Page 43 - Climate Change

Boost in solar energy, EV sales gives hope for climate goals: Research

The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said on Tuesday. For the last two years, the rate of the build up of solar energy and electric vehicle sales were in line with achieving emissions reductions targets that will help cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said. But renewable power needs to triple by 2030, the sale of EVs needs to rise much more sharply 70 per cent of all vehicle sales as opposed to the current 13 per cent and methane emissions from the energy sector needs to fall by 75 per cent if global warming is to be curbed to the the Paris Agreement goal. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Investments in climate action also need to rise, from USD 1.8 trillion i

Rabi season: Govt aims 60% of wheat area under climate resilient varieties

Ahead of rabi sowing from next month, the Centre on Tuesday said it targets to bring 60 per cent of the total wheat area of 30 million hectare under the climate-resistant varieties amid strong El Nino conditions. Despite the challenges of climate change, the Union Agriculture Ministry has kept a target of achieving a record wheat output of 114 million tonne in the 2023-24 rabi season against the actual output of 112.74 million tonne in the year-ago period. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, begins in October, while harvesting starts in March/April. Addressing a national conference held to chalk out a strategy for sowing rabi (winter) crops, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja said: "There are certain changes in climate change, which is affecting agriculture. Our strategy is climate resilient seeds". Faced with a heatwave in 2021, the government encouraged farmers in 2022 to go for heat-tolerant wheat varieties in 47 per cent of the total wheat acreage of 30 million ...

Researchers found the most intense heat wave ever registered- in Antarctica

Scientists found that the 39-degree temperature anomaly is the largest ever measured anywhere in the world

Net Zero by 2050 still possible with rapid renewables expansion: IEA

The report comes amid concerns of backsliding on climate and environmental commitments in Europe after the UK deferred its own ban on combustion engine cars by five years to 2035

Climate change: How Starbucks may be creating a new waste problem

All reusable cups have a "breakeven point"; If you drink from a ceramic mug 20 times before breaking it or sticking it in the attic, you're almost certainly better off using 20 paper cups instead

Flooding in Libya shows how disasters are man-made and not Acts of God

A rapid attribution study found that climate change played a role in the events

MDBs at the centre of any chance of meeting the climate challenge

Giving a lecture at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on 'The World is on Fire', Summers spoke about the challenges of overcoming poverty as well as climate change

Delhi joins campaign to build climate resilience, commits to green cover

Delhi has joined the "Race to Resilience", a UN-backed campaign to catalyse a step-change in the global ambition for climate resilience, with pledges including achieving a 25 per cent green cover within the next five years. Delhi's participation in the "Race to Resilience", announced during an event at the Climate Week NYC on Wednesday, comes with a set of commitments aimed at enhancing climate resilience while fostering sustainable development. These include investments in circular economy to re-purpose and reduce waste and in decentralised renewable energy sources to enhance access to clean and sustainable energy. As part of the campaign, the Delhi government has also committed to increasing the green space and tree planting, aiming to achieve a 25 per cent green cover in the next five years. According to the India State of Forest Report, Delhi's green cover currently stands at 23.06 per cent. The government said initiatives, such as the Delhi City of Lakes project, will rejuven

India to clock GDP growth of 6.5% in FY24: NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani

The Indian economy will grow at around 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal, notwithstanding high crude oil prices and increased uncertainty due climate changes, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani said on Thursday. Virmani also asserted that the gross household savings ratio in India has consistently gone up. In an interview with PTI, he said: "My growth projection (of India's GDP growth) is 6.5 per cent plus minus 0.5 per cent... because my experience is that the fluctuations in global GDP more or less has balanced out for us, assuming normal changes." On some US-based economists' claim that India is overstating economic growth, Virmani said he has noticed that certain former officials don't have any idea how GDP is constructed as they have come from academic background. Last week, the Finance Ministry also dismissed the criticism of inflated GDP, saying it has followed the consistent practice of using the income side estimates to compute economic growth, and stressed many internatio

Biden using executive power to create New Deal-style American Climate Corps

After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training programme. In an announcement on Wednesday, the White House said the programme will employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost. Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorising what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps. The programme is modelled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, as part of the New Deal. This

UK leader Rishi Sunak signals plan to backtrack on some climate goals

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to water down some of Britain's climate commitments, saying the country must fight climate change without penalizing workers and consumers. Sunak issued a late-night statement Tuesday in response to a BBC report saying the prime minister is considering extending deadlines for bans on new gasoline and diesel cars currently due in 2030 - and on new natural-gas home heating. Sunak said that in a speech this week he will set out a proportionate approach to the environment. He did not set a date for the speech, which could come as early as Wednesday. For too many years, politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs, Sunak said in a statement. Instead they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all. Sunak did not confirm details of his announcements. He said he would keep a promise to reduce the UK's emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, but in a better, more ...

