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					</table>Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose by under 1% during the year 2022, which is lower than initially expected, the International Energy Agency (<a href="https://www.iea.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEA</a>) said in a report.
The impact of the increase in use of coal and oil amid the energy crisis was offset by the growth of solar, wind, and electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, and energy efficiency, the report said.
The report covers CO2 emissions from all energy combustion and industrial processes, providing a picture of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.
Last October, the IEA had forecast that CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion globally would <a href="https://mercomindia.com/co2-emissions-from-fossil-drop-due-to-of-renewables-iea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grow</a> by just under 1% this year as the strong expansion of renewables and electric vehicles prevent a sharper rise.
Emissions remained on an unsustainable growth trajectory, calling for stronger actions to accelerate the clean energy transition.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said without clean energy, the growth in CO2 emissions would have been nearly three times as high.
Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew in 2022 by 0.9% or 321 million tons, reaching for the first time a high of more than 36.8 billion tons.
While extreme weather events, including droughts and heatwaves, as well as an unusually large number of nuclear power plants being offline, contributed to the rise in emissions, an additional 550 million tons of emissions were avoided by increased deployment of clean energy technologies.
CO2 emissions from coal grew by 1.6% as the global energy crisis continued.
While the increase in coal emissions was only around one-quarter of 2021’s rise, it still exceeded the last decade’s average growth rate.
The increase in emissions from coal more than offset the 1.6% decline in emissions from natural gas as supply continued to tighten following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and in response, European businesses, and citizens put efforts to cut their gas use.
Additionally, CO2 emissions from oil grew more than those from coal, increasing by 2.5%.
Around half of the year-on-year increase in oil emissions came from aviation as air travel continued to rebound from pandemic lows.
Region-Wise Emissions
China’s emissions were broadly flat in 2022 as strict Covid-19 measures, and declining construction activity led to weaker economic growth and reductions in industrial and transport emissions.
The European Union’s emissions fell by 2.5%, owing to record deployment of renewables helping ensure the use of coal was not as high as some observers had anticipated.
A mild start to the European winter and energy savings measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also contributed.
In the United States, emissions grew by 0.8% as buildings increased their energy consumption to cope with extreme temperatures.
Excluding China, emissions from Asia’s emerging and developing economies increased by 4.2%, reflecting their rapid economic and energy demand growth.
In December 2022, the IEA <a href="https://mercomindia.com/efficiency-measures-billion-in-energy-bills-since-iea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that energy efficiency actions taken since 2000, such as investments in building insulation and efficient cars, have ensured that the energy bills in IEA countries in 2022 are set to be $680 billion less than what they would have been otherwise.

Clean Energy Growth Led to Lower than Estimated CO2 Emissions in 2022: IEA

Information technology giant <a href="https://www.wipro.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wipro Limited</a> has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 in line with the objective of the Paris Agreement to cap temperature rise to 1.5°C.
While unveiling its pledge on Earth Day, the company also set an intermediate target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in absolute emission levels compared to its base year of 2016-17 (April-March).
These targets are based on the globally accepted science-based targets initiative (SBTi) and reflect the deep decarbonization and operational changes Wipro will drive within its value chain to achieve net-zero within 2040, said the Bengaluru-based company.
Wipro said that it would also defer offsets until the target year, underscoring its values-driven strategy and approach. The primary levers of decarbonization drive will look into improving the energy efficiency of facilities for a sustained reduction in energy consumption; increasing use of renewable energy in owned facilities in India through private power purchase agreements and captive solar power; and combining behavioral, technological, and collaborative approaches that help reduce the carbon footprint of air travel, commuting, and purchased goods and services.
Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited, said, “Climate change is a defining challenge for humanity. Business must be at the forefront to address it. Wipro’s climate change program goes back nearly two decades, and our net-zero goal further reaffirms our commitment. Our approach emphasizes the importance of not just reaching that goal, but doing so in a way that is aligned with Wipro’s core values of integrity and business responsibility.”
Thierry Delaporte, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, Wipro Limited, said, “Wipro has long since built ecological sustainability into its operations and ways of working. Today we are committing to accelerate our actions to achieve net-zero and the deep decarbonization efforts required to get there. We believe businesses like us have a significant role to play in achieving the global greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
The company said it has made progress in shaping and delivering green IT solutions for high carbon-intensive sectors like energy and utilities, manufacturing, transportation, and consumer goods. Helping customers exit their data centers, driving virtualization and public cloud adoption, smart grids, waste management, and sustainable sourcing and packaging are a few such solutions the company has forayed into.
In November 2019, Lithium Urban Technologies Private Limited had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lithium-urban-technologies-partners-wipro-ev-fleet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered</a> with Wipro to expand its fleet of electric vehicles for transporting its employees across its offices in India.
Wipro is among the nine founding members of the transform to the net-zero coalition. Convened by Microsoft, the coalition includes some of the world’s largest companies, representing combined annual revenues of $500 billion and assets worth $800 billion.
Another Bengaluru-based software company, <a href="https://www.infosys.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infosys</a>, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/infosys-announces-carbon-neutrality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in November last year that it has become carbon neutral 30 years ahead of the Paris Agreement’s target year of 2050.

