Page 40 - Climate Change

Pacific Islands want a climate solution, but the US is not listening

That Vanuatu thought to take its dilemma to the highest court in the world demonstrates the severity of the issue

Need to shift away from foods that add to climate change: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said there is a need to shift away from those foods which add to climate change problem and opt for healthy foods that do not cause any harm to nature. She was speaking at the valedictory session of the three-day World Food India event (November 3-5) in the national capital. "We must consider the environmental cost of what we eat. The previous generations did not have to worry on this count," Murmu said. "The time has come when we have to choose our menu in a way that avoids any harm to nature," she added. The president called for shifting away from those foods that affect climate and moving towards environment-friendly menu. "We need to make conscious decisions to shift away from those foods that add to the problem of climate change and to shift towards the ones that are good for not only our health but also for the health of the planet," Murmu said. Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras said there is a great potential in th

West Asian countries to launch new climate initiatives at COP28 meeting

Although the contribution of Arab countries to carbon emissions is limited, the Arab region is one of the most affected by climate change, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund

Deaths due to zoonotic infections expected to increase 12 times in 2050

Animal-to-human infections, or zoonotic diseases, have been increasing at an "exponential rate" and in 2050, are predicted to kill 12 times as many people as they did in 2020, researchers have warned in a new British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health study. Animal-to-human infections, also called 'spillover' infections, have been the cause of most modern epidemics, including COVID-19, the researchers from Ginkgo Bioworks, an American biotechnology company founded in 2008, said. Analysing 60 years of historical epidemiological data, the researchers detected a general pattern of increasingly larger and more frequent spillover events, even as their analysis did not include the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Climate and land use changes are predicted to drive the frequency of spillover events, facilitated by population density and connectivity, the researchers explained. However, the researchers said that the implications of these findings for future global health are difficult to ...

COP28 Prez calls on MDBs to work faster to address climate finance

Dr. Al Jaber told the MDBs they have already made "good progress" on reform, including an endorsement by shareholders of a new vision for the World Bank

Developed nations must advance emissions target to 2040, says Kant

Climate change is the biggest crisis for the world, and to achieve net-zero target by 2050, developed countries will have to advance their emissions target to 2040, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday. Addressing 'The Energy Transition Dialogues' organised by ORF, Kant said 80 per cent of growth in the world economy will come from emerging economies. "Climate change is the biggest crisis before us... therefore there has to be a huge sense of urgency and that... must come from G7 countries and China," he said. Net-zero emissions mean that the world is not adding any further emissions to the atmosphere. "If you want to achieve net zero by 2050, the developed world, which has occupied almost 90 per cent of the carbon space in the world, needs to advance its net zero target to 2040," he said. India has committed to going net zero by 2070 and China by 2060. The Group of Seven (G7) nations have committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Kant emphasised on the need

Low-income nations risk 30% seafood nutrient loss to climate change: Study

Low-income countries could lose up to 30 per cent of nutrients from seafood due to climate change, researchers say in a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. These findings about the loss of nutrients, including calcium, iron, protein and omega-3 fatty acids, were valid in a high emissions and low mitigation scenario, the researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, said. The nutrient loss may be restricted to 10 per cent, however, should the world meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, they said. "Low-income countries and the global south, where seafood is central to diets and has the potential to help address malnutrition, are the hardest hit by the effects of climate change," said first author William Cheung, professor and director of the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). The researchers used predictive climate models on historical fisheries and seafood farming databases to ma

Southern California wildfire prompts evacuation order for thousands

A wildfire fuelled by gusty Santa Ana winds ripped through rural land southeast of Los Angeles on Monday, forcing about 4,000 people from their homes, fire authorities said. The so-called Highland Fire erupted at about 12:45 p.m. in dry, brushy hills near the unincorporated Riverside County hamlet of Aguanga. As of late Monday night, it had spread over about 5 square kilometres of land, fire spokesman Jeff LaRusso said. About 1,300 homes and 4,000 residents were under evacuation orders, he said. The fire had destroyed three buildings and damaged six others but it wasn't clear whether any were homes. The region is sparsely populated but there are horse ranches and a large mobile home site, LaRusso said. No injuries were reported. Winds of 32 to 40 kph with some higher gusts drove the flames and embers through grass and brush that were dried out by recent winds and low humidity so that it was "almost like kindling" for the blaze, LaRusso said. The winds were expected to ease somew

