Page 15 - Climate Change

UN calls for $2.6 trillion investment to reverse land degradation by 2030

To hit $2.6 trillion - approaching the annual economic output of France - the world needs to close an annual gap of $278 billion, after just $66 billion was invested in 2022, the UN said

Sensible trade policy key to tackling climate change on a global scale

A key agreement at Baku was on establishing high integrity carbon markets, following a breakthrough on establishing standards for a centralised international carbon market

Climate change case to open at UN court as island nations fear rising seas

The top United Nations court will take up the largest case in its history on Monday, when it opens two weeks of hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact. After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. We want the court to confirm that the conduct that has wrecked the climate is unlawful, Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, who is leading the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Associated Press. In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times because of the burning

Took inputs from TN govt over Nayakkarpatti tungsten block sale: Centre

The statement has come in the wake of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel the award of tungsten mining rights in Madurai district

India must prepare to deal cyber warfare, climate change: Prez Murmu

India should be prepared to tackle any situation in a fast changing geopolitical environment, including national security challenges like cyber warfare and terrorism, President Droupadi Murmu said here on Thursday. Also, she stressed the need to develop a deep understanding of national and global scenarios as the geopolitical dynamics have changed the security landscape. "The issue of climate change is acquiring a new dimension which needs to be understood and managed. Latest cutting edge technology needs to be applied. I am confident that our armed personnel officers will rise to the future challenges," the President said in her address at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, in Nilgiris district. "In a fast changing geopolitical environment, we need to be prepared to tackle any situation," Murmu said. "Geopolitical dynamics have changed the security landscape and there's a need to develop a deep understanding of national and global situations. We not only have to secur

COP29 finance, carbon deals could unlock billions in global investment

Two weeks of acrimonious negotiations in Azerbaijan's capital Baku resulted in a deal for $300 billion in annual climate finance by 2035

Wakeup call on biodiversity: Degradation poses ecological, economic risks

India's revised NBS-AP has done well to set 23 well-advised targets conforming to various global biodiversity-related conventions

COP29 summit: India leads Global South to reject 'unfair' finance deal

COP 29 president pushed decisions despite objections, citing procedural norms

Too little, too distant: India rejects $300 bn climate finance at COP29

India on Sunday rejected the new climate finance package of a meagre USD 300 billion annually by 2035 for the Global South at the UN climate conference here, calling it "too little and too distant". The USD 300 billion figure is a far cry from the USD 1.3 trillion the Global South has been demanding over the past three years of talks to tackle climate change. Making a statement on behalf of India, Chandni Raina, Adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, said they were not allowed to speak before the adoption of the deal, undermining their trust in the process. "In continuation of several such incidents of not following inclusivity, not respecting country positions... We had informed the presidency, we had informed the secretariat that we wanted to make a statement prior to any decision. However, this is for everyone to see, this has been stage-managed. We are extremely disappointed," she said. "The goal is too little, too distant," Raina said, asserting that it is set for 2035, whic

Rich nations offer $300 billion annually after 10 years to Global South

Developed countries made a final offer of USD 300 billion annually by 2035 to help developing countries tackle climate change, hours after two groups of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries stormed out of the negotiating room at COP29 here. The USD 300 billion figure, however, is a far cry from the USD 1.3 trillion the Global South has been demanding in the three years of talks. The offer is part of the draft deal on a new climate finance package for developing nations, or the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will be put before countries for approval in a plenary session shortly. The new amount will replace the USD 100 billion figure pledged in 2009. The draft deal also introduces the Baku to Belem Roadmap, an important request for Africa and other developing country groups to lay out a meaningful process towards aligning the global finance system with achieving the USD 1.3 trillion goal by 2035. Issued after tiring, mind-numbing negotiations that continued fo

COP29 gets Article 6 of Paris Agreement operational, opens carbon markets

Article 6 provides trusted and transparent carbon markets for countries as they collaborate to reach their climate goals

COP29: Countries agree on deal to kickstart global carbon credit trading

The agreement, clinched roughly a decade after international talks on forming the market began, hinged on how to ensure credibility in the system so it can reliably lead to reductions in greenhouse

COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, demands 'no deal'