IT Major Wipro Pledges Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2040

The African Development Bank (<a href="https://www.afdb.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AfDB</a>) has approved a loan of $27.2 million for the design, construction, and operation of a 200 MW solar project at Kom Ombo in Egypt.
The project is expected to reduce the cost of electricity for businesses and the residential sector, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million tons of CO2 equivalent over 25 years and create jobs 800 jobs during its construction.
The project is estimated to cost $156.4 million. In addition to the AfDB&#8217;s loan, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the Green Climate Fund, Arab Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development will also contribute to the project&#8217;s funding.
The project, situated 800 km south of Cairo, is owned by Saudi Arabian <a href="https://www.acwapower.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACWA Power</a>, a leading developer, investor, and operator of power generating projects and desalinated water projects worldwide.
Kevin Kariuki, AfDB&#8217;s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth, said, &#8220;We are delighted to support this project that will deliver one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent. The project supports Egypt&#8217;s energy transition and contributes towards the country&#8217;s achievement of its targeted 20% share of renewables by 2022.&#8221;
Egypt&#8217;s economy has continued to grow despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with electricity demand growing at an average annual rate of 7%.
The country&#8217;s grid is connected to the grids of neighboring countries of Libya and Sudan. The project has the potential to contribute greatly to energy trading and electricity access in the region.
The project is in tune with Egypt&#8217;s national sustainable energy strategy and the bank&#8217;s &#8216;New Deal on Energy for Africa,&#8217; which aims to increase the share of renewable energy in Africa&#8217;s power mix through financing in Africa&#8217;s energy sector.
Egypt is one of the founding members of the AfDB, and since its inception, the bank has financed over 100 projects in Egypt across various sectors.
In December last year, AfDB&#8217;s board of directors <a href="https://mercomindia.com/african-development-bank-energy-access/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> a $20 million (~₹1.46 billion) concessional investment from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to establish the COVID-19 off-grid recovery platform. SEFA is an AfDB-managed special fund providing catalytic finance for renewable energy. The blended finance initiative of $50 million (~₹3.65 billion) will provide relief and recovery capital to energy access businesses and support them through and beyond the pandemic.
Earlier, ACWA Power had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/acwa-power-signs-ppa-egypt-200-mw-solar-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a power purchase agreement with Egypt&#8217;s government to finance, develop, construct, and operate the 200 MW Kom Ombo solar power project. ACWA Power had secured this project through a tender issued in August 2018.

