India is the third biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, with state-owned NTPC topping the list of companies belching the deadly gas, according to the new data released by a Washington-based think-tank, which has advocated an "energy revolution" in the country, based on solar power.

The Center for Global Development (CGD) said India figured at the third position in the list of biggest CO2 emitters through power generation after China and the US.

Of the 638,000,000 tonnes of CO2 emission by India every year, NTPC alone contributes 186,000,000 tonnes, which constitutes about 30 per cent of the total gas release, the data revealed. Talcher power plant in Orissa operated by the company has the notoriety of emitting the biggest quantity of CO2.

As many as 16 power plants operated by NTPC, one of the Navratna companies of India, are in CGD's "Red Alert" category for spewing out the deadly gas in the country.

When contacted, NTPC officials said in Delhi: "We are among the most efficient producers of power using fossil fuels. NTPC is the second best in the world, emitting only 800 grams of CO2 per kwh of electricity generation."

The findings, part of a recent report by CGD on 'China surpassing the US as the world's biggest emitter of CO2 from power generation', also name Russia, Germany, Japan, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and South Korea among the world's top-ten power sector emitter in absolute terms.

Describing the recent data as a "cause of serious concern", CGD said the climate scientists warned that the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere must be quickly stabilised to avert climate catastrophe, which would hit first and worst in the developing world, with declining agricultural productivity, droughts, floods and rapid sea-level rise hitting densely populated, low-lying regions.

"A number of power companies have expressed desire for national policies to limit emissions and promote alternative energy," Kevin Ummel, who manages CGD's Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) database, said.

Copy right business-standard