Civil society members staged a silent march at the UN climate summit, condemning the developed nations' proposal to increase annual climate finance to a meagre USD 250 billion by 2035. They called on the developing world to reject what they described as an "insulting" and "unjust" deal. With their arms crossed in defiance, protesters walked silently through the summit venue, where chanting is prohibited. "We urge you to stand up for the people of the Global South, and we insist: no deal in Baku is better than a bad deal, and this is a very, very bad deal because of the intransigence of developed countries," said Climate Action Network (CAN), a global coalition of more than 1,900 civil society organisations, in a letter to G77 and China, the largest bloc of developing nations. The letter urged negotiators to abandon weak agreements, saying, "If nothing sufficiently strong is forthcoming at this COP, we urge you to walk away from the table to fight another day, and we will fight the

'The Nature of Nature' book review: False solutions for climate change

This book is a must-read for people who beat themselves up for failing to avert every environmental disaster that makes it to the news cycle

Business & climate are no longer an either-or choice, says Philippe Varin

'Over the next 30 years, we're expected to extract as many resources from the planet as we have since the beginning of human civilisation'

'India shaping global climate action while upholding own development plan'

India is playing a pivotal role in shaping global climate mechanisms while ensuring its own developmental priorities are upheld, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav stated on Thursday, amidst the ongoing climate talks in Azerbaijan. Speaking at the 97th Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) under the theme 'Our Actions for Viksit Bharat' here, the minister also highlighted India's active role in shaping these global climate mechanisms, alongside its efforts to ensure that domestic priorities remain central to its approach. "Our initiatives to promote carbon and green credits align with global climate goals, while safeguarding India's developmental objectives, he noted. Providing updates on the ongoing COP29 in Baku, the minister revealed that Article 6.4 will be fully implemented at the international level. In a landmark decision on the first day of the global climate talks in Baku, COP29 officially ...

Abrupt, 'irreversible' drop in global freshwater levels, Nasa study claims

Recent data from Nasa satellites have revealed that Earth's surface has lost freshwater abruptly since 2015. This major drop coincides with a 2014 to 2016 period of El Niño warming

Transport assets worth $400 bn in India exposed to climate hazards: Report

Transport assets worth approximately USD 575 billion in South Asia, including USD 400 billion in India, are exposed to climate hazards and rapid deployment of resilience measures needed to prevent risk to the sector which contributes significantly to the region's GDP, according to a report. The South Asian region faces cascading economic losses due to climate risks, with disruptions in transport having cascading effects on key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and services among others, as per the report jointly published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). With the frequency and severity of climate events in South Asia escalating sharply in recent years, the cost of inaction in South Asia is staggering and without strategic interventions, climate risks could derail decades of development progress, the report titled 'Transport Infrastructure Reimagined: Forging Resilient Connections ' An Integrated Framework to ...

COP29 produces streamlined climate finance draft, but key issues remain

After an all-nighter, a draft text on the new climate finance package for the developing world finally dropped Thursday morning -- shrunk from 25 pages to 10, but the major sticking points remain. With less than two days left for the UN climate conference to close, negotiators face a gargantuan task to hammer it out. A quick glance at the text shows developed countries are still dodging a key question: How much climate finance are they ready to give developing countries every year starting in 2025? This has led to significant frustration among developing countries, who have repeatedly said they need at least USD 1.3 trillion to tackle the escalating challenges. "The revised draft text, while more streamlined, presents a spectrum of options -- some good, some bad, and some outright ugly," said Harjeet Singh, a climate activist and Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. He said it acknowledges the need for public funds from developed ...

COP29: At climate talks, draft of deal gives little clarity on climate cash

A new draft text released early Thursday which will form the basis of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay. Negotiators at the talks known as COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, are trying to close the gap between the $1.3 trillion the developing world says is needed in climate finance and the few hundred billion that richer nations have been prepared to pay. But the draft text "presents two extreme ends of the aisle without much in between", said Li Shuo, Asia Society Policy Institute Director. Other than capturing the ground standing of both sides, this text hardly does anything more. Rob Moore, Associate Director at European think tank E3G said that negotiators need to make a huge amount of progress over the next few days and the road to agreement will need to see rapid and candid engagement, with numbers on the ...