Page 48 - Climate Change

Climate change has shifted colour of over half of world's oceans: Study

The colour of over 56 per cent of the world's oceans, larger than Earth's total land expanse, has changed significantly over the last two decades and human-caused climate change is likely the driver, according to researchers. These colour changes, subtle to the human eye, cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone, the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, and other institutes write in their paper published in the journal Nature. Ocean colour, a literal reflection of the life and materials in its waters, in regions near the equator was found to have steadily turned greener over time, indicating changes in the ecosystems within the surface oceans. The green colour of the ocean waters comes from the green pigment chlorophyll present in phytoplankton, the plant-like microbes abundant in upper ocean. Scientists are, therefore, keen to monitor phytoplankton to see their response to climate change. However, the authors of this study sho

Ground beneath us is heating up, civil infra not designed for it: Study

The ground beneath us is heating up, giving rise to the phenomenon of "underground climate change" and our civil infrastructure was not designed for it, scientists say. The continuous heat diffusion from buildings and underground transportation, seen in many urban areas around the world, causes the ground to warm at an alarming rate, found to be 0.1 to 2.5 degrees Celsius per decade by researchers. The heating up of ground leads to its deformation that includes both expansion and contraction, causing building foundations and the surrounding ground to move excessively and sometimes develop cracks, thereby impacting structures' long-term performance and durability. "The ground is deforming as a result of temperature variations, and no existing civil structure or infrastructure is designed to withstand these variations," said Northwestern University's Alessandro Rotta Loria, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and who led the US-based study published in the .

IFSCA, Climate Policy Initiative sign pact on sustainable finance

Offshore financial transaction regulator IFSCA on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with think tank Climate Policy Initiative for cooperation to increase mobilisation of global sustainable capital flows into India. Sustainable development is a key priority of G20 working groups. Mobilisation of sustainable finance is critical to achieving transition to green and resilient economies. IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) has taken significant steps to accelerate global sustainable capital flows by creating a conducive regulatory environment, based on international best practices, focused especially on the needs of India and developing countries, the regulator said in a statement. With deep expertise in finance and policy, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is an analysis and advisory organisation that works to improve the most important energy and land use practices around the world, it said. CPI's mission is to help governments, businesses, and financial ...

Parliament expected to take up forest bill in Monsoon Session's first week

Parliament is expected to take up the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill in the Monsoon Session's first week as a joint committee of parliamentarians examining the proposed law's provisions adopted its report on Tuesday amid dissents by some opposition members. The committee's chairperson Rajendra Agarwal said its report has been adopted and it will now be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming session. He, however, declined to give details of the report. The bill was introduced by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in the Budget Session this year. It seeks to exempt certain categories of lands from the purview of the Forest Conservation Act to fast-track strategic and security-related projects of national importance. Some rights groups and opposition parties have criticised its provisions, asserting that these will compromise safeguards for the country's forests. Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, a member of the committee, said he has given a dissent note against several provisions

EU faces cliffhanger vote on conserving nature, fighting climate change

Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament on Tuesday as the bloc prepared a cliffhanger vote on protecting its threatened nature and shielding it from disruptive environmental change, in a test of the EU's global climate credentials. Spurred on by climate activist Greta Thunberg, a few hundred demonstrators demanded that the EU pushes through a bill to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion. A counter-demonstration of farmers demanded a slower approach that would lessen the impact on their income. Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians put in last-minute efforts to sway Wednesday's vote, which could push a key part of the EU's biodiversity protection plans off the table. The legislature's environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it. The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ...

Rushed green nod, poor planning in focus as rains wash away hill roads

Another major concern, according to experts, is the way these projects are awarded

Export, import cost may rise from Jan 2027 from decarbonisation measures

Decarbonisation measures for the global shipping industry to reduce carbon emissions in the coming years may increase the cost of doing exports and imports from January 2027, a report by think tank GTRI said on Monday. The 175-member International Maritime Organization (IMO) notified its strategy on July 7 to decarbonise the global shipping sector and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI) said It added that IMO has also set interim targets for reducing emissions by 20-30 per cent by 2030 and 70-80 per cent by 2040, compared to 2008. It added that IMO has also suggested the shipping industry to switch to cleaner fuel. "By 2030 cleaner fuel must account for a minimum 5 per cent total fuel use. IMO will notify detailed measures next year. While IMO recommendations are not legally binding, countries are expected to achieve the targets set. This year, few countries pushed for a flat tax of USD 100 per tonne of carbon emission by ships, yet IMO ..

