Business
Oil majors gambling on emissions mitigation technologies: Carbon Tracker

Oil and gas companies are putting investors at risk because their plans to reduce emissions rely on technologies that are expensive and unproven at scale, finds a report from the financial think tank Carbon Tracker released on Thursday.
All but two of the 15 largest publicly traded oil and gas companies have updated their climate targets since May 2021, but the report warns that most are failing to commit to absolute cuts in emissions and it questions the credibility of company plans which seek to make room for new production.
Eni is one of only four companies to accept absolute cuts in emissions from the production and use of its products and has the strongest climate policy: it pledged a 35 per cent cut by 2030, up from its previous 25 per cent target.
All North American companies lag behind Europeans and ExxonMobil has the weakest policy: it adopted a net zero target last year but has not pledged specific cuts and excludes 95 per cent of lifecycle emissions from the products it sells.
No new investment in fossil fuel production is needed if the world is to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius Paris climate target and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Demand is set to fall over time as a result of governments’ climate policies, the rapid growth of clean technologies, and the drive for energy independence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Investors concerned about climate change and the risk of stranded assets are putting increasing pressure on oil and gas companies to align their plans with Paris.
“Absolute Impact 2022: Why Oil and Gas Companies Need Credible Plans to Meet Climate Targets” highlights the three approaches that companies are using to cut emissions while justifying continued investment in production: planning to roll out a wide range of emissions mitigation technologies (EMTs); selling assets; and buying offsets.
Mike Coffin, Carbon Tracker Head of Oil, Gas and Mining and report author, said: “Financial institutions must scrutinise companies’ emissions targets and whether their plans to achieve them are practical and credible in order to assess alignment with global climate goals.
“This is particularly so for companies which seek to ‘create space’ for further fossil investment.
“The best way for companies to reduce both their climate impact and transition risk exposure for investors is to allow their existing production to decline without investing in new assets.”
All but one of the 15 companies have announced plans to use EMTs: Eni plans to build plants in the North West of Britain and Ravenna, Italy, which will each capture and store 10 million tonnes (10Mt) of CO2 a year by 2030, but these will be from industrial processes, and not reduce emissions from its own products.
ConocoPhillips plans to capture CO2 and reinject it into reservoirs to extract more oil.
Although this may reduce the emissions intensity of its operations, it will likely lead to more oil being produced and burned.
Occidental is spending an estimated $1 billion to build the first large-scale plant in the US to capture carbon directly from the air. It aims to sequester 1Mt a year — 100 times the current global capacity from all such projects, but just 0.4 per cent of the total emissions from the assets it operates in 2021.
Total lists a 13,500 sq km forest in Peru among its offsetting projects, claiming it will help “prevent” more than 15Mt of CO2 over 10 years, but it is not planting new trees.
Repsol plans to offset 16Mt by planting 700 sq km of forest at Motor Verde, Spain.
Maeve O’Connor, Carbon Tracker Analyst and report author, said: “Oil and gas companies are gambling on emissions mitigation technologies that pose a huge risk to both investors and the climate. Most of these technologies are still at an early stage of development, with few large projects working at anything like the scale required by company goals, while solutions that involve tree planting require huge areas of land.
“It remains to be seen whether these technologies will be technically feasible or economically viable given the huge costs involved.”
Business
FM Sitharaman to showcase India’s economic dynamism during US, Peru visit

