Page 24 - Climate Change

July 21 recorded as world's hottest day ever as climate change worsens

Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus service, said that it was possible the beginning of this week could eclipse Sunday's record as heatwaves continue to sizzle across the world

Chief economic advisor Nageswaran calls out rich nations' climate hypocrisy

India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has criticised developed countries for their "double standards" on climate action, highlighting the G7's commitment to ending the use of unabated coal power plants only in the first half of the 2030s, despite their high carbon emissions. In the annual economic survey, Nageswaran said it is morally wrong to ask developing countries to abandon their aspirations for better living standards to allow developed countries to maintain their lifestyles in cleaner environments and cooler climates. He argued that economic growth would empower developing countries to better address climate change. Nageswaran said the UN convention on climate change and its Paris Agreement mandate that developed countries provide resources and take the lead in mobilising finance to tackle the global problem. "However, much of the climate action by developing countries has been done through domestic resources, and the emphasis of the developed countries has mai

Developed world's climate plans in a fog, India's a clear blue sky: Survey

"Even as developed nations prepare to impose a carbon tax at the border on imports coming into their countries laden with carbon, they are ramping up energy demand like never before," said the Survey

AI, agro-processing, gig economy with most job potential: Economic Survey

Economic Survey 2023-24: The gig workforce is expected to expand to 23.5 million by 2029-30, forming 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce, and 4.1% of India's total workforce

COP29 host Azerbaijan launches climate fund, introduces fossil fuel levy

Azerbaijan, the host of this year's UN climate talks, has shelved a planned levy on fossil fuel production and instead launched a fund to "invest" in climate action in developing countries. Reports suggest that Azerbaijan, which relies heavily on oil and gas revenues, faced resistance from some oil- and gas-producing Gulf countries regarding the planned levy announced in May. The new fund, the "Climate Finance Action Fund" (CFAF), will receive annual contributions from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies. Initial fundraising aims for USD 1 billion, with members committing to annual contributions as fixed sums or based on production volume, according to a statement. Based in the capital city of Baku, the fund will target climate projects in developing countries, meeting the next generation of national climate plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and addressing the consequences of climate change-fuelled disasters. Financial support to help middle-income and

Political direction needed to settle dispute on climate finance: COP29 prez

The president of this year's UN climate summit said on Wednesday that political direction is required to resolve disagreements on a new financial target to support developing countries' climate actions post 2025. Climate finance will be at the centre of the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the world will reach the deadline to agree on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) -- the new amount developed nations must mobilise every year starting 2025 to support climate action in developing countries. But achieving consensus will not be easy, given the disappointing progress made on the issue at the mid-year UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany. "There are disagreements on key elements that will require political direction and we must focus high-level discussions on these points," COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev said in a letter to nearly 200 countries that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Babayev said clima

Education systems under siege: Climate change threatens global learning

A UNESCO report claims that heat, floods, and storms are causing widespread learning loss, especially in low- and middle-income countries, threatening decades of educational progress

'Hellishly hot' southern Europe bakes under heat wave as temp tops 104F

The Italian health ministry placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning Tuesday as a wave of hot air from Africa baked southern Europe and the Balkans and sent temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with the worst still to come. Croatia reported the highest-ever temperatures of the Adriatic Sea, with the thermometer reaching nearly 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at the southern walled city of Dubrovnik, the country's most popular tourism spot. In Serbia, the state power company reported record consumption Tuesday due to the use of air conditioning. Municipal authorities in several southern European and Balkan cities took measures to look after elderly people in particular as civil protection crews fielded calls for water-dropping aircraft such as Canadairs to douse wildfires that raged in southern Italy and North Macedonia. It's hellishly hot," said Carmen Daz, a tourist from Madrid who was trying to keep cool with a fan at lunchtime in ..

Melting polar ice is slowing Earth's rotation, lengthening days, says study

A scientific paper has indicated that melting polar ice caps are redistributing mass around the equator, slowing Earth's rotation and lengthening days at an unprecedented rate

Baku Summit tough, finance deal key to climate progress: Ex-Maldives prez

Negotiations at the UN climate conference in Baku in November are expected to be "extremely challenging", former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed has said while emphasizing that an agreement on a new finance goal is central to breaking the political deadlock on climate action. In an interview with PTI, Nasheed, the Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), said Azerbaijan's resolve to negotiate commitments upwards at COP29 under its presidency will be tested. The CVF is a group of developing countries highly vulnerable to climate change. It was founded in November 2009 in the Maldives' capital Male. The forum now comprises 68 countries representing 1.74 billion people. Nasheed said climate finance is all about responsibility and not aid. "It involves trillions of dollars, not billions, because the only way for us to truly fight climate change is to invest our way out of it," he said. Resolving the debate on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at COP29 in Ba

Climate change threatens to undo educational gains of recent decade: UNESCO

Climate related stressors like heat, wildfires, floods, droughts, diseases and rising sea levels affect education outcomes and threaten to undo educational gains of recent decade, according to the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM). The global report compiled by UNESCO, Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) project and University of Saskatchewan in Canada has pointed out that most low and middle-income countries are experiencing climate-related school closures every year, increasing chances of learning loss and dropout. "Climate change related impacts are already disrupting education systems and outcomes. Direct effects include the destruction of education infrastructure as well as injuries and loss of life among students, parents and school staff. Climate change has a negative impact on education indirectly through its displacement of people and the effects on people's livelihoods and health," the report said. "Over the past 20 years, schools .

