(a) whether the demand for coal has increased to meet the energy requirements of the country:
(b) if so, the reasons for not increasing the domestic coal production so as to reduce the dependence on imported coal and save foreign currency;
(c) whether it is proposed to reduce the use of coal globally to save the environment; and
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for the increase in use of coal in the country?
MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES
(SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)
(a)to(d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 490 FOR ANSWER ON 06/04/2022 BY SHRI DINESH CHANDRA YADAV AND SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH, M.P. REGARDING COAL PRODUCTION.
(a)&(b): The details of all India demand, domestic supply of coal and import of coal during last five years and the current year is given below:-
Year 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22
Actual Demand (MT) 836.93 898.25 968.14 955.72 906.13 914.48*
Domestic Supply (MT) 645.98 690.00 732.79 707.18 690.88 741.16
Import (MT) 190.95 208.25 235.35 248.54 215.25 173.32@
MT – Million Tonne *Actual demand upto February, 2022 @ Import upto January 2022
Due to increased availability of coal on account of policy measures taken to increase domestic coal production, total coal import declined from 248.54 MT in 2019-20 to 215.25 MT in 2020-21. During April 2021-January 2022, coal import has further decreased to the level of 173.32 MT as compared to 180.56 MT during the corresponding period of previous year.
Coal import by Power sector declined from 69.22 MT in 2019-20 to 45.47 MT in 2020-21. Further, during April 2021-January 2022, coal import by Power Sector has decreased to the level of 22.73 MT as compared to 39.01 MT during the corresponding period of previous year.
The share of coal supply by CIL, which was around 60.8% of total consumption of coal in 2019-20, increased to 63.3% in 2020-21 and further to 64.3% in 2021-22 (April- January 2022).
In 2021-22 (upto 28th Feb.2022), Coal India Limited (CIL) has dispatched 487.88 MT to power sector, with a 22.6% growth over last year. Similarly, SCCL and captive coal blocks have dispatched 48.91 MT and 74.65 MT coal to power sector (upto 28th Feb.2022) which is 36% and 40.8% more than the same period of last year.
(c)&(d: Being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve, coal is going to stay as major source of energy in the foreseeable future. Despite push for renewables, country will require base load capacity of coal-based generation for stability and also for energy security. As the price of renewable power declines and that of coal based power rises, there is a shift towards the former, also supported by emission concerns. Overarching decisions titled ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ reflect the following agreement between parties with regard to coal and fossil fuel subsidies:
‘Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition
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towards low emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with National circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition’.
It is evident that above paragraph is only ‘calling upon’ Parties to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition. Paris Agreement is a multilateral treaty for combating climate change.
Accordingly, while India has committed to clean energy; the pace of transition to cleaner energy sources in India is to be viewed in the light of national circumstances, and principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies.
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