Black Carbon Emission

Source-This post on Black Carbon Emission has been created based on the article “The need to curb black carbon emissions” published in “The Hindu” on 26 March 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-3- Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Context– According to a 2016 study, the residential sector contributes 47% of India’s total black carbon emissions followed by Industries 22%, diesel vehicles 17%, open burning 12%, and other sources 2%. Decarbonization efforts in the industry and transport sectors in the past decade have led to reductions in black carbon emissions. However, the residential sector remains a challenge.

What is black carbon?

Description-It is a component of soot emitted by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel and biomass.

Impact-It contributes to global warming and poses severe risks. Exposure to black carbon can increase risk of heart disease, birth complications, and premature death.

Source– Most black carbon emissions in India arise from burning biomass, such as cow dung or straw, in traditional cookstoves.

What is the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?

Entitlements-The scheme would provide free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to households below the poverty line. The programme has provided connections to over 10 crore households as of January 2024.

Objective-To make clean cooking fuel available to rural and poor households and reduce their dependence on traditional cooking fuels.

Infrastructure-The PMUY has established infrastructure for LPG connections, including free gas stoves, deposits for LPG cylinders, and a distribution network.

Impact-It has helped in reducing black carbon emissions because it is a cleaner alternative to traditional fuel consumption.

Read more- Non Conventional Energy

What are the issues with Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?

1) Low LPG refill rate- According to RTI data, in 2022-2023, only 25% of all PMUY beneficiaries availed either zero LPG refill or only one LPG refill. This suggests that they still relied entirely on traditional biomass for cooking.

2) High cost– The cost of a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder, even with an additional subsidy, is still about ₹600 per cylinder. This is a high cost for most PMUY beneficiaries, so they switch to traditional sources like cow dung, firewood, etc.

3)  Low consumption of LPG-As per the findings of the The Hindu newspaper, the average PMUY beneficiary household consumes only 3.5-4 LPG cylinders per year as compared to non-PMUY household that consume 6 to 7 cylinders.
This implies that up to half of all the energy needs of a PMUY beneficiary household are still met by traditional fuels. Traditional fuels contribute to black carbon emissions.

4) Last mile connectivity-There is lack of last-mile connectivity in the LPG distribution network. This leads to unavailability of clean cooking fuel in remote areas which leads to enhanced use of biomass.

What should be the way forward?

1) Production of Coal-bed methane-There is a need to promote the local production of coal-bed methane (CBM) gas by composting biomass. It is a much cleaner source of energy. Here, Panchayats can take the initiative to produce CBM gas locally at the village level.

2) Addressing low-refill rate-The government should address the challenge of low refill rate by further subsidizing the cost of LPG cylinder.

PMUY scheme can help India become a global leader in addressing regional health concerns and help meet its Sustainability Development Goal of providing affordable clean energy to everyone and contributing to global climate mitigation.

Question for practice

Highlighting the significance of PMUY. Also enlist some of the challenges in its effective implementation?