Reports/Study in News
Kartavya Desk Staff
#### Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: Multiple
Reports/Study | Description
Study on Methane concentration | A recent study suggests that methane emissions from fossil fuels have been declining since the 1990s and have remained stable since, while methane produced by microbes has been on the rise. This finding challenges previous assumptions that fossil fuel is the main source of methane in the atmosphere.
According to recent estimates, the atmospheric concentration of methane today is three times what it was 300 years ago.
Methane (CH4) accounts for 15–35% of the rise in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2020 and 2024, methane emissions rose from 15 to around 21 parts per billion (ppb).
Methane is the second most abundant human-caused greenhouse gas after CO2 but has a stronger warming effect. Its global warming potential over a century is 28 times that of CO2, and even higher over shorter periods.
ISRO releases Indian Space Situational Assessment Report (ISSAR) for 2023 | ISSAR 2023, compiled by ISRO’s System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management (IS4OM), shows a rise in space object population.
Concerns include an increasing trend in Collision Avoidance Manoeuvres (CAMs) and risks to spacecraft operations and astronauts’ lives due to space debris, potentially leading to the Kessler syndrome
IS4OM, operational since 2022, safeguards ISRO’s space assets
India has taken proactive steps to mitigate risks associated with space operations and safeguard its space assets e.g., Object Proximity Analysis (SOPA) for Satellites; Collision Avoidance Analysis (COLA) (conducted for launch vehicles to ensure safe trajectories); ISR O’s Network for space object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project (enhances space surveillance capabilities); Inter-Agency Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) (India collaborating with 13 space agencies to manage space debris collectively)
‘Standards for a Net Zero Iron and Steel sector in India’ | Released by the International Energy Agency
The policy brief emphasizes standards for low and near-zero emissions steel (including the promotion of Green Steel), covering measurement methodologies and defining emissions thresholds.
India ranks as the world’s second-largest steel-producing country, contributing 7% of total crude steel productionIndia’s steel industry presently represents 12% of carbon dioxide emissions, a figure projected to double by 2030, fueled by government infrastructure initiatives.
Initiatives to standardize the steel sector in India include the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy of 2019, the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, and the establishment of 14 Task Forces by the Ministry of Steel to support the development of a “Roadmap for Green Steel.” Globally, initiatives such as the Steel Breakthrough launched during COP26 in 2021 and the Steel Standard Principles introduced at COP28 in 2023 focus on defining and establishing measurement methodologies for low and near-zero emissions steel.
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 association countries (including India) of the IEA represent 75% of global energy demand.
India, which joined the IEA Family as an Association country in 2017, sent a formal request for full membership to IEA ministers in October 2023.