Page 13 - Climate Change

EU warns of 'serious blow' to climate change policy from Donald Trump

US exit from the Paris Agreement would require other countries to double down on climate diplomacy in response

Remote but resource-rich Greenland occupies key position in warming world

Remote, icy and mostly pristine, Greenland plays an outsized role in the daily weather experienced by billions of people and in the climate changes taking shape all over the planet. Greenland is where climate change, scarce resources, tense geopolitics and new trade patterns all intersect, said Ohio University security and environment professor Geoff Dabelko. The world's largest island is now "central to the geopolitical, geoeconomic competition in many ways," partly because of climate change, Dabelko said. Since his first term in office, President-elect Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime US ally and a founding member of NATO. It is also home to a large US military base. Why is Greenland coveted? Think of Greenland as an open refrigerator door or thermostat for a warming world, and it's in a region that is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe, said New York University climate scient

Weather extremes of 2024 leading to intense floods, droughts: Report

Weather extremes of 2024 are wreaking havoc with how water moves around the planet, contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, according to a new report. India saw record-high precipitation, along with countries in West Africa and Europe, it found. Global warming, caused by fossil fuel burning, is increasing the strength and rainfall intensity of monsoons, cyclones and other storm systems, an international ream of researchers, led by those at The Australian National University (ANU), said. "2024 was a year of extremes but was not an isolated occurrence. It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes," lead author Albert van Dijk, a professor of water science and management, ANU, said. About four billion people, or half the world's population, from across 111 countries are estimated to have experienced their warmest year yet. "Rising sea surface temperatures intensified tropical cyclones and droughts in the Amaz

Consumer prices may rise in poor nations by 2050 despite climate policies

Even under ambitious climate policies, lower-income countries would see consumer food prices rise 2.45 times by 2050 while producer prices would rise 3.3 times, a study has found. While the rise in consumer prices is less pronounced for farmers in lower-income countries, it would still make it harder for people in these countries to afford sufficient and healthy food, said researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany. "In high-income countries like the US or Germany, farmers receive less than a quarter of food spending, compared to over 70 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where farming costs make up a larger portion of food prices," said David Meng-Chuen Chen, a PIK scientist and lead author of the study published in Nature Food. "This gap underscores how differently food systems function across regions," he said. The researchers projected that as economies develop and food systems industrialise, farmers will increasingly receive a smaller share

Generation Beta: Born into climate change and shifting demographics

Unlike Gen Z, who witnessed the transition from analogue to digital technology, Gen Beta will grow up in a highly technologically integrated world

ICAI seeks tax benefits to promote climate change mitigation strategies

Chartered accountants' apex body ICAI has sought tax benefits for promoting climate change mitigation strategies and a separate section for income from shares and securities in the income tax returns form. Besides, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has sought a special tax regime for partnership firms and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as well as simplification of income tax return forms. The institute on Friday said it has advocated for prudent tax reforms aimed at fostering economic growth and encouraging environmental sustainability in the pre-Budget Memorandum 2025. "Provision of tax benefits for promoting climate change mitigation strategies, which will not only contribute to India's climate change goals but also drive economic growth by promoting sustainable business practices is a suggestion in this direction," it said in a release. Among other suggestions, ICAI has proposed a new head to show income from shares and securities that will have ...

Hot button issue: How the scale of climate challenge is increasing

The World Meteorological Organization has said that 2024 was globally the warmest on record, exceeding the Paris Agreement threshold

India's GHG emissions fell 7.93% in 2020 compared to 2019: Govt to UNFCCC

India's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 declined by 7.93 per cent compared to 2019, while its GDP emission intensity fell 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020, according to new data submitted to the UN climate change office. In its fourth Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on December 30, India said its total greenhouse gas emissions -- excluding land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) -- amounted to 2,959 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) and 2,437 MtCO2e including LULUCF. "Total national emissions (including LULUCF) have decreased by 7.93 per cent with respect to 2019 and increased by 98.34 per cent since 1994," according to the report. "India has progressively continued decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2005 and 2020, India's gross domestic product (GDP) emission intensity reduced by 36 per cent," it said. Biennial Update Reports (BURs) are

