Content:

1. Urban Heat Island Effect on Top Cities
2. Government Initiatives for the Promotion of Biofuels

Urban Heat Island Effect on Top Cities

The urban heat island effect is when cities are warmer than surrounding rural areas due to the concentration of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure that absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat Urbanisation and Warming in Indian Cities.

Relevance : GS 3 (Environment )

• Urbanisation contributes to warming through:
  • Reduced vegetation cover.
  • Heat-retaining construction materials.
  • Increased energy demands.

• Urban planning and development is a constitutional function of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under the 12th Schedule.

Government Initiatives to Address Urban Heat Islands (UHIs)

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT):

• AMRUT (Phase I):2,429 park projects worth ₹5,044.28 crore developed, adding 5,044 acres of green space.

• AMRUT 2.0:1,729 park projects worth ₹1,027.62 crore approved.3,078 water body rejuvenation projects worth ₹6,159.29 crore approved.

Policy Guidelines by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

• Model Building Bye-Laws (MBBL), 2016: Addendum on “India Cooling Action Plan, 2019” issued as an advisory to states.

• Urban Green Guidelines, 2014: Guidance for creating green spaces in urban areas.

• Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines:
  • Advocates a Compact and Green City approach to increase open/green spaces and reduce urban heat islands.

Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF), 2019

• Focuses on energy efficiency, water and waste management, green cover, and climate adaptation.

• Key Findings from Cities Readiness Report 3.0:
  • 95 cities have disaster management plans with Hazard Risk, Vulnerability, and Capacity Assessments.
  • 85 cities meet the green cover norm of more than 12%.
  • 76 cities have allocated budgets for rejuvenation of water bodies and open areas.
  • 41 cities have developed or are developing Climate Action Plans.

Climate Change and Temperature Trends

• IPCC Synthesis Report (2023):
  • Human activities are the primary cause of global warming.
  • Global surface temperature reached 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels (2011–2020).

• India’s National Temperature Trend:
  • From 1901–2022, the annual mean temperature in India increased by 0.64°C per 100 years (TNC Report, 2023).

Government Initiatives for the Promotion of Biofuels

Intro : Biofuels are liquid, gaseous, or solid fuels that come from renewable biological sources, such as plants, algae, and animal products

Relevance : GS 3 ( Environment )

Government Initiatives for the Promotion of Biofuels

The Government, since 2014, has taken several measures to enhance blending of ethanol in petrol. These include:

• Expansion of feedstock for ethanol production.

• Administered price mechanism for procurement of sugarcane-based ethanol under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.

• Lowered GST rate to 5% on ethanol for the EBP Programme.

• Ethanol Interest Subvention Schemes (EISS) (2018-22) for ethanol production from molasses and grains.

• Long Term Offtake Agreements (LTOAs) by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) with Dedicated Ethanol Plants (DEPs).

• Notification of “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana” (2019, amended in 2024) to provide financial support for Advanced Biofuels projects using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.

• Guidelines for sale of biodiesel for blending with high-speed diesel for transportation purposes (2019).

• Reduction in GST rate for biodiesel procurement for blending programmes from 12% to 5%.

• Amendment in the National Policy on Biofuels (2018) mandating 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel.

Promotion of Compressed Biogas (CBG):

• Financial assistance to CBG producers for biomass aggregation machinery and pipeline infrastructure.

• Mandated sale of CBG in Compressed Natural Gas (Transport) and Piped Natural Gas (Domestic) segments.

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme Achievements (2023-24) (as of 30.09.2024):

• Payment of approximately Rs 23,100 crore to farmers.
• Savings of more than Rs 28,400 crore in foreign exchange.
• Substitution of more than 43 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil.
• Net reduction of about 29 lakh metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.