Page 46 - Climate Change

Delhi's draft climate action plan aims to reduce dependence on hydropower

As Delhi prepares for the impact of climate change, the city government's draft action plan proposes a reduction in the national capital's reliance on hydropower from other states, taking into account potential future challenges to generation capacity due to changes in temperature and precipitation. According to the Delhi Economic Survey 2022-23, the total electricity procured by Delhi in 2021-22 stood at 37,460 million units. Of this, about 16.65 per cent came from power plants owned by the Delhi government. The rest was bought from the central government and other states. With climate projections indicating rising temperatures and intensified periods of heavy rainfall, the energy and power sector in Delhi faces a slew of challenges. Extreme weather events, rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns pose threats to both infrastructure and supply security. Hydropower output can be severely affected by changes in temperature and precipitation. Since Delhi doesn't have its

Climate change could downgrade India's credit rating, study finds

India's sovereign credit rating could be downgraded due to the impact of climate change and the rise in temperature volatility by as early as the 2030s, according to a study. The team, led by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cambridge, UK, found that deferring green investments will increase costs of borrowing for nations, which will translate into higher costs of corporate debt. The study, published on Monday in the journal Management Science, is the first to anchor climate science within real world financial indicators. It suggests that 59 nations will experience a drop in sovereign credit rating in the next decade without emissions reduction. Sovereign ratings assess the creditworthiness of countries and are a key gauge for investors. Covering more than USD 66 trillion in sovereign debt, the ratings and agencies behind them act as gatekeepers to global capital. The researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate the economic ..

UK supports UAE, looks forward for strong participation at COP28: Envoy

He spoke about the UK's vision of the importance of COP28 and its role in bringing about a quantum leap in global climate action as one of the main areas of joint cooperation between the two countries

Businesses optimistic on demand, climatic factors a concern: Britannia

Businesses in India are optimistic on demand conditions despite apprehensions about global recession though challenges from a shortfall in monsoon due to 'El Nino' conditions still persist, said leading bakery and food company Britannia Industries. The trajectory of inflation during FY24 would depend on a host of domestic and global factors, said Britannia Industries in its latest annual report. "The outlook for the food prices and rural growth would depend significantly on climatic factors and adequacy of monsoon rainfall," it said. Any shortfall in monsoon due to the 'El Nino' conditions as forecasted, would also have a higher impact on rural consumption and the Indian economy as a whole. "Availability and prices of input materials like wheat, sugar, milk and edible oil could be affected, thereby posing severe risks to the business growth," it said. According to Britannia Industries, makers of popular brands such as Good Day, Tiger, NutriChoice, Milk Bikis, and Marie Gold, milk

Thus begins our season of despair

We must not slip into believing that fixing this mess is beyond our control. Then there is no way ahead. This would be the ultimate tragedy

Winter vanishes, heat scorches the Andes as climate change meets El Nino

"What to do?" Chilean Environment Minister Maisa Rojas, who is also a physicist and climatologist, said in a series of Twitter posts. "We know the solution: stop burning fossil fuels urgently!

Climate change made July hotter for 4 of 5 humans on Earth: Scientists

Human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth, with more than 2 billion people feeling climate change-boosted warmth daily, according to a flash study. More than 6.5 billion people, or 81% of the world's population, sweated through at least one day where climate change had a significant effect on the average daily temperature, according to a new report issued Wednesday by Climate Central, a science nonprofit that has figured a way to calculate how much climate change has affected daily weather. We really are experiencing climate change just about everywhere, said Climate Central Vice President for Science Andrew Pershing. Researchers looked at 4,711 cities and found climate change fingerprints in 4,019 of them for July, which other scientists said is the hottest month on record. The new study calculated that the burning of coal, oil and natural gas had made it three times more likely to be hotter on at least one day in those cities. In the US, whe

Flooding in Beijing highlights climate change's impact on rainfall

So far this year, rain-induced flooding has hit regions that include India, the Philippines and California and Vermont in the US