Bad air to unseasonal rain: It is time to look up and heed the warnings

The time has come to look around and induce climate action in decision-making

Green deposits offering higher interest than regular FDs, should you pick

Green deposits are essentially deposits raised for the purpose of utilising the proceeds towards financing of green projects/activities

Climate change likely impacted human populations 5,500 years ago: Study

Human populations in Europe fluctuated with changing climates between 5,500 and 3,500 years ago, according to a study. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined Central European regions rich in archaeological remains and geologic sources of climate data. The researchers from Kiel University, Germany, used these resources to identify correlations between human population trends and climate change. The three areas examined were the Circumharz region of central Germany, the Czech Republic/Lower Austria region, and the Northern Alpine Foreland of southern Germany. "Between 5,500 and 3,500 years ago, climate was a major factor in population development in the regions around the Harz Mountains, in the northern Alpine foreland and in the region of what is now the Czech Republic and Austria," the authors of the study said. "However, not only the population size, but also the social structures changed with climate fluctuations," they said. The team compiled over 3,400 publ

Over half of Earth's vital signs at record extremes, shows research

A global team of scientists has shown in a new study that 20 of the Earth's 35 vital signs have "worsened beyond anything humans have seen, to the point that life on Earth is imperilled". The 20 signs, such as the Arctic sea-ice levels, ice mass loss in Antarctica and Greenland, sea level rise and surface temperature anomaly, are at record extremes, the team of researchers, including those from the US, the UK, Brazil and Bangladesh, said. The study, published in the journal BioScience, also established pertinent statistics regarding temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, 2023 has already witnessed 38 days with global average temperatures more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the researchers said in their study. Further, the highest average Earth surface temperature ever recorded was in July, and there was reason to believe it was the highest surface temperature the planet has seen in the last 1,00,000 years, they said. "Life on our planet is .

CBAM should consider where country is going, not just where it is: Stern

For emerging markets and developing economies outside China, the total flow of climate-related investment should be $2.4 trillion, said Stern

Nestle, Volvo among 130 firms urging COP28 agreement to ditch fossil fuels

"To decarbonise the global energy system, we need to ramp up clean energy as fast as we phase out the use and production of fossil fuels," they wrote

Statsguru: Sikkim floods turn the attention back on extreme weather events

About 100 instances of floods were reported during 2000-09 in India and 74 during 2010-19, according to EM-DAT, a database on international disasters

Climate change may push up to 158.3 mn more women, girls into poverty: Rpt

''Investments in a comprehensive SDG stimulus package would help to mitigate this effect, reducing the number of women falling into extreme poverty from 158.3 million to 43.3 million"

India's interests at stake as world trade talks take a green turn

Country has raised objections to European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Here's why Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in London

Greta Thunberg's latest arrest adds to a series of trouble the 20-year-old activist is facing with the law. Here is everything you need to know about Thunberg's activism, critique, and arrests

India sets up inter-ministerial group for climate negotiations strategy

India has set up an inter-ministerial group to develop a "well thought-out view" on important matters to be discussed during global climate negotiations, according to sources. Constituted in August, the inter-ministerial group on climate change comprises members from all the ministries and departments concerned, including the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Department of Economic Affairs, a source told PTI. The group will hold discussions mainly on five issues -- mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Five sub-groups, one for each topic, have been formed to hold detailed discussions. Each sub-group has five to six officials at the joint secretary level, the sources said. Mitigation means reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adaptation refers to the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change. Loss and damage refer to the imp

In Brazil's Amazon, rivers fall to record low levels during drought

The Negro River, the Amazon's second largest tributary, on Monday reached its lowest level since official measurements began near Manaus 121 years ago. The record confirms that this part of the world's largest rainforest is suffering its worst drought, just a little over two years after its most significant flooding. In the morning, the water level in the city's port went as low as 13.5 metres (44.3 feet), down from 30.02 metres (98.5 feet) registered in June 2021 its highest level on record. The Negro River drains about 10% of the Amazon basin and is the world's sixth largest by water volume. Madeira River, another main tributary of the Amazon, has also recorded historically low levels, causing the halt of the Santo Antonio hydroelectric dam, Brazil's fourth largest. Throughout Brazil's Amazon, low river levels have left hundreds of riverine communities isolated and struggling to get access to drinkable water. The drought also has disrupted commercial navigation that supplies ...