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Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly newsletter by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change programme and Down to Earth.
Circularity within industrial practices carries the potential to conserve natural resources and significantly reduce carbon emissions. CSE’s new report by Shobhit Srivastava, ‘Good Practices in Industrial Waste Circularity’, charts the potential of circularity of various industrial wastes until 2030—and the associated benefits. According to the report, waste circularity practices in India can reuse 750 million tonne (MT) of industrial waste, conserve over 450 MT of natural resources (such as coal and gypsum) and reduce emissions in the range of 50-90 MT of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Some of the major waste products analysed in the report are steel slag from the iron and steel sector, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from municipal solid waste, fly ash from thermal power plants, and biomass from agricultural waste. On biomass utilisation, the report highlights that about 0.8 MT of biomass was co-fired in thermal power plants till July 2024, which reduced emissions by an equivalent of 1 MT carbon dioxide emissions. Further, the report projects that the usage of refuse-derived fuel in the cement sector and co-firing biomass in thermal power plants can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 46.6-85.6 MT of CO2 equivalent by 2030. The report recommends creating inventories of industrial waste, incentivising industries to enhance circular practices and providing policy guidelines to utilise industrial waste—including economic models and responsibilities of each stakeholder.
In other news, data from the Global Energy Monitor reveals that six countries have achieved a complete coal phase out as of January 2025. This includes the United Kingdom, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Peru and Sweden. The phase out was achieved through a combination of policy measures and market dynamics as these countries shifted towards natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable energy. In the UK, natural gas and nuclear energy dominate the energy mix, with some additions through offshore wind projects. Portugal has seen major investments in renewables, with the share of renewables in the energy mix rising to 61 per cent in 2021 from 39 per cent in 2017. In Belgium, nuclear energy accounts for 46 per cent of electricity generation, followed by natural gas (23 per cent), wind (13 per cent) and solar (eight per cent).
However, developing countries, including major economies like India and Indonesia still face challenges when it comes to a near-term phase out of coal, which is driven by rising energy demand, increasing per capita consumption, and the intermittency of renewable energy supply.
Lastly, according to the India Meteorological Department, February 2025 was the hottest in India in the last 125 years.
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By - Upamanyu Das
Climate Change, CSE
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| EXTREME WEATHER TRACKER |
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Last month was the hottest and one of the driest Februarys on record in last 125 years: IMD, 02 March 2025
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Dry winter, late snow and rain: How climate change fits into the picture of the Chamoli avalanche, 01 March 2025
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CLIMATE NEWS | SCIENCE| IMPACTS| POLITICS |
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| Video |
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Online Training Course |
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