India's renewable energy boom not fast enough for 1.5-degree C goal: Report

India's renewable sector is booming but just not fast enough to become 1.5-degree Celsius compatible, and the country is heading in the opposite direction entirely when it comes to phasing out coal power, a new report by Climate Action Tracker claimed on Tuesday. The Union environment ministry, however, said the report completely ignores the concept of "fair share and cumulative historical responsibility of developed nations". It said the Indian government has been implementing a number of schemes and programmes, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation and the report totally ignores this aspect. The report by the independent research group that tracks government climate action and measures it against Paris Agreement goals comes on the eve of the United Nations' Climate Ambition Summit. It analyses whether the plans of 16 countries to decarbonise their power sector align with the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. These 16 countries include Australia, Braz

Climate change made Libya's flooding even more devastating: Scientists

The devastating storm that dumped torrential rains along the Libyan coast this month was up to 50 times more likely to occur and 50% more intense because of human-caused climate change, according to an analysis released on Tuesday. Before crossing the Mediterranean, the storm raged for four days and caused extensive damage in central Greece and parts of Bulgaria and Turkey, a region where such extreme storms are up to 10 times more likely and up to 40% more intense because of climate change, scientists said. Heavy one-day rains from Mediterranean storm Daniel caused massive flooding across eastern Libya that overwhelmed two dams, sending a wall of water through the coastal city of Derna that destroyed entire neighborhoods and swept bridges, cars and people out to sea. The death toll has varied, with government officials and aid agencies giving tallies ranging from about 4,000 to 11,000 dead. The analysis was conducted by the World Weather Attribution group, which aims to quickly ...

HCLTech grants $5 mn under CSR initiative to combat climate in Americas

Scaling up its CSR initiative to address climate issues at the global level, HCLTech on Tuesday announced a grant of USD 5 million over five years for combating climate change and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity across the Americas. For the last eight years, the HCLTech Grant program has been supporting India-based NGOs, and now the same has been scaled for implementation in the Americas, the company said in a statement. Every year, three NGOs with innovative and sustainable projects will receive a grant of USD 1 million. One NGO will receive USD 5,00,000, while two others will receive USD 2,50,000 each. NGOs will be selected through a rigorous screening process, it added. "Through this programme, we aim to accelerate innovation in climate projects and build a sustainable planet. Our ambition is to identify organisations that are truly making an impact at the grassroots and help them scale their unique projects," said Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, ...

First Abu Dhabi Bank announces strategic pathway partnership with COP28

FAB's COP28 partnership is an integral part of the UAE's vision to support a sustainable future, the bank's broader growth strategy and its sustainability priorities

From climate change to tech disruptions: AIYD to discuss global mega trends

Inspired by her 89-year-old grandmother's efforts to stay healthy, anthropologist Sayani Das said she turned her focus to geriatric health, particularly frailty syndrome. Almost eight years of research into the health and well-being of older adults, she said, helped her figure out effective strategies to prevent and manage frailty. Now, this founding member of Centre for Ageing Studies at the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) in New Delhi is hoping that as a delegate at the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) 2023 she would be able to crack the formula for scaling too. The 11th edition of the AIYD will take place from September 19 to 22 in Delhi and Bengaluru. "Geriatric health is not just a medical issue, its biggest challenge is the communication with the target audience, as well as caretakers and policy makers. So, I feel, this is a very good opportunity for me to collaborate with people from different fields like social workers, policy makers, law .

How can you spot greenwashing in advertisements, product packaging?

Broadly speaking, it's when companies questionably claim environmental bona fides to attract more business or draw less scrutiny

Minerals security partnership continues to expand with India, says US

US also affirmed that country would continue to expand the Minerals security partnership with 14 partners including India as clean energy and other technologies, are projected to grow significantly

UAW strike: Cracks between Biden's goals of tackling climate change, unions

Two of President Joe Biden's top goals fighting climate change and expanding the middle class by supporting unions are colliding in the key battleground state of Michigan as the United Auto Workers go on strike against the country's biggest car companies. The strike involves 13,000 workers so far, less than one-tenth of the union's total membership, but it's a sharp test of Biden's ability to hold together an expansive and discordant political coalition while running for reelection. Biden is trying to turbocharge the market for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent China from solidifying its grip on a growing industry. His signature legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes billions of dollars in incentives to get more clean cars on the roads. Some in the UAW fear the transition will cost jobs because electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble. Although there will be new opportunities in the production of high-capacity batteries

If Mother Nature were to come calling

Even as the world grapples with escalating climate crises, corporate priorities in India continue to favour optics over genuine environmental action in their brand building effort