Page 30 - Climate Change

UN warns of climate impact on women-run households, farms in poor nations

Women who run farms and rural households in poor countries suffer more from climate change and are discriminated against as they try to adapt to other sources of income in times of crises, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, The Unjust Climate, found that female-headed rural households lose on average 8 per cent more of their income during heat waves and 3 per cent more during floods, compared to male-headed households. That disparity translates into a per capita reduction of USD 83 due to heat stress and USD 35 due to floods coming up to an annual total of USD 37 billion and USD 16 billion respectively in poor countries, the UN agency said in the report. Considering the significant existing differences in agricultural productivity and wages between women and men, the study suggests that if not addressed, climate change will greatly widen these gaps in the years ahead, FAO said. The Rome-based FAO came up with the statistics

Dysfunctional environmental clearance system should be shut down: Narain

India's system for granting environmental clearances is badly broken and should be completely shut down to dispel any illusions about their effectiveness, eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain has said. In an interview with PTI, Narain -- the director general of independent think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) -- suggested that the government overhaul the system to strike a balance between environmental preservation and development. Expressing concern over the decriminalisation of environmental laws in India, Narain said the current system for granting environmental and forest clearances, and penalising polluters is "so broken that it should be completely shut down so that we have no illusion of anything that is not working". Regarding environmental impact assessments, Narain pointed out the lack of accountability of committees granting clearances. "The panel lays down hundreds of conditions so that it is not held to account but there is no way to know if the ...

Organisations work to help dozens of families displaced by Texas wildfires

A gush of red-coloured water spilled from an air tanker on Sunday as it flew over the eastern side of the Smokehouse Creek fire, one of several wildfires that have burned over 1.2 million acres in the northern Texas Panhandle. As firefighters battle against strong winds in their efforts to contain the unprecedented wildfires in the Texas Pandhandle, humanitarian organizations are pivoting their attention to victims who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the blazes. Residents began clearing affected property on Saturday, and by Sunday the extent of the loss began mounting. Julie Winters, the executive director for Hutchinson County United Way, said the organization has heard estimates of over 150 homes being impacted in the county, noting that the fires extend to at least five other counties. "We already know that a large group of people are uninsured who lost their homes. So without monetary assistance, it's going to be very hard for them to start back over," Winters said. A

90% of Himalayas will face year-long drought at 3 degrees warming: Study

About 90 per cent of the Himalayan Region will experience drought lasting over a year if global warming increases by 3 degrees Celsius, according to new research. The findings, published in the journal Climatic Change, show that 80 per cent of the increased human exposure to heat stress in India can be avoided by adhering to Paris Agreement's temperature goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to 3 degrees Celsius warming. The team led by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing on India, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana -- shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming. It found that in India pollination is reduced by half

RBI releases draft disclosure framework for banks to address climate risks

The RBI has previously acknowledged climate change as a source of financial risk. In July 2022, it released a discussion paper exploring strategies to address climate change-related financial risks

EU to approve plan to meet climate goals, protect nature despite protests

The European Union is on the brink of approving a major plan to fight climate change and better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc after protests from farmers and opposition from the biggest party in parliament led it to be diluted. The plan is a key part of the EU's European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues. The Nature Restoration plan has had a rough ride through the EU's complicated approval process, and a watered-down version will proceed to a final vote by the EU member states, where it is expected to survive. Today's vote to get the Nature Restoration Law over the finish line offers fresh hope for Europe's ability to combat the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss for decades to come," said Noor Yafai of the global environmental group The Nature Conservancy. Under the plan, member states would have to meet restoration targets f

'Ancient country, new ideas': Bill Gates' praise for India in latest trip

Bill Gates is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and engage with various stakeholders during his India trip, where he will hold discussions on spreading India's innovations around the world

Govt permits planting of trees on degraded land parcels for credits

India is yet to have a domestic carbon/green credit marketplace with the regulations for it under consideration. There are however independent agencies running such platforms

UN member states meet to plan how to tackle world's environmental crises

The world's top decision-making body on the environment is meeting in Kenya's capital on Monday to discuss how countries can work together to tackle environmental crises like climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity. The meeting in Nairobi is the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, and governments, civil society groups, scientists and the private sector are attending. None of us live on an island. We live on planet Earth, and we are all connected, Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, which is leading the process, told The Associated Press ahead of the talks. The only way we can solve some of these problems is by talking together. At the meeting, member states discuss a raft of draft resolutions on a range of issues that the assembly adopts upon consensus. If a proposal is adopted, it sets the stage for countries to implement what's been agreed on. In the last round of talks in 2022, also in Nairobi, governments adopted

