napoleon stelde dat ook als je tegenstander drie keer zoveel soldaten en wapens heeft, je alsnog wint als je troepen een superieure strijdlust hebben. Kolonel Foertsch, een Duitse militair theoreticus voegde daaraan toe: ‘Het laatste woord over overwinning en nederlaag rust niet op wapens en uitrusting, noch op de manier waarop ze worden gebruikt, zelfs niet op de principes van strategie en tactiek, maar op de moraal van de troepen.’ In Nederland zagen we de collectieve moraal in actie komen met de Russische invasie van Oekraïne. Er volgde een collectieve inspanning om het gasverbruik drastisch te verminderen om de oorlogskas van Rusland niet meer te spekken. Overal ging de verwarming omlaag, doofden de lichten en werden warmtepompen geïnstalleerd. Het menselijke leed aan de andere kant van het Europese continent gaf een enorme boost aan de moraal in de rest van Europa. Het slagen of falen van een collectief doel hangt voor een groot deel af van onze bereidheid aan dat collectieve doel bij te dragen. Neem onze belastingmoraal. De meeste mensen zien het nut van een gemeenschappelijke pot wel in. Ze hebben zelf immers ook genoten van onderwijs, gezondheidszorg en andere sociale voorzieningen die ermee betaald worden. Maar als de rijken niet betalen, is het hele ding kapot. Dit was goed te zien in de nasleep van de gelekte Panama Papers, waaruit bleek dat rijken en multinationals massaal belasting ontwijken. Met een ondermijning van de belastingmoraal als gevolg. Op rantsoen De groteske uitstoot van een minderheid van de mensheid leidt tot klimaatontwrichting overal op aarde, waarbij de rijken klimaatrampen veel makkelijker kunnen ontvluchten. Steeds extremere stormen, droogtes, hittegolven, overstromingen en hongersnoden zorgen voor gigantisch menselijk leed – vooral bij de meest kwetsbaren die het minste hebben bijgedragen aan klimaatontwrichting. Het aantal klimaatvluchtelingen kan oplopen tot 1,2 miljard mensen in 2050, stelt een studie uit 2020. Hoe ver klimaatontwrichting uit de klauwen gaat lopen, hangt grotendeels af van de klimaatmoraal, onze bereidheid om bij te dragen. Hierin schuilt de kern van het probleem van het bestaan van privéjets vol marmer, superjachten vol zwembaden en onderzeeërs, en zware SUV’s die naast duizenden extra verkeersdoden ook voor nodeloze uitstoot zorgen. Want er is naast de immense CO2-uitstoot per persoon, en de disproportioneel grote bijdrage aan klimaatverandering van de rijken als groep, iets misschien nog wel schadelijker aan luxe-consumptie: het erodeert de klimaatmoraal haast even snel als dat het het poolijs laat wegsmelten. Koolstofdioxide uitstoten is op zichzelf niet slecht. Elke keer als we uitademen, brengen we CO2 de lucht in. Het wordt pas echt problematisch, om niet te zeggen catastrofaal, als we overmatig veel CO2 de atmosfeer inbrengen. De vergelijking met oorlog hierboven klinkt misschien wat grof, maar is niet zo vergezocht. Net als in een oorlog zouden ook nu in korte tijd de productiemiddelen totaal moeten worden getransformeerd. In de Tweede Wereldoorlog werd in de VS in twee jaar tijd de hele economie heringericht om munitie en wapens in plaats van consumptiegoederen te produceren. Energie en voedsel gingen op rantsoen. In plaats van koelkasten werden er wapens geproduceerd, afgedwongen door de overheid. Alles om Hitler te verslaan. De nationale moraal was cruciaal voor het laten slagen van deze economische transformatie. Er werd zelfs een comité voor de nationale moraal opgericht. Zoals de voorzitter van dit comité stelde: ‘Morale wins wars, solves crises, is an indispensable condition of a vigorous national life.’ Luxe-emissies en basisemissies Dat geldt ook voor de klimaatcrisis. Om de klimaatontwrichting niet compleet te laten ontsporen, moeten we binnen ons koolstofbudget blijven. Dat is de maximum hoeveelheid CO2 die we nog uit kunnen stoten willen we onder de anderhalve graad opwarming blijven, zoals afgesproken in bij het Klimaatakkoord van Parijs. Wetenschappers hebben begin 2023 berekend dat we wereldwijd in totaal nog 380 gigaton CO2 kunnen uitstoten. Op de huidige koers is dat koolstofbudget in 2030 op. (En laten we vooral dit optimistische scenario gebruiken, want er zijn ook wetenschappers die deze schatting met de nieuwe IPCC-methodologie recent hebben geüpdatet en uitkomen op 260 gigaton CO2, waarmee het wereldwijde koolstofbudget in 2028 al op zou