Caribbean seeks help after Hurricane Beryl devastates small islands

Caribbean officials on Friday demanded more access to funding and help in fighting climate change, weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the region. The urgent request was made at an OAS meeting in Washington, DC, where officials noted that the historic storm exposed the vulnerability of small islands. Beryl killed at least seven people in the Caribbean and razed nearly all infrastructure on some of the islands that make up Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (We) are on the front line, said Virginia Albert-Poyotte, the delegate for St. Lucia, who asked that climate financing be made more available and that financial institutions include special disaster clauses. She and others noted that small Caribbean islands often have rickety infrastructure and fragile economies dependent on tourism and fishing. A resolution approved Friday by the OAS stated that previous hurricanes have led to higher insurance premiums, unemployment and poverty. It called for the immediate operation

Hindustan Zinc releases report on nature-related risks, climate change

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd on Monday said it has released a report that helps in identifying nature-related risks and assists the company in creating sustainable strategies to tackle climate change. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) report outlines nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities and allows for an assessment of the company's direct operations and upstream critical supply chain on nature, it said. It helps in identifying nature-related risks and assists the company in creating sustainable strategies, which is based on the dual approach of mitigating and adapting towards climate change, Hindustan Zinc said in a statement. "The launch of the country's first TNFD report underscores our commitment to responsible nature conservation. We are actively pursuing decarbonization and environment conservation efforts, as evidenced by our nature protection initiatives. By integrating sustainability into every aspect of our ...

A matter of life and death

Climate change will throw at us many such surprises in terms of impact on human health. Even now, this science is not understood

Need to increase green cover to tackle soaring summer heat: Minister Yadav

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Sunday stressed the need to increase green cover to deal with soaring temperatures during summer. The union environment minister joined the ongoing campaign to plant 51 lakh saplings in Indore. Speaking on the occasion, Yadav said humans built concrete cities on the earth but destroyed greenery in the race for development. "This year, we have experienced temperatures soaring to 45 to 50 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country. In the race for development, humans have built concrete cities on earth but destroyed the greenery," he said. The "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day on June 5 is about respecting Mother Earth. According to officials, the plantation drive in Indore will end on July 14. Yadav planted a sapling at a programme organised at the Border Security Force (BSF) campus in the Bijasan area under the campaign "Apne Indore Ke Liye, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" i

North India lost nearly 450 cubic km of groundwater in 2 decades: Study

About 450 cubic kilometres of groundwater was lost in northern India during 2002-2021 and climate change will further accelerate its depletion in the years to come, according to a new study. This is about 37 times the quantity of water the Indira Sagar dam -- India's largest reservoir -- can hold at full capacity, lead author Vimal Mishra, Vikram Sarabhai Chair Professor of Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar, said. Using on-site observations, satellite data and models, researchers found that across north India, rainfall in monsoons (June to September) has reduced by 8.5 per cent during 1951-2021. Winters in the region have become warmer by 0.3 degrees Celsius over the same period, they found. The team, comprising researchers from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad, said lesser rainfall during the monsoons and warming of winters will increase irrigation water demand and reduce groundwater recharge, further stressing the already ...

Walmart heir Christy Walton joins Novogratz urging Biden to exit prez race

The business leaders, for their part, appealed to Biden's patriotic side around the nation's Independence Day, invoking the first US president

4% newborn deaths linked to climate change in lower income countries: Study

Over four per cent of newborn deaths are related to high and low temperatures, driven by climate change, according to a research looking at 29 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Of the four per cent, on average, 1.5 per cent of annual newborn deaths across these countries were linked to extreme heat, while nearly three per cent were linked to extreme cold, said researchers who studied the data between 2001-2019. Further, 32 per cent of all heat-related deaths in newborn babies over the period 2001-2019, amounting to more than 1.75 lakh deaths, were attributed to climate change, estimated an international team of researchers, including those from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany. Climate change was also found to be responsible to lowering the risk of newborn death related to cold temperatures by over 30 per cent, amounting to 4.57 lakh fewer newborn deaths. The findings are published in the journal Nature ...

Gene-edited food: New crops could help us mitigate, adapt to climate change

Scientists used CRISPR-Cas9, a precision gene-editing technique, to create a variety of risotto rice potentially resistant to Pyricularia oryzae, a pathogenic fungus which leads to rice blast disease

Indian banks see climate change as their biggest source of systemic risk

It wasn't until earlier this year that the RBI finally released a draft framework that would require financial institutions to devise and disclose their strategies to mitigate climate-related risk