London August 5 2022: Coal prices fell more than five percent to $ 289 per ton for the month of September as India approved new carbon emission targets amid recession fears.
Benchmark Richards Bay futures contract for the month of September dropped more than 5% to $289 a ton, the lowest since May 2022. Benchmark New Castle futures for the month of September fell 6.22% to $355 a ton.
India, the world’s third largest carbon polluter, has finally approved new targets for slashing planet-warming emissions, more than a year after a United Nations deadline for updated commitments.
The demand outlook remains clouded by increasing worries about an economic slump in the United States and Europe, debt distress in emerging market economies, and a strict zero COVID-19 policy in China, the world’s largest coal importer.
On Wednesday, the Indian federal cabinet approved the new national emissions pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced these goals last year at United Nations climate talks in Glasgow, but they had not been formalized.
The new NDC will commit India to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from its 2005 level in the next 7 years – a 10% increase over its previous 2016 pledge.
India will also aim to meet half of its energy demands from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, by 2030. This, too, is a boost over its previous target of 40%, which the government said it had achieved in December 2021.
India’s commitment to reducing emissions is more than its expected fair share and a welcome step, said Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia, a network of not-for-profit organisations.
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