India will not accept unjust carbon emission mandates, says DPIIT secy

India will not accept any unjustified mandate on carbon emissions but will deliver more than the commitment it makes, a senior government official said on Friday. While speaking at the Aavaana-Startup India ClimateTech Challenge event, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India's mandate is to become net zero by 2070. "We have accepted a stretched-out kind of goal because India believes we are not historically responsible for carbon emissions, even less in per capita terms, but the vision of the Hon'ble PM has always been that we will not accept unjustified mandates but we will deliver much more than we have promised," he said. Singh said India has already built the world's 4th largest renewable energy capacity of 180 gigawatts. "We are well ahead of our SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) goals," he said. He said that as India moves towards a greener future, start-ups will play a very important role through their innova

'Urgent need for climate risk evaluation rules, more adaptation funding'

India is yet to create a common framework for evaluating risks due to climate change and a systematic methodology for ascertaining the extent to which development programmes address climate risk and vulnerability, according to a new report released on Wednesday. The report by Climate Policy Initiative, a multi-national analysis and advisory organisation with expertise in finance and policy, said the lack of a common framework for evaluating climate risks makes it hard to tell how development projects address these issues, and to track funding for adaptation measures. Despite these challenges, it said, there is a growing push for climate adaptation action in India, leading to plans, policies, and schemes at national and state levels. However, the focus and progress vary among states. The report titled "Financing Adaptation in India" also highlighted the need for "significant" investment for adaptation (adjusting to the effects of climate change) in the country. An analysis of state

Ladakh organises 'world's highest frozen lake marathon' on Pangong Tso

The event was organised with the agenda to bring attention towards the melting Himalayan glaciers, which pose a massive threat to our environment

Rare triple-dip La Nina behind unusual AQ trend in India in 2022-23: Study

An unprecedented triple-dip La-Nina event, extended by climate change, triggered a peculiar trend in the 2022-23 winter season where air quality improved in north India while peninsular India recorded an increase in pollution levels, according to a new study released on Sunday. The three consecutive years of La Nia conditions (2020-23) - a rare triple-dip phenomenon - had widespread impacts on the ocean and climate across the globe. The study by a team of scientists led by Gufran Beig, Chair Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, emphasised that besides local emissions, rapidly changing climate is a significant factor affecting air quality. Published in the Elsevier Journal, the study reveals that the air quality worsened in peninsular Indian cities in the 2022-23 winter season but improved in the northern part of India, contrary to the trends seen in recent decades. Among the north Indian cities, Ghaziabad registered the most significant improvement with a reduction of

Climate change is fueling a different type of anxiety, say therapists

In her book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, Sarah Ray describes a student who had such severe "self-loathing eco-guilt" that she stopped consuming much at all, including food

JPMorgan Chase, State Street drop out of largest investor climate group

The changes "are not consistent with our independent approach to proxy voting and portfolio company engagement," said State Street spokesman Randall Jensen

Regulations to climate risk: Managing challenges in a complex banking world

Banks must move beyond being transaction platforms to act as facilitators guiding customers

APSEZ secures top rank in climate actions, environmental performance

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Sunday said it has secured top position for its climate actions and environmental performance in assessments done by four global rating agencies. The assessments were done by CDP, S&P, Sustainalytics and Moody's . While the company secured 'leadership band' in CDP Climate Assessment 2023, it ranked first on the environmental dimension among 324 companies in the transport and transport infrastructure sector by S&P Global CSA 2023, the statement said. The company also secured the top rank in the marine ports sector on a low carbon transition rating by Sustainalytics. It also received the 'advanced' rating in Moody's Energy Transition Rating and the first rank in the overall ESG Assessment and Strategy review in their last update. APSEZ is a part of the globally diversified Adani Group and is the largest port developer and operator in India .

Seychelles to work with India on joint biofuels project, says minister

While Seychelles joined the India-led Global Biofuel Alliance last year, it has yet to begin using the alternative fuel

Nasa satellite blasts off to survey oceans, atmosphere of a warming Earth

NASA's newest climate satellite rocketed into orbit Thursday to survey the world's oceans and atmosphere in never-before-seen detail. SpaceX launched the Pace satellite on its USD 948 million mission before dawn, with the Falcon rocket heading south over the Atlantic to achieve a rare polar orbit. The satellite will spend at least three years studying the oceans from 420 miles (676 kilometres) up, as well as the atmosphere. It will scan the globe daily with two of the three science instruments. A third instrument will take monthly measurements. It's going to be an unprecedented view of our home planet," said project scientist Jeremy Werdell. The observations will help scientists improve hurricane and other severe weather forecasts, detail Earth's changes as temperatures rise and better predict when harmful algae blooms will happen. NASA already has more than two dozen Earth-observing satellites and instruments in orbit. But Pace should give better insights into how atmospheric ...

January 2024 was world's warmest on record: European climate agency

The world last month experienced the warmest January on record, with the global mean temperature for the past 12 months exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, according to the European climate agency. However, this does not imply a permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris agreement, as it refers to long-term warming over many years. Every month since June last year has been the warmest such month on record. Scientists attribute the exceptional warming to the combined effects of El Nio -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. The global average temperature in January was 1.66 degrees Celsius above the January average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period. With an average temperature of 13.14 degrees Celsius, January 2024 was 0.12 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest January in 2020, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. Scien