Page 22 - Climate Change

Climate change, natural disasters put voting rights at risk: Nepal PM Oli

Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Wednesday emphasised that unpredictable weather patterns and natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, can pose a significant threat to citizens' ability to exercise their right to vote, as he underscored the need for election officials to adapt and ensure the integrity of democratic processes. "Issues like climate change, migration and the rise of social media and the role of artificial intelligence are crucial for our democracies," Oli said at the inauguration of the 12th conference of the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBOSA) here. "Unpredictable weather patterns and natural disasters due to climate change threaten our ability to ensure that every citizen can exercise their right to vote...Climate change is not only an issue related to the environment, it touches every facet of our society," he said. "The movement of people across borders and within, and within our countries have profound implications for ...

FinMin to develop climate finance taxonomy in 6-10 months: DEA secy

Climate finance taxonomy is a set of guidelines that will help investors and institutions direct funds towards investments that will aid in tackling climate change

Toyo-India to do FEED for industrial carbon capture project for EET Fuels

EET Fuels, which owns and operates UK's Stanlow oil refinery, on Tuesday said it has appointed Toyo Engineering India Pvt Ltd to carry out the front-end engineering design (FEED) study for its industrial carbon capture project. EET Fuels is investing USD 1.2 billion over the next five years to decarbonise its Stanlow oil refinery in the UK. It is targeting a 95 per cent in emissions by 2030 through energy efficiency, carbon capture and fuel switching. "The company has appointed Toyo Engineering India Pvt Ltd (Toyo-India) (100 per cent subsidiary of Toyo Engineering Corporation, Japan) a leading engineering, procurement and construction company, to carry out the FEED phase - an integral part of the project management process," it said in a statement. Toyo-India will oversee design completion, project de-risking, detailed costing analysis and other vital work. Completion of FEED will enable the company to take final investment decision (FID) on the ICC project. Upon completion (expe

Kerala to develop local early warning systems for disasters: CM Vijayan

The Kerala government has decided to focus on scientific use of land and deployment of localised early warning systems as part of its efforts to tackle Wayanad-like landslides and other disasters in the future, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He said the landslide forecasting systems were in the "infancy" stage and his government now wants to "strengthen" Kerala's institutes and departments meant for studying climate change by providing them enhanced manpower and modern equipments. More than 230 people lost their lives even as an equal number of body parts were found from under the debris and from the Chaliyar river after the worst-ever disaster of the state destroyed large tracts of three Wayanad villages-- Punchirimattom, Chooralmala and Mundakkai apart from some in Attamala when the disaster struck on July 30. Speaking to PTI during an interview over the weekend, Vijayan said, "In an era of climate change, fragility is a matter that needs to be balanced with respect to

Cabinet approves India's agreement with 14-member IPEF economic bloc

The Union Cabinet has approved the commerce ministry's proposal to sign the 14-member IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) bloc's agreements on a clean and fair economy, an official said on Monday. In June in Singapore, 13 IPEF bloc members signed these agreements, while India said it would ink the deals after getting domestic approval. The official, who does not wish to be named, said that the proposal to sign these agreements has been approved by the cabinet in its meeting here on Monday. Agreement on a clean economy intends to accelerate efforts of IPEF partners towards energy security and transition, climate resilience and adaptation, GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions mitigation, finding/developing innovative ways of reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy, promoting technical cooperation, workforce development, capacity building, and research collaborations, and collaborate to facilitate development, access, and deployment of clean energy and climate-friendly ..

Global South cities have only 70% of cooling capacity as North ones: Study

Cities in the Global South are equipped with only about 70 per cent of the "cooling capacity" provided by urban greenery in cities in the Global North and are, therefore, are more vulnerable to extreme heat, a new research has found. As the planet warms, researchers said that rising temperatures, along with 'urban heat island' effects, make cities hotter than rural areas. As a result, heat-related illness and deaths in these areas are becoming more common. An international team, including researchers from the University of Exeter, UK, analysed satellite data on 500 of the world's largest cities to assess 'cooling capacity' -- how much do the urban green spaces cool down a city's surface temperatures? "Our analysis suggests green spaces can cool the surface temperature in the average city by about 3 degrees Celsius during warm seasons -- a vital difference during extreme heat," author Timothy M. Lenton, from the University of Exeter, said. "However, a concerning disparity is evident

Climate threat tops Pope Francis' Asia-Pacific foreign trip itinerary

Singapore has predicted its coastal waters could rise by more than a metre by the end of the century, piling pressure on its flood defences and threatening its low-lying land

Choco companies rely on developing cocoa substitutes other than cocoa beans

Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes. Scientists and entrepreneurs are working on ways to make more cocoa that stretch well beyond the tropics, from Northern California to Israel. California Cultured, a plant cell culture company, is growing cocoa from cell cultures at a facility in West Sacramento, California, with plans to start selling its products next year. It puts cocoa bean cells in a vat with sugar water so they reproduce quickly and reach maturity in a week rather than the six to eight months a traditional harvest takes, said Alan Perlstein, the company's chief executive. The process also no longer requires as much water or arduous labour. We see just the demand of chocolate monstrously outstripping what is going to be available, Perlstein said. There's really no other way that we see that the world .

