No financial aid, no exit: IEA chief backs India on coal

04 Mar 2021 CW Staff

Backing India's stand on continuing with coal as an energy source, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol told the media on Wednesday that it would not be fair to ask developing nations to stop coal usage without giving international financial assistance to make up for the economic challenge from such a move.

Birol, whose energy agency is a policy adviser for members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said India, China, and Indonesia, produce more than 60% of electricity from coal and the average age of their coal fired plants is 11 years as compared to 40 years in Europe. He said the problem of concentration of carbon in the atmosphere has lasted “almost last 100 years” and that nations such as the US, Japan and European nations developed and enriched themselves “by using a lot of coal”.

4th Indian Cement Review Conference 2021

17-18 March

Click for event info

Last month, IEA said India would make up the biggest share of energy demand growth at 25% over the next two decades, as it surpasses the European Union as the world's third biggest energy consumer by 2030.

India depends on coal for 60% of its energy, and coal and associated sectors are major employment generators, Birol said at the Energy Horizons Leadership Dialogue organised by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Last year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had called on India to move away from coal and other fossil fuel based economic growth and fully adopt renewable energy. India has maintained that it is not a polluter and cause of climate change and has voluntarily committed to work on reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP by 33%-35% below 2005 levels, by 2030.

Image Source

Also read: CIL set to venture into aluminium, solar

Infrastructure Urban

05 Nov 2025

TBO Tek Q2 Profit Climbs 12%, Revenue Surges 26% YoY

TBO Tek Limited one of the world’s largest travel distribution platforms, reported a solid performance for Q2 FY26 with a 26 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 5.68 billion, reflecting broad-based growth and improving profitability.The company recorded a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of Rs 8,901 crore, up 12 per cent YoY, driven by strong performance across Europe, MEA, and APAC regions. Adjusted EBITDA before acquisition-related costs stood at Rs 1.04 billion, up 16 per cent YoY, translating into an 18.32 per cent margin compared to 16.56 per cent in Q1 FY26. Profit after tax r..

Northern Graphite, Rain Carbon Secure R&D Grant for Greener Battery Materials

Northern Graphite Corporation and Rain Carbon Canada Inc, a subsidiary of Rain Carbon Inc, have jointly received up to C$860,000 (€530,000) in funding under the Canada–Germany Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme to develop sustainable battery anode materials.The two-year, C$2.2 million project aims to transform natural graphite processing by-products into high-performance, battery-grade anode material (BAM). Supported by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Programme (NRC IRAP) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs a..

Antony Waste Q2 Revenue Jumps 16%; Subsidiary Wins Rs 3,200 Cr WtE Projects

Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited (AWHCL), a leading player in India’s municipal solid waste management sector, announced a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in total operating revenue to Rs 2.33 billion for Q2 FY26. The growth was driven by higher waste volumes, escalated contracts, and strong operational execution.EBITDA rose 18 per cent to Rs 570 million, with margins steady at 21.6 per cent, while profit after tax stood at Rs 173 million, up 13 per cent YoY. Revenue from Municipal Solid Waste Collection and Transportation (MSW C&T) reached Rs 1.605 billion, and MSW Processing re..