Thursday, 5th January 2023
Cabinet approves National Green Hydrogen Mission:
Context: National Green Hydrogen Mission is aimed at making India the global hub for the production of green hydrogen.
Objectives:
- To annually produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
- Cutting about 50 million tonnes of carbon emissions and saving one trillion rupees on fossil fuel imports.
- To get at least 10% of the global demand for green hydrogen (by 2030).
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.
SIGHT programme:
Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT) will be a part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
The programme will have two distinct financial incentive mechanisms:
- Targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers.
- Production of Green Hydrogen.
Likely outcomes of the Mission by 2030:
- Renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country.
- Creation of over Six lakh jobs.
- Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports.
- Abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Challenges ahead:
- Production of green hydrogen is a capital-intensive process.
- Uncertainty in the policy framework.
- Lack of research and development (“R&D”).
- Transportation cost: Majority of low-cost renewable energy resources are located far from potential demand centres.
- Low production of Electrolysers.
These have led to the investors deliberating on the viability of investing in the sector.
Winter heat wave in Europe
Context:
Several parts of Europe are witnessing an unprecedented winter heat wave.
- Temperatures have increased 10 to 20 degrees Celsius above normal.
Most effected countries: Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia.
Why is it so warm this winter?
According to some climate experts, the continent is experiencing an extreme warm spell because of the formation of a heat dome over the region.
What is a heat dome?
A heat dome is created when an area of high pressure stays over the same area for days or even weeks, trapping very warm air underneath - rather like a lid on a pot.
- Hot air masses, born from the blazing summer sun, expand vertically into the atmosphere, creating a dome of high pressure that diverts weather systems around them.
- The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day.
Relationship between heat domes and the jet stream:
- The behaviour of the jet stream, a region of swiftly moving air located high in the atmosphere, has an impact on how the heat dome forms.
- The jet stream is a continuous wave-like pattern that travels from north to south before returning to north.
- These waves move slowly and can occasionally become stagnant as they become larger and longer. A heat dome develops when a high-pressure system becomes locked in this manner.