India's green hydrogen push and challenges, everything you need to know

Although first production is expected only in 2026, India has been negotiating bilateral agreements with the European Union, Japan and other countries to start exporting the fuel

Climate change: It's all about money

Down to earth

IMO adopts interim guidance on biofuels' use in shipping to cut emissions

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted interim guidance on the use of biofuels and biofuel blends, a resolution vehemently pushed by India at a maritime environment protection conference here. The London-based IMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships. The interim guidance adopted on Thursday at the 80th Session of the Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO stressed that biofuels that have been certified by an international certification scheme, meeting its sustainability criteria and provide a well-to-wake GHG emissions reduction of at least 65 per cent compared to the fossil fuels can be used in the shipping industry. With this guidance coming into effect, India has great potential to be developed as a biofuel hub of the world. "We, with our highly sustainable second-generation biofuel, are the leaders i

June this year warmest in past three decades globally, says report

Ocean temperatures also rose to their highest levels since at least 1991, making June the third consecutive month a new record has been created

India wants to export green hydrogen abroad in bet on demand surge

Although India currently only boasts green-hydrogen research facilities - rather than production capability - PM Modi has set a goal to produce 5 million tons a year by the end of the decade

Thunberg charged with disobeying law enforcement during protest in Sweden

Swedish prosecutors have charged climate activist Greta Thunberg with disobedience to law enforcement in connection with a protest in Malm last month. Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported Wednesday that Thunberg was detained with other activists after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malm on June 19. A short statement by Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday said a young woman was charged with disobedience because she "refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene during the protest. The statement didn't identify the woman, but Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin confirmed that it was Thunberg. Sydsvenskan said the 20-year-old Swedish activist will be called to trial at the end of July. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the paper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines. Thunberg's media team didn't immediately answer a request for comment. Thunberg inspired a global youth movement demanding stronger efforts

Monday was the hottest day ever as global temperatures rise, shows data

The average worldwide temperature was 17C (63F), just above the previous record of 16.9C reached in August 2016, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction

India mulls bilateral deals for green hydrogen-linked carbon credits

Indian companies such as Reliance Industries, Indian Oil and Adani Enterprises have big plans for green hydrogen, a fuel generated using renewable energy

UK had the hottest June since 1884, unusual heat to become frequent

The UK sweltered through its hottest June since records began in 1884, the country's weather agency said Monday, adding that human-induced climate change means such unusual heat will become more frequent in the next few decades. The average temperature for June in the UK hit 15.8 degrees Celsius (60.4 Fahrenheit) 0.9 C hotter than the joint previous record of 14.9 C in 1940 and 1976, according to the Met Office's provisional figures. Meteorologists say that thanks to climate change, the chance of beating the previous joint record has at least doubled since the 1940s. Alongside natural variability, the background warming of the Earth's atmosphere due to human-induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record high temperatures, said Paul Davies at the Met Office. By the 2050s, the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9 C could be as high as around 50 per cent, or every other year. Large areas of the country, from the Orkney Islands in northern Scotla

Price-sensitive Gen-Z prefers shopping recommendations made by friends

While Gen Z shoppers display a great deal of concern for climate change and sustainability, they are seldom willing to pay the additional cost that goes into making such products

Protecting biodiversity top priority of Modi govt: Environment Min

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday asserted that the protection of biodiversity is the top priority of the Narendra Modi government. Yadav, while addressing the 108th Foundation Day celebrations of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) as the chief guest, said that in the last 10 years, 45 wetlands were declared as Ramsar sites, including 11 in 2022 alone. "Rewilding and biodiversity restoration remain a top priority for our government. Our recent trans-continental reintroduction of cheetah in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh received global acclaim," Yadav said. Seven decades after cheetahs became extinct in India, the Centre brought to the country eight members of the species from Namibia and released those in Kuno. In the second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released in the same national park. However, three cheetahs died later. "Climate change has busted the myth of human superiority. We are not superior to nature, we

Climate change making wildfires worse, scientists call it new abnormal

It was a smell that invoked a memory. Both for Emily Kuchlbauer in North Carolina and Ryan Bomba in Chicago. It was smoke from wildfires, the odour of an increasingly hot and occasionally on-fire world. Kuchlbauer had flashbacks to the surprise of soot coating her car three years ago when she was a recent college graduate in San Diego. Bomba had deja vu from San Francisco, where the air was so thick with smoke people had to mask up. They figured they left wildfire worries behind in California, but a Canada that's burning from sea to warming sea brought one of the more visceral effects of climate change home to places that once seemed immune. It's been very apocalyptic feeling, because in California the dialogue is like, Oh, it's normal. This is just what happens on the West Coast,' but it's very much not normal here, Kuchlbauer said. As Earth's climate continues to change from heat-trapping gases spewed into the air, ever fewer people are out of reach from the billowing and deadly

Boris ally quits UK govt, accuses Sunak of apathy toward climate issues

A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit on Friday, accusing the current government of apathy toward climate issues. Zac Goldsmith said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was simply uninterested in the environment. This government's apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable, he wrote in a resignation letter released on social media. He said Britain has visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature. Goldsmith, Sunak and Johnson are all members of the governing Conservative Party. Goldsmith, 48, is a long-time conservationist who was appointed to Parliament's unelected House of Lords by Johnson before Johnson resigned almost a year ago amid ethics scandals. Goldsmith's resignation comes the day after he was among eight allies of the former prime minister criticised by lawmakers for trying to undermine a committee investigating whether Johnso