Rajasthan’s Emissions profile  :

Aggregate Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the anthropogenic activities in Rajasthan in 1990 amounted to 18.6 million tons of the CO2, 827.9 thousand tons of the CH4, and 6.6 thousand tons of N2O. In terms of CO2 equivalent, emissions amount to 38.0 million tons. According to data similar estimates aggregate emissions from the anthropogenic activities in Rajasthan in amounted to 27.0 million tons of the CO2, 1044 thousand tons of CH4, 10.5 thousand tons of N2O. In terms of CO2 equivalent, emissions in amount to 52.2 million tons.

On the sectoral basis, emissions were estimated from the energy sector, agriculture sector, industrial processes, waste disposal activities and from land-use, land-use change and forestry sector. Key districts with high emissions  include Ganganagar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Udaipur, Chittaurgarh and Kota (Total emissions in the district in was greater that 1.5 million tons CO2 equivalent).

These estimates were made in the context of the first national communication to the UNFCCC 24. The only other estimates or updated information on the GHG emissions is for the year 2007 as part of the INCCA publication, India’s greenhouse gas emissions 2007. These estimates suggest that there is about 3 % increase (CAGR) in 2007 as compared to 1994. However, the study does not give state-wise estimates therefore similar estimates for Rajasthan are not available. Some of the recent trends in activities that contribute to the GHG emissions are discussed in the following section.

Energy sector overview :

 The emissions from the energy sector largely are on account of combustion of fossil fuels and constitutes the major sources of emissions in all other sectors. There are three major sources of energy in Rajasthan i.e., (i) firewood or dung cakes in rural areas for cooking, heating, lighting; and in small scale industries (ii) electricity in several sectors i.e., domestic, industrial, agriculture, transport, and others (iii) petroleum products in transport sector; in captive power plants and domestic both in rural and urban areas (Kerosene and LPG). The following section elaborates on recent trends in the state in electricity generation, transportation, commercial, residential, agriculture; fugitive emissions from coal and oil.

Electricity generation  : The total installed capacity for electricity generation in Rajasthan is 7716.63 MW (as on December 2009). Of the installed capacity around 52.97 % is thermal, 19.14 % is hydel, 8.61 % is gas, 6.08% is atomic and approximately 13.19 % is renewable (wind and biomass). The main sources of power generation for the state are Kota and Suratgarh thermal projects, Dolpur Gas thermal projects, Mahi hydel, Wind farms, Biomass, Captive power plants, Bhakra, Vyas, Chambal, Satpura Interstate Partnership Projects. Besides this, the state also gets power from Rajasthan Atomic Power projects, Singroli, Rihand, Dadri, Anta, Auriya, Dadri gas plants, Unchahar thermal and Tanakpur, Salal, Chamera and Uri hydel projects from the central sector.

The use of devices with low energy efficiency is a major concern in the State. This is generally related with the inefficient devices, technologies, components, improper instrumentation, poor maintenance etc. Low efficiency results in more consumption of fuel resources30. This is despite the fact that with the increase in temperatures, it is expected that there would be an increase in the electricity demands including the peak demand in Rajasthan. To meet continuously growing power demands of the state, the Rajasthan Power Generation Company has identified new power plants in the State with coal as a major option to enhance power availability in the State. Additionally, the state is now looking at renewable sources of energy such as Solar and Biomass. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RREC) is the nodal agency for development of energy from renewable energy sources in the state as well as the state designated agency for promoting energy efficiency and energy conservation.

Transport :  Due to rapid economic growth, increase in tourism activities, and developmental growth in the state, there is an increased demand in the transportation services. In absence of efficient public transport system, private vehicles have grown at a rapid pace in the state. These vehicles mainly consume non-renewable fossil fuels, and are a major contributor of green house gases, particularly CO2 emission. The total commercial energy consumption in the transport sector is estimated to be huge and includes fuels such as diesel, petrol, CNG, LPG etc. In India, transport sector emits an estimated 258.10 Tg of CO2, of which 94.5% was contributed by road transport (2003–2004).

Among all the states and Union Territories, Rajasthan contributes 15.17 Tg which is 6.22% of the India’s emissions from the road sector. Growing private vehicles and lack of good public transport has led to increased emissions from the sector.

Residential/ commercial and agricultural/fisheries :  Energy used in residential sector is primarily used for cooking, lighting, heating and household appliances. For cooking, LPG is the primary source in the urban areas while in rural areas biomass fuels such as fuel wood, crop residues, and animal dung continues to be dominant fuel. In the commercial sector, key activities include lightning, cooking, space heating/cooling, pumping, running of equipments and appliances. Sources of energy include grid based electricity, LPG, kerosene, diesel, charcoal and fuel wood. Commercial and institutional sector also sees extensive use of captive power generation across the country due to frequent power shortages in various seasons. These power generation units generally run on diesel.

