Page 38 - Climate Change

Less future warming projected, yet there's more current pain, say experts

The world is heading for considerably less warming than projected a decade ago, but that good news is overwhelmed by much more pain from current climate change than scientists anticipated, experts said. That's just one of a set of seemingly contradictory conditions facing climate negotiators who this week gather in Dubai for marathon United Nations talks that include a first-ever assessment of how well the world is doing in its battle against global warming. It's also a conference where one of the central topics will be whether fossil fuels should be phased out, but it will be run by the CEO of an oil company. Key to the session is the first global stocktake on climate, when countries look at what's happened since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, how off-track it is and probably say what's needed to get back on track. Even though emissions of heat-trapping gases are still rising every year, they're rising more slowly than projected from 2000 to 2015. Before the Paris deal, scienti

India to take up both fuel and biofuel at COP28 climate summit in Dubai

Govt expected to push Global Biofuel Alliance; OMC chiefs setting up meetings

As Dubai prepares for COP28, some world leaders won't attend climate talks

Dubai prepared to host the COP28 climate talks on Tuesday as world leaders including US President Joe Biden signalled they would not be attending the negotiations that come during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war roiling the wider Middle East. Workers under a still-scorching November sun stapled up bunting and decorated Dubai Expo City's iconic Al Wasl Dome with trees and other green foliage ahead of the summit, scheduled to start Thursday in the United Arab Emirates. Armed United Nations police patrolled about half the area of Expo City where the delegates will debate, while the other half will host other climate events. Airport-style security screenings greeted those coming into both areas. The two-week meeting of international leaders aims to assess where the world stands when it comes to limiting emissions to slow global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. Emirati officials said on Tuesday they expect over 70,000 attendees at t

COP28 to focus heavily on methane emissions, India likely to stand ground

The upcoming UN climate talks in the UAE are anticipated to focus heavily on methane emissions, especially in light of China's recent commitment to include this potent greenhouse gas in its 2035 climate plans. However, experts believe that this development may not significantly impact India, as the country is already implementing initiatives centered around agriculture that have climate co-benefits. The United States and the European Union have emphasised the urgency to take action on methane, accounting for about 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times (1850-1900). The UAE, hosting this year's climate talks (COP28), is also expected to announce a commitment from major oil and gas companies to reduce methane leakage. The EU and the US jointly launched the "Global Methane Pledge" in 2021 to reduce worldwide methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to the 2020 levels. Around 150 countries have signed on, but China, India, and Russia are among the prominent

OPEC defends 'vilified' oil-and-gas industry on eve of climate meeting

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that the IEA has "unjustly vilified" the industry over its role in the climate crisis

Sitharaman demands concrete action on climate funding, not words at COP 28

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday called for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit, saying that India will be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds. The 28th round of the annual UN climate talks to be held from Nov 03 to December 12 in the UAE and is anticipated to involve intense negotiations on compensation from rich countries to developing ones for climate impacts, fossil fuel usage, methane emissions, and financial aid for reducing planet-warming emissions and adapting to climate change. Speaking during a virtual session at the inaugural event of India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A), Sitharaman said that cOP 28 should show the direction to countries. "There is a need for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit," she said. She said that India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it .

COP28 DG leads discussion on leveraging technology for climate action

The panel discussion explored the evolving landscape of climate technology, and the need for diverse stakeholders' contributions and partnerships to address the climate challenge

Unambitious targets

Global climate goals need to be scaled up at COP

Bengaluru civic body's climate action plan aims to achieve net-zero by 2050

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Monday launched the Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) with an eye to achieving net-zero by 2050 to create a roadmap for a safer, healthier and more equitable city. With this initiative, the city's civic body said it plans to make Bengaluru one of the few cities in the world, and the third city in India, to have a global standard climate action plan. As part of the city's C40 cities commitment, Bengaluru has been preparing a data-driven, inclusive and collaborative climate action plan with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building healthy, equitable and resilient communities. C40 is a global network of nearly 100 Mayors of the world's leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis. As a part of the launch, BBMP has also announced two priority initiatives that will be taken up immediately including creation of a Climate Action Cell at BBMP to facilitate efficient ...