Developed economy should also be developed ecology: Environment minister

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Saturday said there is a need to balance economic development of the country with ecology, as both are interconnected. Human-centric approach to development is insufficient, he said, speaking at an event at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay -- Ideas4LiFE - Lifestyle for Environment' -- that aims to inspire innovative environmental solutions. "A developed economy should be a developed ecology too....there is interconnectedness between all life forms. Life extends beyond human needs, therefore, there should be harmonious coexistence of all living beings and the environment," the minister said. Ideas4LiFE - Lifestyle for Environment' has been organised in collaboration with the Maharashtra Environment Department to engage students, faculty and researchers nationwide in generating ideas promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle. The minister further urged students to embrace environmental consciousness

Sustainable development key to tackling climate threats: V-P Dhankhar

Sustainable development is the only way to deal with the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Saturday. Addressing scientists, faculty and students of CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dhankhar said collaborative solutions were needed to address the challenges that threatened "our very existence". "The challenges of today demand bold action and an institution like CSIR-IIP can serve as an effective platform for researching effective technologies that can help grapple with the challenges," Dhankhar said. The vice-president criticised people who were at one time in positions of authority and governance for "subserving partisan interests and floating anti-national narratives". Dhankhar also condemned the observation that what was happening in the neighbouring country (Bangladesh) could happen in India as well. "How can anyone who has faith in the vibrant and robust democracy of the country subscribe to

Google-backed fund selects 4 Indian firms for AI-driven climate solutions

Four India-based organisations have been selected among 14 recipients across the Asia Pacific region for grants under the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0, supported by a USD 5-million grant from Google.org, the tech giant's philanthropic arm. The fund, managed by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), aims to foster technology- and AI-driven solutions addressing critical environmental and social challenges. The Indian recipients include INREM Foundation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Institute for Financial Management and Research (WELL Labs), and Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT), Google.org said in a statement. INREM Foundation will develop AI-enabled open digital solutions for community access to water contamination data. CRDF plans to use machine learning and satellite imagery to protect lakes and their carbon sink function. WELL Labs will develop advanced models for village-level water security insights, while MHT will create an AI-powered model t

India added 1.1 GW of rooftop solar capacity from January to June: Report

The report titled - 'India Rooftop Solar Market' - noted that in the second quarter of 2024, 731 MW of rooftop solar was installed, an 89 per cent jump year-on-year

Court orders S Korea to specify plans to cut carbon emissions through 2049

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the government to back its climate goals with more concrete plans for action through 2049, handing a partial victory to climate campaigners who say the country's failure to cut emissions faster amounts to a violation of their rights. The court, which weighs the constitutionality of laws, issued the assessment while ruling on four climate cases raised by 254 plaintiffs, including many young people who were children or teenagers when they began filing the complaints against the government and lawmakers in 2020. They argued that South Korea's current goal of cutting carbon emissions by 35 per cent from 2018 levels by 2030 is inadequate to manage the impact of climate change and that such objectives weren't backed by sufficient implementation plans. They also pointed out that the country has yet to establish plans to reduce carbon emissions after 2031, despite its outstanding goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The ...

Climate change effect: Om Parvat's snow vanishes for the first time

The complete disappearance of snow this year is being attributed to scanty rainfall and patchy snowfall in the upper Himalayas over the past five years

Lessons from Wayanad: Goa to impose Rs 1 cr fine for illegal hill cutting

Under the proposed amendment to the rules, the department plans to curb illegal hill cutting activities by imposing a fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore, depending on the size of the plot

Great Barrier Reef declines due to climate change; little time to save it

Humanity is killing the Great Barrier Reef, and other reefs around the world, by failing to curb the greenhouse gas emissions

Climate policy success cases reveal right steps crucial for emissions cut

Merely a higher number of climate policies aimed at reducing emissions do not lead to better outcomes, instead, the right mix of measures is crucial, according to researchers who analysed 1,500 policy interventions implemented between 1998 and 2022. In their study, published in the journal Science, the authors described 63 success cases, which involved "rarely studied policies and unappreciated policy combinations". "For example, subsidies or regulations alone are insufficient; only in combination with price-based instruments, such as carbon and energy taxes, can they deliver substantial emission reductions," lead author Nicolas Koch from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany, said. The climate policies that the researchers studied covered wide-ranging aspects, from energy-related building codes to purchase subsidies for climate-friendly products and carbon taxes. The team used a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database,

Earth ends 13-month streak of record heat: Here's what to expect next

Global warming has consistently toppled records for warm global average temperatures in recent decades

Study finds alarming rise in lightning deaths in India between 2010-20

The decade from 2010 to 2020 has been the "deadliest" with an "alarming" spike in deaths due to lightning incidents, according to an analysis of the data shared by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The data showed a rise in the average annual fatalities per state and union territory from 38 during 1967-2002 to 61 in the period from 2003-2020, the research showed. Additionally, average deaths due to lightning in Indian states and union territories (UTs) almost tripled from 28 in 1986 to 81 in 2016, it noted. A team of researchers, including those from Fakir Mohan University in Odisha, found that lightning caused 1,01,309 deaths between 1967 and 2020, with an "alarming development" from 2010-2010, showing the highest increase. "The data show an increase in the average annual fatalities per states and UTs from 38 in the period 1967 to 2002, to 61 from 2003 to 2020. Notably, the decade from 2010 to 2020 emerges as the deadliest in terms of lightning incidents," the authors wrot

Wildfires growing under climate change, smoke threatens farmworkers: Study

As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes. Her saliva turned black from inhaling the toxins, until one day she had so much trouble breathing she was rushed to the emergency room. When she felt better, she went right back to work as the fires raged on. What forces us to work is necessity, Salinas said. We always expose ourselves to danger out of necessity, whether by fire or disaster, when the weather changes, when it's hot or cold. As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of wildfires around the world, a new study shows that farmworkers are paying a heavy price by being exposed to high levels of air pollution. And in Sonoma County, the focus of the work, researchers found that a program aimed at determining when it was safe to work during wildfires did not adequately protect farmworkers. They recommended a series of steps to safeguard the worker