Page 10 - Climate Change

Climate change sidelined as America pivots to fossil-fuel-heavy future

This is not the time to bury our heads in the sand and think that the Donald Trump administration's energy policy will not lead to massive changes in their world and ours

Climate shocks could cause 6% economic loss in Asia-Pacific: UN report

While the Asia-Pacific region contributed 60 per cent of global economic growth in 2024, many of its countries are poorly prepared for climate shocks, according to the report

North India is on the verge of an extreme heatwave, IMD issues yellow alert

In the first major heatwave of the season, IMD predicts states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat are expected to see temperatures above 40 degree celsius

India urges Brics to mobilise $1.3 trillion to achieve climate goals

The Baku to Belem Roadmap is aimed at securing $1.3 trillion in climate finance to support Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

Govt mulls EPR for construction and demolition waste, used cooking oil

In the case of used cooking oil, the plan is to recycle it for uses such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), animal feed, and soap making

Climate anxiety can't force us to compromise basic needs: Bhupender Yadav

India has the right to grow responsibly based on national circumstances and the climate anxiety gripping the world cannot force it to give up its right to ensure food, water and energy for its people, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday. Addressing the National Conference on Environment, organised by the National Green Tribunal, he said rapid economic growth is the best defense against climate change for developing nations. The minister also said India is committed to mitigating climate change and has met its Paris Agreement commitments on green energy nine years ahead of the 2030 target. "India reserves its right to grow responsibly based on our national circumstances... But the climate anxiety which has gripped the world cannot force India to give up its right to ensure food, water, energy... to its 140 crore people. India is confidently striking a balance between challenges and opportunities," he said. Yadav said that under the Paris Agreement, the world

Climate concerns: Changing rainfall patterns threaten agriculture

In 2024, India experienced extreme weather events on 322 days, up from 318 in 2023, affecting around 4.07 million hectares of crop area

India needs urgent cooldown strategy as 2025 may break heat records

Meteorologists attribute the early heatwave to an extremely dry winter season, among other factors

Climate policies must be based on ground realities: Kirti Vardhan Singh

Policies to tackle climate change should be based on ground realities and adaptation should be included at all levels of governance, including the local level, Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh has said. Speaking at the closing session of the "India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future" symposium on Saturday, the minister of state for environment said while emergency measures like heat relief programmes are important, long-term resilience needs changes in infrastructure, policy and financing. He said that ensuring financial support is crucial for including adaptation in both short-term and long-term climate actions. Caroline Buckee, a professor at Harvard University, said more detailed data is needed to identify people most at risk from climate impacts. She also highlighted the importance of timely censuses for accurate health estimates and the need for interdisciplinary approaches to understand how climate change affects health and other sectors. India conducted the last ..

Glaciers losing record amounts of ice as global temperatures rise, warns UN

The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world

Indian cities brace for heatwaves but lack long-term planning, study finds

The study examined how nine major Indian cities-Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai, and Surat-are preparing for increasing heatwaves

As mercury increases, NDMA readies 300 heat action plans for cities

States are mandated to develop and implement heat HAPs for awareness and prevention of heat-induced diseases. However, most do not go beyond issuing standard advisories on heat prevention

Study projects loss in India's solar power potential due to air pollution

India's capacity to generate solar power could fall by 600-800 gigawatt-hour before mid-century due to air pollution and climate change, a study has projected. The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, found that northern, western and southern power grids -- where most solar parks are currently located -- will experience significant challenges in maintaining performance due to climate change. Pollutants in the air can absorb and scatter sunlight, thereby lowering the intensity of the sun's radiation reaching the earth's surface. Further, generating solar power relies heavily on weather and climate, and is, therefore, vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, "highlight the need for combined climate and pollution mitigation efforts to boost India's photovoltaic potential and secure a sustainable, resilient energy future". Despite being endowed with abundant solar resources -- India

Best of BS Opinion: Policymaking must address real-life outcomes

Our editorials and columns today largely revolve around the role of policy decisions, both in government and the private sector, and how they affect the real world

Climate risks: RBI moots common pool of projects to enhance financing

Stressing the need for regulated entities to consider creating a common pool of bankable projects for climate related finance, RBI Governor said

Stretch of Amazon cleared to build highway for COP30, sparks controversy

The Amazon is vital for absorbing carbon and maintaining biodiversity. Many argue that clearing land for a road goes against the purpose of a climate summit.

EU carbon border policy may hurt global climate cooperation: Study

Implementation of unilateral Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism-like policies across jurisdictions can increase costs for exporters, complicate trade relations and potentially weaken collaborative global climate efforts, a study has found. According to the study -- conducted by researchers from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Lucknow and the Institute of Management Technology (IMT)-Ghaziabad -- the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) can pose challenges for India's small- and medium-sized steel enterprises due to financial, technological and capacity constraints. In the first-of-its-kind study, the researchers tested if the EU's ability to extend its regulation beyond borders, commonly known as the "Brussels Effect", would drive decarbonisation in India's steel industry through the CBAM. The researchers found that while large integrated steel plants might adapt their production to supply lower-carbon steel for the EU market, smaller and medium-sized enterprises .

US key to COP30 despite Trump's pullout from Paris Agreement, says Brazil

The United States remains central to climate negotiations and can make a crucial contribution to the preparation and execution of COP30, even after its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Brazil has said as it prepares to host this year's UN climate conference in Belm. COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago told journalists during an online briefing that there is no intention of ignoring the US, even if the Trump administration does not participate in climate negotiations. "No, there is no idea of ignoring the US because the US is the key country for this exercise. The US government may limit its participation, but the US as a country, as a place with such amazing technology and innovation, can contribute in a very important way to the preparation of COP30 (and) during COP30. So, the US is a central country for these discussions and solutions," Correa do Lago said in response to a question from PTI. Brazil's Environment and Climate Minister Marina Silva told journalists during her ..

Climate change to worsen space junk problem, reducing Earth's orbit drag

Climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too, a new study finds. MIT researchers calculated that as global warming caused by burning of coal, oil, gas continues it may reduce the available space for satellites in low Earth orbit by anywhere from one-third to 82% by the end of the century, depending on how much carbon pollution is spewed. That's because space will become more littered with debris as climate change lessens nature's way of cleaning it up. Part of the greenhouse effect that warms the air near Earth's surface also cools the upper parts of the atmosphere where space starts and satellites zip around in low orbit, That cooling also makes the upper atmosphere less dense, which reduces the drag on the millions of pieces of human-made debris and satellites. That drag pulls space junk down to Earth, burning up on the way. But a cooler and less dense upper atmosphere means less space cleaning .

Even 'cool' years now exceed past heat records, climate report warns

An analysis done by Our World in Data finds recent La Niña years are hotter than past El Niño years as world faces global warming challenges