War, AI and climate change shaking up $32 trillion in global trade

Long before these trends are reflected in government data, they're already changing global commerce, which amounts to $32 trillion a year in goods and services

UAE state oil firm moves up its net zero emissions climate target to 2045

A state-run oil giant in the United Arab Emirates said on Monday it has moved up its target for achieving net zero emissions in its operations to 2045, as the country prepares to host UN climate talks later this year. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, said it is also committed to acheiving zero methane emissions by 2030. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Earlier this year, ADNOC earmarked USD 15 billion for an array of green initiatives, including the development of hydrogen power, carbon capture facilities and the planting of mangroves. The company had previously committed to net zero the balancing of greenhouse gas emissions to the point that the amount removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount emitted by 2050. The UAE, an OPEC member that produces over 3 million barrels of crude oil a day, will host the global climate talks known as COP28 from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai. It has

Melting of Ladakh glacier could form three glacial lakes, says study

Accelerated melting of the Himalayan Parkachik Glacier in Ladakh could give rise to three glacial lakes with an average depth ranging between 34 and 84 metres, scientists have found. These lakes could be a potential source of glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayas, the scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, said. Parkachik Glacier is one of the largest glacier in the Suru River valley, which is a part of the Southern Zanskar Ranges, western Himalaya. The Zanskar Range, part of the Himalayas, lies in the union territory of Ladakh. The glacier's yearly melting rate was 6 times faster between 1999 and 2021 (22 years) than that calculated from 1971 to 1999 (28 years), the scientists found using satellite data to determine its glacial retreat from 1971-2021. The findings are published in the journal Annals of Glaciology. The study attributed the accelerated glacial retreat to ongoing climate warming, which also causes surface morphological or geologic

G20 ministers reach agreement on most climate issues: Bhupendar Yadav

Environment Minister Bhupendar Yadav on Friday said the G20 climate ministers' meeting in Chennai on Friday wrapped up with success, with the countries agreeing on 64 out of 68 issues. However, the chair's summary of the meeting highlighted the lack of unity among nations on key issues crucial for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius such as phasing down unabated fossil fuels, increasing renewable energy, and providing low-cost financing for developing countries. The meeting comes after the bloc, responsible for 85 per cent of the world's GDP and 80 per cent of the emissions, failed to reach a consensus on tripling renewable energy capacity to 11,000 gigawatts by 2030, phasing down the unabated use of fossil fuels and plans to finance the transition during the Energy Ministerial Meeting held in Goa last week. According to the chair's summary, which spells out the issues that lacked agreement, the bloc discussed accelerating the scaling up of renewable energy, tripling of .

We must join hands to tackle climate change: CII Eenrgy Conference

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Karnataka on Friday organised its annual flagship energy conference on the theme 'Integrated Renewable Energy System for Sustainable Future' to promote adoption and integration of renewable energy sources into the existing energy infrastructure. The conference focused on key facets of the sector including renewable energy integration, alternative energy technology aiming at net-zero, energy storage solution technologies and best practices on energy conservation measures from industries. Addressing the conference, Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council and Managing Director, Kennametal India Ltd, emphasised the significance of the sector, considering the intensifying focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), energy efficiency and ethical and responsible sourcing of energy. Highlighting the Karnataka State Vision document charted by CII and IIM Bangalore, he said that building a green ecosystem has emerged

July set to be hottest month as temperatures breach 2019 high: Scientists

July this year is set to be the hottest month on record with average temperatures exceeding that of July 2019 by a significant margin, according to a new analysis by scientists. The EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) noted that these temperatures have been related to heatwaves in large parts of North America, Asia and Europe, which along with wildfires in countries including Canada and Greece, have had major impacts on people's health, the environment and economies. Data shows that the previous hottest month on record was July 2019. According to the new analysis, the global mean surface air temperature averaged for the first 23 days of July 2023 was 16.95 degrees Celsius. This is well above the 16.63 degrees recorded for the full month of July 2019, which is currently the warmest July and warmest month on record. At this stage, the report said, it is virtually certain that the full monthly average temperature for July 2

