Land and Soil
India possesses approximately 1,945,355 km
2 arable land area, which is approximately 56.78% of the total available land resource in India (https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Natural_resources_of_India). This area has begun to shrink because of the
population explosion and rapid urbanization in India. The Indian government promoted a better infrastructure to reduce the traffic load, which helps in reducing the
consumption of fossil fuels and hence reduces the carbon load in the atmosphere.
The government also promoted that villagers utilize a renewable source of energy to
fulfill their basic energy requirement, which also reduced the emission of GHGs to
the atmosphere. Solar and wind energy are promoted on a large scale in the whole
country through various social groups, committees, the government, and
nongovernment organizations.
Glaciers constitute the land resource having maximum effects on global warming
and climate change. Glacier melting is a better indicator of global warming worldwide; Indian glaciers are also affected by global warming. The Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) has monitored the advance and retreat of 2018
glaciers across the Himalayan region using satellite data of 2000–2001 and
2010–2011. This study indicated that 1752 glaciers showed no change, 248 glaciers
were retreating, and 18 glaciers were advancing. This scenario has raised concern in
scientific communities in India, and the government has planned for further inspection of the existing policy on global warming and climate change.
Energy
The consumption of energy in India has been increasing rapidly during the past few
decades. Considering the needs of people, industry, and other activities, a large
proportion of energy requirements in India is fulfilled by fossil fuels in such forms as
coal, petrol, kerosene, diesel, or naphtha. Coal has been used extensively in the
production of electricity as an energy source in thermal powerplants. After fractional
distillation, petroleum has been used for transportation and other industrial requirements. A study reported approximately 67% GHG is emitted by the energy sector,
including the cement industry (MOEFCC 2015). The cement industry uses limestone, which releases CO 2 to the atmosphere during calcination, as the raw material;
calcination occurs during clinker formation in the rotary kiln. India is the third
largest producer of cement in the world, and cement is important for infrastructure,
building materials, and development of settlements. Once the infrastructure is
properly developed the consumption of cement is also reduced, which also reduces
GHG in the atmosphere.
The contribution of renewable energy sources is still less than expectations or
requirements. Renewable energy sources used in India include solar, wind, tidal,
biomass, and geothermal. Solar energy and wind energy are more successfully used
1 New Challenges on Natural Resources and their Impact on Climate Change in the. . .
7
India possesses approximately 1,945,355 km
2 arable land area, which is approximately 56.78% of the total available land resource in India (https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Natural_resources_of_India). This area has begun to shrink because of the
population explosion and rapid urbanization in India. The Indian government promoted a better infrastructure to reduce the traffic load, which helps in reducing the
consumption of fossil fuels and hence reduces the carbon load in the atmosphere.
The government also promoted that villagers utilize a renewable source of energy to
fulfill their basic energy requirement, which also reduced the emission of GHGs to
the atmosphere. Solar and wind energy are promoted on a large scale in the whole
country through various social groups, committees, the government, and
nongovernment organizations.
Glaciers constitute the land resource having maximum effects on global warming
and climate change. Glacier melting is a better indicator of global warming worldwide; Indian glaciers are also affected by global warming. The Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) has monitored the advance and retreat of 2018
glaciers across the Himalayan region using satellite data of 2000–2001 and
2010–2011. This study indicated that 1752 glaciers showed no change, 248 glaciers
were retreating, and 18 glaciers were advancing. This scenario has raised concern in
scientific communities in India, and the government has planned for further inspection of the existing policy on global warming and climate change.
Energy
The consumption of energy in India has been increasing rapidly during the past few
decades. Considering the needs of people, industry, and other activities, a large
proportion of energy requirements in India is fulfilled by fossil fuels in such forms as
coal, petrol, kerosene, diesel, or naphtha. Coal has been used extensively in the
production of electricity as an energy source in thermal powerplants. After fractional
distillation, petroleum has been used for transportation and other industrial requirements. A study reported approximately 67% GHG is emitted by the energy sector,
including the cement industry (MOEFCC 2015). The cement industry uses limestone, which releases CO 2 to the atmosphere during calcination, as the raw material;
calcination occurs during clinker formation in the rotary kiln. India is the third
largest producer of cement in the world, and cement is important for infrastructure,
building materials, and development of settlements. Once the infrastructure is
properly developed the consumption of cement is also reduced, which also reduces
GHG in the atmosphere.
The contribution of renewable energy sources is still less than expectations or
requirements. Renewable energy sources used in India include solar, wind, tidal,
biomass, and geothermal. Solar energy and wind energy are more successfully used
1 New Challenges on Natural Resources and their Impact on Climate Change in the. . .
7