Page 23 - Climate Change

Avaana raises $135 mn for climate fund to fuel climate-tech startups

Avaana Capital, India's climate-focused venture capital firm, has managed to infuse Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund with USD 135 million, thanks to support from renowned institutional investors, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), said a senior official from the company on Wednesday. In a press statement, Anjali Bansal, partner at Avaana Capital, said, "The support we've received from leading global and domestic institutional investors underscores the importance of innovation in driving climate action and delivering long-term impact. The Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will help build the next generation of climate-first companies to transform key sectors and make meaningful progress toward a sustainable future." According to her, the fund focuses on three core sectors that account for 90 per cent of India's carbon emissions: Energy and Resource Management, Mobility and Supply Chains, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Bansal said India is one of the ...

'Apolitical' Bill Gates donates $50 mn 'dark money' to NGO backing Kamala

Bill Gates has not publicly expressed his support for Kamala Harris, making this contribution a notable departure from his previously cautious approach to political donations

Differential exposure: How climate change hits the poor the hardest

Among Indian firms, the paper finds smaller non-agricultural firms are more exposed to flooding and heat than larger firms

What's on agenda at COP16 nature summit in Colombia: All you need to know

COP16 host country Colombia has put the inclusion of Indigenous and traditional communities at the center of its agenda in Cali

UN climate secy gives call to 'step up' climate finance ahead of COP29

At COP29 in Baku, all governments must agree on a new goal for international climate finance

Climate change affects the most marginalised, need to learn from past: CJI

The effect of climate change can be seen everywhere and it is affecting the most marginalised sections of society, including fisherfolk and farmers, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said here on Saturday. Speaking at the release function of Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai's book 'Traditional Trees of Bharat', the CJI also said the State as well as citizens will have to work together to protect, conserve and improve environment. "I was told it rained even yesterday in Goa. As children, we were told rain would fade away on Nariyal Poornima, when fisherfolk offer coconuts to the sea. But now, it rains in October and even in December. Climate change is not necessarily our doing," he said, adding it was inherited from previous societies who pursued industrial revolution leading to greenhouse gas emissions. "Climate change is not affecting just the affluent, it is affecting the most marginalised sections of society, like fishing communities and farmers. Our response to climate ...

Google to power AI data centres via nuclear power amid climate change woes

Google anticipates using 500 megawatts of nuclear power to run its operations, as global concerns over climate change intensify amid rising electricity consumption from AI and crypto technologies

IMF urges Pakistan to invest Rs 1.2 trillion a year for climate resilience

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to invest one per cent of its GDP annually equivalent to over Rs 1.24 trillion based on current estimates in climate resilience and adaptation reforms to prepare for recurring extreme weather events, particularly floods, a media report said on Thursday. In a special policy advisory, the IMF noted that ongoing reforms under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) including fiscal, labour market, trade, and state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms could boost Pakistan's growth by 2 per cent over five years while significantly reducing inequality, Dawn newspaper reported. The Fund also highlighted that proactive investment in climate-adaptive infrastructure could reduce the negative growth impact of a natural disaster shock by one-third while ensuring a quicker and more complete recovery. The lender noted that about 1 per cent of GDP investment in adaptation infrastructure would increase Pakistan's climate resilience and buffer climate

Human induced climate change behind recent flooding disasters in Nepal

World Weather Attribution, an international collaboration, has underscored the urgent need for Nepal to limit development in low-lying, riverside areas of the cities and scale up early warning and prompt action to avoid repeat of flooding disasters. Climate change was responsible for the extreme three day downpours in Nepal about 10 percent more intense, concluded the organization in its recently published report. The flood and landslide triggered by heavy rain in Nepal in late September caused heavy loss to the country as it claimed at least 244 lives. The rainfall became 10 percent more intense by human-induced climate change, pointed out the report. Bursts of rainfall will become even more heavier, risking more destructive floods until the world replaces fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy, warned the organization. Reducing development in flood-prone areas of cities will help protect people in Nepal from future floods, according to the report. The explosive monsoon ...