Moment of decision missed in 2024 at UN climate summit but all's not lost

2024 is set to end as the hottest year on record and the first with a global average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It will also be remembered as the year developed nations had their last big chance to prevent the world from permanently crossing this critical threshold by funding climate action in the Global South -- and they blew it. Relentless warming fuelled record-breaking heatwaves, deadly storms, and floods that devastated lives and homes by the thousands in 2024. Millions were displaced, and all eyes turned to the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, hoping for a climate finance package capable of ramping up action in the Global South. A study published in 2023 estimated that developed countries owe around USD 170 trillion for their excessive emissions, having consumed 70-90 per cent of the total carbon budget since the industrial era. Instead, developed countries -- mandated under the UN climate regime to finance climate action in develop

Climate change led to 41 additional days of extreme heat in 2024: Report

The world experienced an average of 41 more days of extreme heat in 2024 due to climate change, a new report said on Friday. According to the European climate agency Copernicus, 2024 is set to end as the warmest year on record and the first year with a global average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. A yearly review report by two groups of climate scientists -- World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central -- said the world saw an average of 41 more days of dangerous heat in 2024. Small island developing states were hit the hardest, with their people experiencing over 130 additional hot days. The scientists identified 219 extreme weather events in 2024 and studied 29 of them. They found that climate change contributed to at least 3,700 deaths and displaced millions in 26 extreme weather events. "It is likely the total number of people killed in extreme weather events intensified by climate change this year is in the tens or hundreds of thousands,"

New York to charge fossil fuel firms for damage from climate change

Large fossil fuel companies would have to pay fees to help New York fight the effects of climate change under a bill signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. The new law requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects meant to repair or avoid future damage from climate change. Lawmakers approved the bill, signed on Thursday, earlier this year to force big oil and gas companies to contribute to the cost of repairs after extreme weather events and resiliency projects such as coastal wetland restoration and upgrades to roads, bridges and water drainage systems. The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law, and New York has fired a shot that will be heard round the world: the companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable," said state Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat who sponsored the bill. The planet's largest climate polluters bear a unique responsibility for creating the climate crisis, a

Year-ender 2024: Disasters aplenty, but are we ready for changing climate?

Yet another year passed by with nature raising red flags about the crises unfolding before our eyes and with disasters that could have been prevented

Here's all about the best climate news you may have missed this year

Averting catastrophic climate change was always going to involve plenty of steps forward as well as steps back

Here's all about the worst climate news of the year you may have missed

If the ongoing renewables boom (see below) doesn't avert those plans, coal's role in India's grid looks to be getting back on track

India, Sweden can strengthen ties in climate solutions: Swedish officials

India and Sweden can deepen their collaboration in innovation and green technology with a focus on addressing global climate challenges through sustainable industrial practices and renewable energy solutions, Swedish officials said. Officials of the Embassy of Sweden and Business Sweden, during an interaction with PTI, emphasised the shared potential for innovation and large-scale implementation of sustainable practices. "Sweden is a leader in green technologies while India has unparalleled capacity for large-scale implementation of the same. Together we can explore technologies like green hydrogen, carbon capture and circular economy practices," said Christian Kamill, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden. He highlighted areas like green hydrogen, carbon capture and circular economy practices as promising avenues for collaboration. Kamill also pointed to Sweden's strides in renewable energy and transport electrification, noting that over 50 per cent of Sweden's energy already

COP 29 backtracks to address climate crisis in Tibetan Plateau due to China

China has also built major dams on Tibet's major rivers to block access to water to downstream countries

Climate change is stealing weeks of winter, unnerving ski area owners

Warmer days may come as a welcome reprieve for those who endure freezing winters, but the trend is troubling as higher temperatures impact everything from sports to drinking water

Energy symbiosis, not transition: A revealing take on climate challenges

Jean Baptiste-Fressoz's book exposes how governments and corporations embrace green rhetoric while reinforcing the carbon economy

Arctic faces drastic changes, 2024 report highlights worrying trends

The Arctic of today looks stunningly different from the Arctic of even one to two decades ago

Cyber crimes, climate change new threats to human rights: President Murmu

The human rights discourse so far has been centred on the "human agency" as the violator is assumed to be a human but with AI entering our lives, the "culprit could be a non-human" but an intelligent agent, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday. In her address at an event hosted by the NHRC here to mark the Human Rights Day, the President also underlined that cyber crimes and climate change are "new threats" to human rights. Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR serves as a global benchmark for the protection and promotion of human rights. "As we progress into the future, we are confronted with emerging challenges. Cyber crimes and climate change are new threats to human rights," Murmu said. The digital era, while being transformative, had brought with it complex issues such as cyber bullying, deep fake, priv