Industry :

The industry sector includes emissions from fossil fuel combustion and the emissions related to various processes to manufacture industrial goods. The share of industry in the GSDP at constant 1999-2000 price is about 30%. The annual growth of the overall index of industrial production (IIP), a measure of the absolute level and percentage growth of industrial production, has shown a steady increasing trend between 2005 and 2010. The important industries of the state include cement, mineral based industries, steel rerolling, textile dyeing and printing, brick and lime kilns and chemical. The industrial growth in the state is dominated by small scale industries.  As per data compiled by RIICO for the registered industrial units, only 10% of them are located in notified industrial areas, the rest are set up in non-notified areas lacking the necessary industrial infrastructure, making it difficult for the regulatory agencies to monitor them for their performance. It is highly likely that these clusters would be using obsolete technology options due to unavailability of funds and low profit margins. There is however, lack of data on the emissions from the respective sectors and industrial clusters. The state government has been making persistent efforts for rapid industrialization of the state. During the year 2009-10, RIICO has developed Special Industrial Parks, Theme Parks, 8 growth centers and mini growth centers. Besides this, several special economic zones are being developed.

Agriculture and Livestock :

 India’s agriculture sector emitted 334.41 million tons of CO2 equivalents, of which enteric fermentation constituted 63% of the total CO2 equivalent emissions from this sector, 21% of the emissions were from rice cultivation. Crop soils emitted 13% of the total CO2 equivalent emission from agriculture. Rest 2.7% of the emissions is attributed to livestock manure management and burning of crop residue. The agriculture sector contributes 27% to Rajasthan’s GSDP and is critical to the economy of the state. The contribution of animal husbandry to the GSDP is about 9.16%. More than 80% of the rural families keep livestock in their household that supplements their income and nutritional requirements. The GHG emissions from the agriculture sector are emitted mainly in the form of CH4. These are due to enteric fermentation and from rice paddy cultivation. N2O is also emitted from this sector and is mainly from the agricultural fields due to application of fertilizers. Livestock is a major anthropogenic source of methane emission from agriculture.

With a livestock population of 49.14 million in Rajasthan, emissions from enteric fermentation accounts to .98 (Tg) and manure management accounts to .09 (Tg). According to other estimates the contribution of the state is 8.68% in India’s total37. India emitted 3.3 million tons of CH4 in 2007 from 4 3.63 million hectare of rice cultivation. In Rajasthan only 107758 hectare of total area which is 1.03% of the total area under cultivation. There are no state wise estimates of emissions from rice cultivation as emissions are function of the crop duration, water regimes and organic soil amendments. However, rice cultivation in Rajasthan is only approximately 1 % of the total area under cultivation.

 One of the factors responsible for emissions from agricultural soils is the human induced net Nitrogen addition in the soil caused due to synthetic or organic fertilizers, deposited manure, crop residues and sewage sludge. Since, agriculture in Rajasthan is likely to face challenges due to increased production demand, use of fertilizers will increase. Apart from this other sources includes field burning of agriculture crop residue which is common in certain areas. However, there are no firm estimates of emissions from these sources.

Land use, land use change and Forestry :

 While there are no net emissions from this sector, there are many opportunities that can be tapped in the forestry sector to sequester carbon. Under the Kyoto Protocol, there has been provision to use the Clean Development Mechanism and there is potential to use this mechanism to gain credits from the forestry sector. Also credits could be aimed at through the REDD+( Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing countries) mechanism.

Waste :

 Rajasthan has shown high decadal urban population growth rate of 31% during 1991-2001. The rapid population growth of the urban centres has resulted in tremendous pressures on land, natural resources and basic infrastructural facilities.

About 6600 MT of municipal solid waste is generated per day in the state and dumped in low depressions . The main greenhouse gases emitted from waste management is CH4. It is produced and released into the atmosphere as a by-product of the anaerobic decomposition of solid waste, where-by methanogenic bacteria break down organic matter in the waste. Similarly, wastewater becomes a source of CH4 when treated or disposed anaerobically. It can also be a source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions as well due to protein content in domestically generated waste water. The greenhouse gases and their source categories include municipal solid waste disposal, domestic waste water disposal, and industrial waste water disposal. There are no estimates of emissions from this sector at the state level.

Broad strategies and actions are covered as part of task force on sustainable habitat. Some of the options to reduce emissions from this sector include secure landfills, composting plants, and waste to energy projects. Capacity building of local bodies and municipalities for this purpose would be required.