India presses ahead with coal as China cuts permits ahead of COP29

Until two years back, it was the reverse: India was pushing renewables and freezing new coal projects while China was pressing the pedal on coal

Climate change could reduce Amazon's methane absorption by 70%: Study

Extreme temperatures and humidity driven by climate change could reduce the Amazon rainforest's capacity to absorb the greenhouse gas methane by 70 per cent, a study has found. Researchers said that under a warmer climate, the extreme rainfall and droughts projected for South America's Amazon could impact its net greenhouse gas emissions. Often referred to as the 'lungs of the planet', the tropical rainforest lies majorly in Brazil, with parts in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, among others, and is known to be a crucial 'greenhouse gas sink' that absorbs these gases from the air. However, 20 per cent of the Amazon region, which remains flooded for nearly half a year, releases methane, countering its ability to absorb other greenhouse gases, the researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil said. Their study is published in the journal Environmental Microbiome. Previous studies have shown that the flooded areas of Amazon contribute up to almost 30 per cent of methane emissions from ..

Water security: India must boost wastewater reuse to tackle insecurity

Given the climate risks, India needs to prepare to deal with them because water stress is only likely to worsen

How climate change contributes to dangers, influences paths of hurricanes

Scientists have linked high ocean temperatures to the rapid intensification of hurricanes- Milton's wind speed increased 95 miles per hour in a single day

Earth might warm by 2C or 5.5C, narrowing it would just be a distraction

Will the Earth warm by 2C or 5.5C? Either way it's bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction

Sonam Wangchuk continues indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday continued his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Ladakh Bhawan along with his supporters and appealed that the Centre should resume talks on their demands. Wangchuk, who is spearheading an agitation for Ladakh's Sixth Schedule status, had started his fast on Sunday afternoon. According to the protesters, they have not been approached by any government representative so far. This is the third day of the fast... We still hope our leaders will give us time. Even now we are 25 people sitting on hunger strike, Wangchuk told PTI. We hope the talks with Apex Body (Leh) and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) will be resumed, this is our request, he said. Wangchuk said the people of Ladakh have worked for India's security without a uniform or a salary. Such treatment to people who have come from the border area is not in the national interest. Whenever India is in trouble, faces a war, these are the people who work with the Army without uniform or

Antarctica turning green 'dramatically', trend accelerated over yrs: Study

Antarctica is turning green "dramatically", with the trend accelerated by more than 30 per cent in recent years, compared to the past three decades, a new study has found. Researchers found that vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula increased more than tenfold -- from less than a square kilometre to almost 12 square kilometres -- between 1986 and 2021. The researchers, including those at the University of Exeter, UK, used satellite data to estimate the "greening" rate of the Antarctic Peninsula in response to climate change. "This recent acceleration in the rate of change in vegetation cover (2016-2021) coincides with a marked decrease in sea-ice extent in Antarctica over the same period," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The study provides evidence that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating, they said. Antarctica has been shown to be warming faster than the global average, wit

Antarctica's winter sea ice in 2024 was lowest ever, except for 2023

In the Antarctic, sea ice typically covers the largest expanse of ocean at some point in September

Data centre emissions witness growth: Is AI or climate change to blame?

Three of the biggest tech companies, Microsoft, Google and Meta, have reported ballooning greenhouse gas emissions since 2020

Why are Italy and Switzerland redrawing their border near Matterhorn Peak?

The boundary change, agreed upon by both Italy and Switzerland, affects the area under Matterhorn, one of the highest and most iconic peaks in the Alps

Tamil Nadu's auto manufacturing sector faces severe climate risks: CII

The risk assessment was carried out as part of CII's new framework, 'Building Climate Resilience for Indian Industry', which aims to help businesses identify and address climate-related threats