Syllabus :GS3/Environment
In News
- India’s carbon market is expected to rely on CO₂ removal technologies like biochar, which will play a key role in meeting climate goals and offsetting emissions.
Biochar
- It is black carbon produced from biomass sources [i.e., wood chips, plant residues, manure or other agricultural waste products] for the purpose of transforming the biomass carbon into a more stable form (carbon sequestration).
- It offers a sustainable alternative to manage waste and capture carbon.
Status in India
- India generates vast amounts of agricultural and municipal waste, much of which is burned or dumped, causing pollution.
- Utilizing 30–50% of this surplus to produce biochar could remove 0.1 gigatonnes of CO₂ annually.
- Byproducts like syngas and bio-oil could generate 8–13 TWh of electricity and offset up to 8% of diesel/kerosene use, reducing coal demand and cutting over 2% of India’s fossil fuel emissions.
Significance
- Biochar is a durable carbon sink that can store carbon in soil for 100–1,000 years and offers scalable emission reduction across sectors.
- In agriculture, it improves water retention and can cut nitrous oxide emissions by 30–50%.
- It also restores soil health by enhancing organic carbon.
- Modified biochar can capture CO₂ from industrial emissions, though less efficiently than other methods.
- In construction, adding 2–5% biochar to concrete boosts strength, heat resistance, and sequesters 115 kg CO₂/m³.
- In wastewater treatment, biochar can treat 200–500 litres per kg, with a potential demand of 2.5–6.3 million tonnes in India.
What hinders biochar’s application?
- Despite its high carbon removal potential, biochar remains underutilised in carbon credit systems due to lack of standardised feedstock markets, inconsistent carbon accounting, and weak investor confidence.
- Key barriers to large-scale adoption include limited resources, evolving technologies, policy gaps, and low stakeholder awareness.
Suggestions
- Biochar needs sustained R&D, integration into climate and agricultural policies, and recognition in the Indian carbon market.
- This could generate income for farmers, create around 5.2 lakh rural jobs, and enhance soil health, crop yields, and fertilizer efficiency.
- Biochar offers a promising, science-backed solution for India’s climate and development goals.
Source: TH
