Page 14 - Climate Change

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

2024 will be world's hottest year ever recorded, say EU scientists

C3S said data from January to November had confirmed 2024 is now certain to be the hottest year on record, and the first in which average global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius

What Trump's second term means for climate change and green policies

The world has no doubt moved ahead on its journey to build a low-carbon economy and this cannot be reversed so easily

Closely-watched climate case in Hague wraps up first week of testimony

A closely-watched international climate case that could yield guidance for governments around the world wrapped its first week of arguments before the top court of the United Nations in The Hague Friday. The case, though not binding, is expected to spell out what countries are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact. The push for the International Court of Justice to hear this case comes like much of the call to address climate change from island nations that are losing territory and fear they could disappear under rising seas. The UN General Assembly asked the court last year for an opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. The stakes could not be higher. The survival of my people and so many others is on the line, Arnold Kiel Loughman, attorney general of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Hague-based court. For years his country has spearheaded calls for reductions of the ...

India slams developed countries for climate crisis at ICJ hearing

India home of about 17.8% of global population, its contribution to climate change less than 4%, said JS, MEA Luther M Rangrezi to ICJ

Climate change affects financial system, need regulatory checks: RBI Dy Guv

Rao emphasised that the financial sector lacks comprehensive data to assess climate risks fully

Biden govt not to finalise guidelines on new clean fuel tax credit

Ethanol producers in particular are hoping sustainable aviation fuels will provide market growth

Climate solution: Sails make comeback in shipping, to dent carbon footprint

Had he continued working aboard fuel-powered cargo ships, Yann Jourdan reckons he'd be earning perhaps four times what he now gets as captain of a sailboat that instead uses the wind's clean energy to transport goods across the Atlantic. But the hit to Jourdan's pay is buying him peace of mind. When his 3-year-old son, Marcel, grows up, the burly French mariner wants to be able to explain what he did to make a dent in the the shipping industry's huge carbon footprint. The international merchant fleet of more than 100,000 ships transports more than 80% of global trade. But it's also responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without a quick switch from dirty fuels to cleaner energies, its pollution is forecast to soar. Mariners pushing for wind power say investors used to view them as something of a joke. But as they pioneer a comeback for sail-powered cargo ships, they're having the last laugh. It's our job to prove that it's possible, Jourdan said aboard the new