zijn.) Koolstofdioxide uitstoten is op zichzelf niet slecht. Elke keer als we uitademen, brengen we CO2 de lucht in. Daarnaast komt er onvermijdelijk CO2 vrij als we proberen te overleven. De productie van voedsel, schoon drinkwater, huisvesting, kleding, gezondheidszorg, onderwijs: alles zorgt op een of andere manier voor emissies. Het wordt pas echt problematisch, om niet te zeggen catastrofaal, als we overmatig veel CO2 de atmosfeer inbrengen. De Indiase klimaatwetenschappers Anil Agarwal en Sunita Narain problematiseerden daarom in een essay het gelijkstellen van verschillende soorten CO2-uitstoot. Tuurlijk, natuurkundig gezien is de CO2 die vrijkomt bij de productie van voedsel gelijk aan de CO2-uitstoot van een superjacht. Maar moreel gezien? ‘Can we really equate,’ schrijven Agarwal en Narain, ‘the carbon dioxide contributions of gas guzzling automobiles in Europe and North America (…) with the methane emissions of draught cattle and rice fields of subsistence farmers in West Bengal or Thailand? Do these people not have a right to live?’ Filosoof Henry Shue ontwikkelde op basis van dit concept een onderscheid tussen luxe-emissies en basisemissies. Luxe-emissies zijn het resultaat van nodeloze overconsumptie, zoals privéjets, superjachten of SUV’s. Basisemissies is uitstoot om te overleven en je staande te houden in de wereld. Zoals de Zweedse sociaal-ecoloog en activist Andreas Malm het omschrijft: ‘The former happen because rich people like to wallow in the pleasure of their rank, the latter because poor people try to survive.’ Betalen om te vervuilen Wat te doen? De vervuiler laten betalen, zeggen niet alleen progressieve clubs als GroenLinks en Greenpeace, maar ook steeds meer gevestigde economen. Een manier om dat te doen, is het invoeren van een stevige CO2-belasting. Dan zal er minder worden vervuild, volgens berekeningen van economen. Pay to pollute, betalen om te vervuilen. Maar er is iets mis met deze aanpak, legt Harvard-filosoof Michael Sandel uit. In zijn boek What Money Can’t Buy uit 2012 zet hij uiteen wat geld allemaal níet kan kopen, en welke averechtse effecten het heeft als je geld de plaats van moraal in laat nemen. Zo is er een verschil tussen een boete en een tarief betalen. ‘Boetes duiden op morele afkeuring, terwijl tarieven gewoon prijzen zijn die geen moreel oordeel impliceren,’ schrijft Sandel. Hij is bang dat als je mensen laat betalen om meer CO2uit te stoten, dat net zoiets zou zijn als mensen laten betalen om zwerfafval de natuur in te mogen mieteren. De Range Rover-rijder mag dan, tegen betaling, lekker zijn plastic flesjes uit het raam smijten. We vinden zwerfafval moreel verwerpelijk, en daarom staat er een boete in plaats van een tarief op. Hoe kan het dan dat we betalen voor groteske CO2-uitstoot, wat nog veel meer ecologische verwoesting teweegbrengt dan plasticvervuiling, niet als boete maar simpelweg als tarief beschouwen? De vermogens van de rijken stellen hen in staat hun energie-intensieve levensstijl af te kopen zonder hun destructieve gedrag te hoeven veranderen. Want dat is het systeem waar nu steeds meer op wordt vertrouwd. Het Europese CO2-handelssysteem, waarin door middel van emissierechten broeikasgasduitstoot kan worden gekocht, is een belangrijk instrument voor de Europese Unie om de uitstoot naar beneden te brengen. Maar voor bedrijven is de handel in CO2 simpelweg een kostenpost bij het zakendoen – klimaatverandering opgenomen en gesteriliseerd in hun Excel-sheets. Het afkopen van je CO2-uitstoot is zo eerder een obstakel dan een oplossing voor het probleem. (En dan heb ik het nog niet eens over het feit dat de CO2-compensatie-industrie nu al een schimmig trackrecord heeft gekregen.) Het afkopen vormt een morele bedreiging, meent Sandel. Degenen die deze CO2-aflaten kunnen kopen, zien zichzelf als ontdaan van verantwoordelijkheid voor klimaatverandering. Sandel schrijft voorzichtig: ‘A global market in the right to pollute may make it harder to cultivate the habits of restraint and shared sacrifice that a responsible environmental ethic requires.’ De grote en al decennia hard groeiende vermogens van de rijken stellen hen in staat hun energie-intensieve levensstijl gewoon af te kopen zonder hun destructieve gedrag te hoeven veranderen. De pay to pollute-aanpak maakt het zo waarschijnlijk moeilijker in plaats van makkelijker om tot ontmoediging van deze overconsumptie te komen.