Page 47 - Climate Change

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 ...

Central banks need to incorporate climate-related risks: RBI dy guv

Central banks need to incorporate climate-related risks into their supervisory frameworks in order to contribute to the development of frameworks and standards for green finance, said RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao. Participating in a panel discussion on 'Climate Implications for Central Banking', he stressed that financing the new green ventures alone will not be enough and there is a need for credible transition plans for existing emitting firms without compromising their output or growth. "For this to materialise, central banks can incorporate climate-related risks into their supervisory frameworks and can contribute to the development of frameworks and standards for green finance. These frameworks can help promote transparency, standardization, and integrity in the green finance market," he said. 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 furth

July heat waves 'virtually impossible' without climate change: Scientists

The return of the El Nino cycle, which warms the equatorial Pacific Ocean, plays a role in the recent heat. But the report is evidence that it can't be attributed to El Nino alone

India's food security under threat as climate change disrupts weather

India last week suspended exports of non-basmati varieties of rice after heavy monsoon rainfall damaged newly planted crops due to be harvested in winter

US Special Envoy on climate change Kerry to travel to New Delhi, Chennai

US President's Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel to New Delhi and Chennai from July 25 to 29, an official statement said on Monday. The purpose of the presidential envoy's visit is to advance shared objectives on climate and clean energy, including mutual efforts to build a platform for investments in renewable energy and storage solutions, support the deployment of zero-emission buses, and diversify clean energy supply chains, the State Department said. In New Delhi, Kerry will meet senior government officials. In Chennai, he will attend the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers Meeting, the statement said.

Environmental conservation key concern for 21st century: President Murmu

Threats of environmental degradation, depletion in forest cover, global warming and climate change are at the centre stage in the global discourse and partnerships making environmental conservation a key concern for the 21st century, President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday. Addressing the probationers of Indian Forest Service (2022 batch) and officers and officer trainees of Indian Defence Estates Service (2018 and 2022 batch) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said their journey as civil servants has begun at a time when India is acquiring a leadership role at global level. "India attracts global attention for its cultural prosperity as well as its technological advancements. India has shown to the world that technology and traditions can go hand in hand," she said. Addressing the probationers of Indian Forest Service (IFS), the President said India's climate and topography is closely connected to its forest distribution. "Forests and the wildlife that they support are invaluable resource

Scientists say record heat numbers paint the story of a warming world

The summer of 2023 is behaving like a broken record about broken records. Nearly every major climate-tracking organisation proclaimed June the hottest June ever. Then July 4 became the globe's hottest day, albeit unofficially, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer. It was quickly overtaken by July 5 and July 6. Next came the hottest week, a tad more official, stamped into the books by the World Meteorological Organization and the Japanese Meteorological Agency. With a summer of extreme weather records dominating the news, meteorologists and scientists say records like these give a glimpse of the big picture: a warming planet caused by climate change. It's a picture that comes in the vibrant reds and purples representing heat on daily weather maps online, in newspapers and on television. Beyond the maps and the numbers are real harms that kill. More than 100 people have died in heat waves in the United States and India so far this summer. Records are crucial for

Greenland's ice has completely melted before, raising sea levels: Study

Greenland's ice sheet vanished completely and its land was covered with vegetation at sometime within the last half a million years, raising sea levels by at least 1.5 metres globally, an international team of scientists has found. Previously believed to have been a "fortress of ice" with mostly unmelted ice, Greenland's ice sheet history is undergoing a major and worrisome rethinking in light of these findings, the scientists from the University of Vermont (UVM), US, and other institutes said. Published in the journal Science, the study also provided "strong and precise evidence that Greenland is more sensitive to climate change than previously understood - and at grave risk of irreversibly melting off." As recently as two years back, an accidental rediscovery of a Greenland ice core, initially dug from a depth of about 1,400 metres, was analysed to be a direct evidence of sediment just beneath the ice sheet being deposited by flowing water in an ice-free environment during a ...

Delhi may suffer losses of Rs 2.75 trn by 2050 due to climate change

Delhi is projected to suffer losses of Rs 2.75 trillion by 2050 due to the impacts of climate change, with changes in precipitation and temperature patterns posing significant threats to the lives of the most vulnerable populations. The warning comes from the city government's draft action plan on climate change. The plan, which is pending approval, highlights "heat waves/higher temperature and heavy precipitation events over fewer number of days" as major challenges that the city will confront in the upcoming years. India introduced its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008, following which state governments were instructed to create their own action plans. The State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) must be aligned with the strategies laid out in the NAPCC. In January 2018, the central government directed the states to revise and strengthen their SAPCCs, taking into account the evolving national and international climate action, science and policy ...

Our civilisation was built for a climate that's vanishing quickly

You can learn a lot about the climates we live in by the buildings we construct

Cities, climate change and urban flooding

Addressing the mounting dangers that cities face today also requires citizen-led action plans to assist the mitigation efforts at the municipal and govt level

Reimagining climate finance

To effectively facilitate a transition to climate-friendly development, global transfers must be tailored to each nation's specific needs

Global temperatures near record highs as US, China meet on climate change

Wildfires in Europe raged ahead of a second heat wave in two weeks that was set to send temperatures as high as 48C

A water crisis in slow motion

India's struggle with flood management, climate change, and its misaligned priorities pose a serious threat to clean water supply in cities

Last month was the hottest June ever recorded on Earth: NASA, NOAA

Last month was the hottest June on record going back 174 years, according to independent analysis by scientists including those from NASA and NOAA. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also found that it is virtually certain (above 99 per cent) that 2023 will rank among the 10-warmest years on record and a 97 per cent chance it will rank among the top five. The El Nino climate pattern is one reason temperatures are so hot right now, NOAA said. The cyclic pattern causes hotter than normal water in the Pacific Ocean, and the extra heat alters weather around the world and raises global temperatures. June this year was the warmest globally at just over 0.5 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average exceeding June 2019 the previous record by a substantial margin, according to European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Globally, June 2023 set a record for the warmest June in the 174-year NOAA record. The year-to-date (JanuaryJune) global surface tempera

World must attack all emissions, everywhere, says COP28 President

The head of this year's United Nations' climate talks called on Thursday for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed on more than seven years ago. Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates, who also heads one of the country's state oil companies, told senior officials from Europe, Canada and China gathered in Brussels that record-breaking heat seen in parts of the world recently shows the need for urgent action to curb emissions. Laying out his strategy for the upcoming COP28 global climate talks in Dubai this fall, al-Jaber said that leaders must be brutally honest" about what has caused the sharp rise in temperatures since preindustrial times and how to stop them from climbing further. While many fossil fuel companies have pledged to reduce direct and indirect emissions from their operations known as scope 1 and 2 many have ...