Global warming: An overheating planet requires extreme solutions

Rising causes of death would include not just heat itself but exposure to ground-level ozone, malaria, dengue, and West Nile virus

Aid to India focuses on reducing carbon emissions: UK FCDO spokesperson

The Climate and Nature theme dominates the UK's bilateral aid focus for India, with 75 per cent of around GBP 38 million allocated for 2023-24 targeted at climate action projects, according to latest statistics. A UK-India development partnership summary' released by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) last week reveals that the remaining 24 per cent of the funds fall under the theme of "Bilateral Investment Partnerships (BIP)" and one per cent under "Global Health". Amid some criticism of a continued high aid allocation for a fast-growing economy such as India, the FCDO pointed out that it is on schedule to make back all the money under the development partnership model that is distinct from the traditional aid funding basis. UK aid helps India reduce its carbon emissions through commercial investments, this is not traditional development aid, an FCDO spokesperson said. We have already had GBP 100 million of our GBP 330 million spend to date returned, and ..

FM Nirmala Sitharaman meets US envoy John Kerry, discusses climate goals

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday met US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry and discussed joint efforts and commitments by both the countries to achieve climate, economic and strategic technology cooperation goals. Kerry, who arrived here on a five-day visit, met Sitharaman at her office in Parliament House. "Both sides also discussed creation of an innovative investment platform for deployment of greenfield Renewable Energy projects in India," the finance ministry said in a tweet. Earlier, Kerry held discussions with Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey and discussed diversifying supply chains and empowering India as a manufacturing hub for electric trucks, buses, and heavy duty vehi?cles. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Kerry said he had very good and constructive meetings. "There are many things where India and the United States can work together in order to advance the climate agenda," he said, adding that the two countries were worki

Ocean currents regulating climate could collapse mid-century: Study

Collapse of ocean currents, that redistribute temperatures and precipitation between the tropics and the North Atlantic, is predicted to happen around mid-century if current greenhouse gas emissions persist, new research has found. Shutting down these currents could have serious consequences for the Earth's climate, such as a colder future for Europe, increased warming in the tropics and increased storminess in the North Atlantic region, the research published in Nature Communications journal said. The currents, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is estimated with high certainty to collapse in this century and most likely to occur in 2057, the analysis from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found using advanced statistical tools on ocean temperature data from the last 150 years. "Our result underscores the importance of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible," said Peter Ditlevsen, co-corresponding author of the study. The AMOC

RBI plans guidance to test climate vulnerability of banks' credit portfolio

The Reserve Bank of India plans to soon come out with guidance for banks on stress testing for climate vulnerability of their credit portfolio, according to Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao. He also said the consequences, intensity, severity, and frequency of climate events are hard to measure and difficult to predict, and the impact of these events on banks and financial institutions is even more difficult to quantify. "Therefore, the first step in managing the risks to which banks and other regulated entities are exposed from climate events, is to measure the amount of exposure at risk. This is only possible if the firms adequately and transparently disclose the carbon intensity of their operations," he said at a panel discussion on 'Climate Implications for Central Banking'. On Tuesday, RBI released the remarks of Rao at the panel discussion organised by the IMF and Center for Social and Economic Forum on July 19 in New Delhi. The deputy governor said the data related to exposure

Ministers from 35 countries to meet for G20 Climate Working Group

Chennai will play host to the fourth Environment & Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) and Environment and Climate Ministers' meeting, which commences here on July 26, in which nearly 35 ministers from different countries will participate. Speaking about the three-day event being held under India's G20 Presidency, Richa Sharma, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, here said on Tuesday that Union Environment Bhupender Yadav who holds the portfolio will address the ministerial meeting. About 300 delegates from the G20 member countries, invitees and representatives of several international organisations will be taking part in meeting. The previous meetings were held in Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, and Mumbai. "We have brought in new thematic priorities for discussions, such as land degradation due to forest fires or owing to abandoned mines. Different working groups will conclude their work and finally meet in Delhi," Sharma told ...