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NPTEL

Energy and the Climate Crisis: The Path to Net-Zero Emissions

NPTEL via Swayam

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Overview

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ABOUT THE COURSE: This course aims to make students understand the importance of energy in achieving a carbon-neutral society, specifically in a country like India, where energy consumption is expected to increase drastically. The course will provide an overview of climate change: the underlying science, the threat posed by global temperature rise, the proposed policy solutions, and international climate negotiations. The lectures will give students a detailed understanding of energy uses in different sectors and the urgent need for energy efficiency and low consumption patterns. Energy supply pathways and a comprehensive understanding of clean energy technologies will be taught. Important transition technology like CCUS is also covered in this course. This course will make students aware of the interventions which can eventually help in achieving Net Zero emissions.INTENDED AUDIENCE: All students looking to work in the domain of sustainability, net-zero transition, energy policy domainsPREREQUISITES: Basic Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry courses INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Any industry planning to do to net-zero transitions

Syllabus

Week 1: Overview in Global and Indian context :
  • Evolution of humankind and the increase in Energy Demand
  • Rampant use of fossil fuels post-industrial revolution and Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Efforts on both the demand side and supply side – expected scenarios
Expected GHG trajectory linked to energy use
Week 2 & 3:Understanding Climate Change: Science, Impacts and Mitigation Options
  • Historical evolution of global temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations
  • Different GHG and their global warming potential
  • Regional distribution of CO2 and other GHG emissions: total and per capita
  • Sectoral contributions to GHG emissions
  • Natural sinks of GHG and Negative Emissions
  • Impacts of global temperature increase
Mitigation options and their economics
Week 4:
  • Importance of demand-side interventions to address climate change: Global and in India
  • Energy consumption trends: by region and by sector
  • Need for energy efficiency
Projections of energy demand under BAU and energy efficiency scenarios
  • Role of industrial emissions
  • Major energy-consuming industrial sectors (Steel, cement etc.)

Week 5:
  • Emissions and fuel consumption
  • Energy efficiency interventions and BEE efforts
Demand projections, the role of technology and policies
  • Expected growth in the transport sector
  • Fossil fuel reliance and geo-political implications
  • GHG emissions and other pollutants
  • Mitigation plans for controlling emissions
Role of technologies and standards
Week 6:
  • Why focus on the built environment
  • Projected expansion in the built environment and appliance penetration: Urban and Rural
  • Rural demand projections and inefficiencies in energy use
  • The need for energy efficiency
Initiatives and Schemes by Government and Utilities: Opportunities and Barriers
Week 7:
  • Major sources of energy generation.
  • LCOE calculations
  • Carbon emissions from various sources
  • Expected scenarios – global and Indian
  • Role of growing renewables
  • Challenges

Week 8:
  • Solar as an energy source: various technologies and Relative Costs
  • Embedded carbon
  • Development over the years
  • Global Projections and India’s potential
  • Expected challenges and barriers

Week 9:
  • Wind energy as an energy source: the potential and relative cost
  • Embedded carbon
  • Development over the years
Expected challenges and barriers
  • Other major sources of renewable energy and their current status and expected movement:
  • Hydro
  • Nuclear

Week 10:
  • Geothermal
  • Biofuel
  • Hydrogen
  • Role of storage
The need for CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage)
  • The scale needed to achieve climate targets
  • Technology and storage options
  • Implementation examples
Bottlenecks to scale deployment
Week 11 & 12:What do we mean by Net Zero?
  • Definition as per some standards
  • Relation of Net zero and COP commitments
  • Global Climate Negotiations
Social challenges

Taught by

Prof. Rajeev Jindal

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