AfDB Approves $27 Million for the Development of a 200 MW Solar Project in Egypt

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (<a href="https://www.ebrd.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EBRD</a>) and DEG have provided a $10.6 million loan in local currency to <a href="https://www.yellowdoorenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yellow Door Energy</a>, a UAE-based renewable energy company, to develop and operate a portfolio of eight solar projects in Jordan.
The bank also mobilized $5 million provided by the <a href="https://www.thegef.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Environment Facility</a>. <a href="https://www.deginvest.de/International-financing/DEG/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DEG</a>, the German development finance institution, and an equity contributor in Yellow Door Energy, provided $15.6 million in senior loans for these projects.
The projects, with a total capacity of 48.3 MW capacity, will generate around 81 GWh of renewable energy while reducing 49,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The generated electricity will be supplied to Umniah, Carrefour supermarkets, Safeway Supermarkets, Taj Mall, and Classic Fashion.
Spain will provide technical assistance to establish a digitalized monitoring, reporting, and verification system (D-MRV) and result-based payments of up to €1.5 million (~$1.79 million) to monetize greenhouse gas emission reductions of the portfolio. The portfolio is also registered with Verra’s Verification Carbon Standard, a global voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction program.
“Historically, Jordan has been reliant on hydrocarbon imports to meet its energy needs. Over the last decade, the country has developed its renewable energy sector, particularly solar, in order to remove the dependence on imported hydrocarbons and reduce their environmental impact,” EBRD said.
Currently, Jordan generates around 20% of its energy from renewable energy resources, exceeding its target of 10% of renewable energy generation. The country has set a new renewable energy generation target of 30% by 2030.
Yellow Door Energy said that it had around 110 MW of solar projects in the Middle East and South Asia. The company’s shareholders include the International Finance Corporation, Mitsui, Equinor, and Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation.
EBRD said that it had provided over €1.4 billion (~$1.67 billion) in funding for 54 projects in Jordan since 2012.
Last year, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, a multilateral development financing institution, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/apicorp-extends-50-million-to-yellow-door-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that it would provide a $50 million (~₹3.6 billion) revolving construction facility to Yellow Door Energy.
Mercom had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ebrd-solar-projects-jordan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that EBRD would provide a financing package of up to $35 million to Kawar Investments to develop a 37 MW solar project in Jordan.

EBRD, GEF and DEG Provide $31.2 Million Loan to Yellow Door for Solar Projects in Jordan

The <a href="https://www.adb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asian Development Bank (ADB)</a> has entered a $13 million grant agreement with India’s Energy Efficiency Services (<a href="http://eeslindia.org/content/raj/eesl/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EESL</a>). The grant will be provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the additional financing of an ongoing ADB-supported project that is promoting end-use energy efficiency.
Minister of Power, New, and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh oversaw the exchange of the grant agreements between ADB and EESL during the inauguration of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation &amp; Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2018).
This grant is part of $200 million loan that will be provided to EESL by ADB. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/adb-provide-200-million-loan-finance-energy-efficient-lights-pumps-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom previously reported</a> that ADB will provide a $200 million (~₹13 billion) loan to finance energy efficient lights and water pumps in India. The $200 million loan is from ADB’s ordinary capital resources (OCR) and will have a 20-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, at an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s London interbank offered rate (LIBOR)-based lending facility.
The funds received will be provided to EESL which it will utilize to make loans available for installing light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights by municipalities and LED bulbs, tube lights, and electric fans by households and institutions, and for installing energy-efficient water pumps.
“The ADB funding is helping EESL finance energy service utilities for installing established energy-efficient technologies such as light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights with municipalities, while exploring newer technologies and their self-sustaining business models. The existing loan aims to achieve energy savings of around 3,800 gigawatt-hours annually,” said ADB Country Director for India Kenichi Yokoyama, who signed the grant agreement for ADB.
“The additional financing for the project through GEF grant will be used by EESL for making investments in new and emerging technologies including trigeneration, efficient motors and air-conditioners, smart meters/grids, and associated new business models to expand the use of such innovations, as well as to set up an energy efficiency revolving fund,” said EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar after signing the agreement.
Promotion of more efficient technologies through additional financing will result in lesser electricity bills and reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions. This will support the overall objective of the project that is aligned with the goals of the Government of India’s National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and aims to expand the market for energy-efficient technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/varanasi-smart-electricity-meters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recently</a>, ADB completed the pilot phase of its satellite-based smart meter project in a village in Varanasi in which 5,000 households received the meters.
Image credit: ADB

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