Page 31 - Climate Change

India a global force multiplier in climate change fight: PM lauds TERI

Celebrating TERI's 50 years since it was established, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI said that the institution has tirelessly dedicated efforts to mainstream sustainability

Death toll from Chile's wildfires reaches 131, more than 300 people missing

The death toll from wildfires that ravaged central Chile for several days increased to 131 on Tuesday, and more than 300 people were still missing as the blazes appeared to be burning themselves out. The fires in Valparaiso are said to be Chile's deadliest disaster since an earthquake in 2010. Officials have suggested that some could have been intentionally set. President Gabriel Boric during a visit to the region announced that furniture used for the 2023 Pan American Games will be donated to victims. He said the government also will forgive the water bills for 9,200 affected homes. The fires began Friday on the mountainous eastern edge of Vina del Mar, a beach resort known for a festival that attracts the best in Latin music. Two other towns, Quilpe and Villa Alemana, also were hit hard as the fires spread quickly in dry weather and strong winds. The Vina del Mar Festival cancelled its opening gala as a sign of mourning. Many participating singers including Alejandro Sanz, Pablo

Climate Change: Parliament panel unhappy over delay in submission of ATNs

A parliamentary committee has expressed displeasure over the "unprecedented" delay by the environment ministry in submitting action taken notes on the recommendations made in a report in 2018. In a report presented in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the 30-member Committee on Estimates chaired by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said that ministries and departments concerned are required to furnish action take notes (ATNs) on the panel's recommendations within six months of the presentation of its report to Parliament. The committee presented its 30th report (16th Lok Sabha) on Performance of the National Action Plan on Climate Change to Parliament on December 13, 2018. While the ministry was expected to provide the ATNs by June 12, 2019, "the first set of requisite ATNs were received after a long delay" on September 13, 2021, the committee said. Subsequent sets of ATNs were received on October 28, 2021; and July 18 and August 24 last year, the committee said. "The committee takes serious note of

World Bank Chief Banga says lender 'wasting time' with too many rules

In addition to focusing the bank more on climate change and its consequences since taking over in June, Banga has often flagged what he sees as slowness and inefficiencies of the institution

Trade rules for the planet and people

The Indian government has announced fiscal incentives for solar cell and module manufacture and imposed higher import duties on Chinese products

Prez Murmu suggests global collaborations to ensure 'environmental justice'

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said the world faces the threat of climate change and suggested global collaborations to ensure "environmental justice" and deal with other cross-border legal challenges. Addressing an international conference of Commonwealth law officers here, she said the Commonwealth, with its diversity and legacy, can show the rest of the world the way to address the common concerns in a spirit of cooperation. Murmu said the preamble to the Constitution speaks of "justice, social, economic and political". "Therefore, when we speak of justice delivery, we should keep in mind all aspects of it, including social justice," she said, addressing the valedictory function of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) -- Commonwealth Attorneys and Solicitors General Conference (CASGC) 2024. In recent times, as the world faces the threat of climate change, "we should also add environmental justice to these varied aspects of the concept of justice", the presiden

Parivesh 2.0 portal to be default platform for all environment clearances

The guidelines signed on January 25 said that the applications on PARIVESH 1.0 that haven't shown progress in the past 90 days will be deemed inactive and rejected

Net-zero goal: Interim budget focuses on green economy, climate investments

In an effort to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, India will solarise rooftops of one crore households and provide viability gap funding for harnessing offshore wind energy potential with an initial capacity of one gigawatt, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Presenting the interim budget for 2024-25, she also said that the government will mandate the phased blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes. The finance minister emphasised that the government would enable one crore households to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month through the rooftop solar programme. This will result in savings of up to Rs 18,000 annually for households from free solar electricity and selling the surplus to distribution companies, Sitharaman said. According to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), 20-25 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity could be support

Soup thrown at Mona Lisa in Louvre Paris; da Vinci's artwork 'safe'

According to the Louvre museum officials, the artwork, guarded by a glass shield, did not face any damage. The Paris museum plans to lodge a complaint against the protestors

Climate change: World's forests are doing much better than we think

The destruction of tropical forests gets so much (justified) attention that we're at risk of missing how much progress we're making in cooler climates.

Climate change figures prominently in Pakistan parties' manifestos

Extreme events, such as the floods of 2022, exposed Pakistan's vulnerabilities to the effects of climate change and weakness in the state's disaster planning

A scientific, sustainable way to finance climate goals of countries

A green taxonomy is the foundation upon which a financial system aligns with a country's climate goals

How to enforce climate agreements with trade measures

Future climate-change COPs can focus on other consequential issues, rather than on crafting the right mix of hollow words that everyone can agree on

NITI, govt launch forum for advancing climate resilient agri-food system

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on Wednesday jointly launched the 'Investment Forum for Advancing Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems in India', an official statement said. The initiative aims to develop an investment and partnership to advance climate-resilient agrifood systems among the government, private sectors, and farmers' organisations, and financial institutions in India, it said. Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration, NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand emphasised on the need for awareness on how agriculture contributes to climate change, citing a contribution of a little more than 13 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the country. He observed that agriculture could play a role in carbon sequestration through tree plantation on farmland. Chand also called for a new direction in economic analysis of agriculture production, considering the impact on ...

Biden administration taking heat from all sides over Louisiana LNG project

Bill McKibben, an environmentalist who led a successful fight against the now-cancelled Keystone XL oil pipeline, said any approval of CP2 by the Biden administration 'would be a huge miscalculation.'

Sense of urgency required to tackle climate crises, poverty: WB chief Banga

World Bank chief Ajay Banga on Thursday said a sense of urgency can be the only saviour for the world faced with a set of intertwined crises, including that of climate and poverty. "What we have is an existential climate crisis," the World Bank President said here during a session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. "We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about climate. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about healthcare. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about food insecurity and fragility," he said. This is the reality and "we have a set of intertwined crises," Banga said and stressed that a "sense of urgency is our only saviour". According to him, 45 per cent of the World Bank financing will go towards climate efforts. In addition, the Bank has promised to connect 100 million people in Africa to renewable power by 2030, address a misalignment in funding to reduce methane emissions, help small nations absorb

European Commission to back 90% emissions cut for 2040 climate target

The European Union is drafting its first 2040 climate target, to bridge the gap between its existing goals to cut net emissions 55% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050

UN Chief Antonio Guterres calls for urgent action on climate change, AI

Guterres also went on to mention the Israel-Hamas crisis and reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

Deloitte India unveils initiative to cut emissions attributed to software

Deloitte India on Wednesday unveiled an Enterprise Conscious Code initiative for sustainable, inclusive, and accessible software development that aims to cut up to 30 per cent of the emissions attributed to software alone. Launching the Code here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, Deloitte India said this initiative marks a significant leap towards sustainable and responsible software development, supporting global efforts to reduce carbon footprint, increase energy consciousness, and ensure accessibility for everyone. "The Enterprise Conscious Code (ECC) combines everything a company needs - the triple Ps of the bottom line - people, planet, and profits," it said. The Code offers ways to build eco-friendly software, promoting the use of techniques that contribute to a greener planet. Currently, about 3 per cent of the world's carbon emissions are attributed to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, equivalent to roughly 1.58 bill

YouTube making money off new breed of climate denial, monitoring group

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) used artificial intelligence to review transcripts from 12,058 videos from the past six years on 96 of Alphabet Inc's YouTube channels