New Delhi, April 19: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to embark on an official visit to the US and Peru, beginning April 20, where she is slated to participate in multilateral dialogues to showcase India’s economic dynamism, as the country prepares a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, it was announced on Saturday.
During her visit to the US, the Finance Minister will visit San Francisco and Washington, DC, from April 20-25, according to a Ministry of Finance statement.
In San Francisco, FM Sitharaman would deliver a keynote address at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, titled ‘Laying the foundations of Viksit Bharat 2047,’ followed by a fireside chat session.
The Finance Minister will also interact with top CEOs from prominent fund management firms during a roundtable meeting with investors, besides holding bilateral meetings with CEOs from top information technology (IT) firms based in San Francisco.
She will also participate in an event featuring the Indian diaspora in San Francisco and interact with the Indian community settled there, said the ministry.
In Washington, DC, FM Sitharaman will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meetings, the Development Committee Plenary, IMFC Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.
On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, she will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from several countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and the US; besides meeting EU Commissioner for Financial Services; President, Asian Development Bank (ADB); President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA); and First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During her maiden visit to Peru from April 26-30, the Finance Minister will lead an Indian delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance and business leaders, highlighting the strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between the two nations.
Beginning her visit in Lima, she is expected to call on the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, and Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, besides holding bilateral meetings with the Peruvian Ministers of Finance and Economy, Defence, Energy and Mines, and also holding interaction with local public representatives.
The Finance Minister will chair the India-Peru Business Forum meeting with prominent business representatives in attendance from both India and Peru.
FM Sitharaman will also hold an interaction with the Indian investors and businesses currently operating in Peru, as well as the Indian business delegation visiting Peru. The Finance Minister will also participate in a community event in Lima, where she will interact with the Indian diaspora living in Peru, according to the ministry statement.
Business
Foreign investors infuse Rs 8,500 crore into Indian equities this week

Mumbai, April 19: Foreign investors have once again turned their attention to Indian equities, pumping in around Rs 8,500 crore during the week, as per the latest National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) data.
The inflows came in during just three trading sessions — Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday — as stock markets remained closed on Monday and Friday due to public holidays.
This marks a positive turnaround after months of consistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in the equity segment. Their return helped the markets end the week on a strong note.
Both the Indian equity indices wrapped up the week on a strong recovery by surging over 4.5 per cent — driven by positive signals from both domestic and global factors.
The rally was primarily fuelled by optimism surrounding the deferral of tariffs and recent exemptions on select products, raising hopes for potential negotiations that could mitigate the impact on global trade.
A key reason behind this fresh wave of investment is the weakening of the US dollar. As the dollar slips and currencies like the Indian rupee gain strength, global investors find it more attractive to move funds from the US to emerging markets like India.
While these inflows bring temporary relief to the markets, analysts say the coming weeks will be crucial.
“Investors will be watching closely to see whether this positive trend continues or if global factors once again influence foreign investment in Indian stocks,” experts noted.
As per market experts, in the coming week, market participants will closely watch the quarterly earnings of major companies like Infosys, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
Other key players, including HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Maruti Suzuki India are also set to release their financial results.
Meanwhile, the expiry of the April derivatives series could add to market volatility. On the global front, any developments related to tariffs and their potential impact on international markets will also be closely tracked, the experts mentioned.
Exclusive
Calcutta HC allows NGO to distribute relief material in communal violence-hit Murshidabad

Kolkata, April 17: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, permitted a non-government organisation (NGO) to visit the communal violence-hit Murshidabad and distribute relief material among the affected people.
While granting permission to the NGO christened ‘Khola Hawa (Open Air)’, which was earlier denied permission by the district administration, the single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha observed that there was no rule that organisations other than government bodies would not have permission to distribute relief materials at any place.
She also observed that the existing law and order problem could not be an excuse for denying permission, since the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were already posted in Murshidabad.
The NGO approached the bench of Justice Sinha after the Murshidabad district magistrate denied permission for its members to visit the troubled spots in the district to distribute relief there. Parts of Murshidabad district in West Bengal have been on the boil last week after protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent.
In the petition, the NGO alleged that while the district administration was allowing different political parties to reach the troubled spots with relief materials, the permission to the organisation was deliberately denied.
The matter came up for hearing on Thursday afternoon. The counsel for the NGO argued that there was no reason for the district magistrate to deny the permission since the state Director General of Police had already claimed that the situation at Murshidabad was currently more or less normal. “The NGO members want to go there to distribute relief items like tarpaulin, food, and medicines to those affected,” the counsel of Khola Hawa argued.
Although the state government opposed the arguments, Justice Sinha finally accepted the argument of the counsel of Khola Hawa and permitted the NGO to visit the troubled spots and distribute relief items there.
However, she maintained that only three members of a relief team should visit any troubled spot at a time for the time being. At the same time, these three team members would have to inform the district magistrate at least 24 hours in advance about their visit. The visiting team members, as per the court order, should also not make any provocative statements during the process of relief distribution that might trigger tension in the area again.
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