Statsguru: 6 charts show the clock is ticking on achieving climate goals

As the world races against the climate clock, COP28 has its task cut out

Not missing either the woods or the trees

Vast untapped potential must be gainfully harnessed to achieve environmental goals and derive potential economic benefits from agro-forestry

Climate concert in Dubai to highlight 'urgency of a planet in dissonance'

An upcoming climate concert, named Resonance, will bring together multiple voices from across the globe to raise awareness about the "urgency of a planet in dissonance - that must be healed for humanity". Hosted by San Francisco based non-profit BayEcotarium jointly with United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the musical event will take place on December 6 in Dubai Opera, during the United Nations COP28 Climate Summit scheduled to be held in UAE from November 30 - December 12. "Music transcends geopolitical and linguistic boundaries and is the soul of civil societies. The Climate Concert is the coming together of multiple voices from around the world during the historic UNCOP28, in solidarity with combating climate change. Aptly named Resonance- its intent is to bring awareness to the urgency of a planet in dissonance - that must be healed for humanity," George Jacob, president and CEO of BayEcotarium, told PTI. The event will see live performances by multiple

Explained: How dengue crisis in Northeast India is linked to climate change

The lights above washing the hospital corridor with a dim glow, a frantic Jenpu Rongmei rushed to see his 12-year-old nephew Nina who had been admitted the night before with fever and body ache. He was too late. The young boy had succumbed to dengue, a neglected tropical disease that was entirely alien to the people of Nagaland till very recently. A month later, Jenpu remembers every detail of that evening the dull light in the hospital, the faces around, the intense grief and the sheer disbelief that Nina could have gone so soon and so suddenly. "When I got the news that my nephew was admitted, I thought he would be fine. I didn't think dengue could be deadly," Jenpu, who runs the NGO CanYouth to help young people in their education, said. As the mosquito-borne disease increases its spread, Nina's untimely death is the latest in the devastating crisis sweeping across the Northeast and other states in India. The spread of the disease even in autumn has been attributed to a late ..

DoH, ADPHC unveil Abu Dhabi's vision for sustainable healthcare at COP28

This comes in line with DoH and ADPHC's commitment to highlighting the intersection of climate change and public health, and how a climate crisis is correlated to health issues

Dozens evacuate, 10 homes destroyed by wildfire burning on edge of Perth

Dozens of residents have been evacuated and at least 10 homes destroyed by a wildfire burning out of control on the northern fringe of the west coast city of Perth during heat wave spring conditions, authorities said Thursday. There were no deaths reported, but several firefighters had sustained minor injuries including smoke inhalation, Western Australia state Department of Fires and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said. The fire began Wednesday afternoon in a pine tree plantation on Perth's northeast edge and was fanned overnight by 60-kilometre-an-hour winds, incident controller Clinton Kuchel said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The temperature in Perth was forecast to peak at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday which is extraordinarily hot for the Southern Hemisphere spring and winds remained strong. Perth is experiencing heat wave conditions. So overlay that on top of the fire and you can imagine the conditions that our ...

Ozone hole largest on record over past 3 years, new research finds

Contrary to public perception, the Antarctic ozone hole has been amongst the largest on record over the past three years, new research has found. The ozone hole above Antarctica has been remarkably massive and long-lived over the past four years and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are not the only things to blame, said researchers in their study published in the journal Nature Communications. CFCs are greenhouse gases containing carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine and have been studied to contribute to ozone depletion. The ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere blocks the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun to protect people from skin diseases. According to the study's lead author Hannah Kessenich, PhD candidate at the University of Otago, New Zealand, the team found much less ozone in the centre of the hole compared to 19 years ago. "This means that the hole is not only larger in area, but also deeper throughout most of spring," said Kessenich. The team analysed the mon

More capitalism than climate

Akshat Rathi's Climate Capitalism delves into the intricate dance between capitalism, greed and our climate-related problems today, exploring what it will take to build an ecosystem for change

World racing to well past warming limit as carbon emissions rise: UN report

The globe is speeding to 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius (4.5 to 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming since pre-industrial times, set to blow well past the agreed-upon international climate threshold, a United Nations report calculated. To have an even money shot at keeping warming to the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) limit adopted by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, countries have to slash their emissions by 42% by the end of the decade, said the UN Environment Programme's Emissions Gap report issued Monday. Carbon emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas rose 1.2% last year, the report said. This year Earth got a taste of what's to come, said the report, which sets the table for international climate talks later this month. Through the end of September, the daily global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above mid-19th century levels on 86 days this year, the report said. But that increased to 127 days because nearly all of the first two weeks o

Rich nations 'likely' met $100 billion climate finance goal in 2022

While that figure pales in comparison to the trillions of dollars that are needed to help developing nations decarbonize their economies and adapt to a warming world, it is still a symbolic milestone

India among few big economies on track to meet climate pledges: Yadav

India has set an example with its robust domestic climate action and stands among the few major economies on track to meet their national plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday. In his opening address at the environment ministers' session at the second Voice of Global South Summit, Yadav highlighted India's active role in the fight against climate change, despite its historically minimal contribution to global warming. The minister said India's current per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than one-third of the global average. He emphasised that developed countries are yet to fulfil their commitments to providing sufficient climate finance to developing nations to address climate-change impacts. Yadav reminded the developed countries of their commitment to mobilising USD 100 billion annually by 2020 for climate finance and doubling their contribution to adaptation finance from the 2019 level by 2025. H