Page 5 - Climate Change

Why climate summits fail and 3 urgent ways to make them work better

We urgently need not just to redesign climate policies but also a new method for drafting those polices

A decade after Paris summit, the world's climate promises lie in ruins

The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 legitimised the evisceration of the UN climate framework - and history may repeat itself at COP 30 in Belem

CO2 levels hit record high in 2024, driving more extreme weather: UN agency

The UN weather agency said Wednesday that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit new record highs last year, and heat trapped by such greenhouse gases is turbo-charging the Earth's climate and causing more extreme weather. The World Meteorological Organisation said in its latest bulletin on greenhouse gases that C02 growth rates have now tripled since the 1960s, and emissions from human activities and more wildfires helped fan a vicious climate cycle." The Geneva-based agency said the increase of the global average concentration of carbon dioxide from 2023 to 2024 amounted to the highest annual level of any one-year span since measurements began in 1957. The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather," said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett in a statement. "Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being, The increase in 202

India calls on COP30 to focus on lack of funds for developing nations

India has said the United Nations climate conference in Belm, Brazil, should focus on tackling the critical shortage of resources that developing countries need to adapt to climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing the Global Stock Take (GST) breakout session during the pre-COP30 meeting in Brasilia on Monday, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the time for continuous reviews without action has passed. "Dialogue is important, but action is imperative," he said. "We must now focus on implementing ambitious climate measures and, above all, addressing the most pressing challenge: the urgent lack of resources for developing countries to deliver adaptation and mitigation," Yadav said. The GST is a periodic review under the Paris Agreement 2015 that assesses the world's collective progress toward limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Held every five years, it examines countries' actions on mitigation, adaptation and finance and guides them to ...

India urges focus on adaptation of climate commitments at pre-COP30 meet

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said COP30 should be the "COP of Adaptation" and called for transforming climate commitments into real-world actions that directly improve people's lives. At the Pre-COP30 Ministerial Roundtable in Braslia, Yadav said the 30th UN climate summit in Belm, Brazil, in November must send a strong signal that multilateralism remains the cornerstone of global climate action. "As we mark a decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, COP30 must send a resolute political message that multilateralism remains the cornerstone of global climate action," Yadav said. He said the key to achieving tangible outcomes in Belm lies in translating global policy commitments into practical, locally grounded solutions. "The focus must be on transforming climate commitments into real-world actions that accelerate implementation and directly improve people's lives," he said. Calling for a stronger focus on resilience and local adaptation, Yadav stres

Climate-linked insurance scheme: Why govt is exploring it and what's ahead

The scheme could help someone in Uttarakhand or Punjab whose house was washed away in the floods. Let's unfold the climate-linked insurance scheme and understand how it can help people

How global climate efforts can survive and thrive under Trump's leadership

Trump's initiatives are likely to mean an additional 7 billion tonnes of emissions will be created compared to a scenario where the US met its Paris commitments

Best of BS Opinion: Starmer visit shows room for growth in India-UK trade

Today's Opinion pieces look at the potential for growth in India-UK trade, the hurdles to the Gaza peace plan, India's geopolitical opportunity, and Trump's hidden call for global change

Trump's rebranding of climate change is aimed more at global regime change

Trump's UN address targets global discontent, framing climate action as elite-driven, turning science into a political wedge for ideological gain

India inks critical mineral, climate change and defence deals with UK

Modi, Starmer seek to build on FTA signed in July 24

Just 5% of climate cooperation initiatives met goals since Paris pact: CEEW

Ten years after the landmark Paris Agreement, only 5 per cent of global cooperative climate initiatives have met their stated goals, while over one-fifth have stalled or become inactive, according to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). Published in a report, the analysis found that while global climate conferences have spurred hundreds of voluntary, multi-actor initiatives involving governments, investors, and civil society, a majority lack measurable targets, budgetary support, and accountability structures needed to sustain progress. The report, 'Ten Years of Paris Agreement: A Stocktake of Cooperative Climate Initiatives,' was launched at an event which marked 10 years of the Paris Agreement, organised by the CEEW. Between 2015 and 2025, more than 475 cooperative initiatives were launched, engaging over 40,000 entities from local governments and multilateral organisations to private investors and businesses. But the CEEW analysis of 203 such initiatives found th

Govt considers introducing nationwide climate-linked insurance scheme

Should the discussions bear fruit, India - among the nations most prone to extreme weather events - could become one of the first major economies to roll out such a programme

Food security inequities worsen due to conflicts, climate change: Lancet

About half of the world's population may not be able to access healthy food, clean environment or earn a living wage, indicating inequities in human health that have been made worse by geopolitical conflicts and climate change, according to a new Lancet report. Further, the world's food system -- contributing to 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions -- is the main driver of challenges the planet faces by impacting climate, biodiversity, land use change, among others, it said. The crisis of inequity in access to conditions required for good human health and environmental harm due to global food systems threatens human health and the resilience of planet Earth, authors said in the '2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems'. Launched in January 2019, the 'EAT-Lancet Commission' outlines recommendations for a 'planetary health diet' -- favouring fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes and small portions of meat and dairy -- and targets for achieving a ...

Trading carbon: An efficient market can enable India's green transition

Other than meeting India's climate objectives, the domestic carbon market has profound implications for the country's export competitiveness

China, largest carbon polluting nation, announces new goal to cut emissions

China, the world's largest carbon polluting nation, has announced a new climate fighting goal to cut emissions by 7 per cent to 10 per cent by 2035. It came as more than 100 world leaders lined up Wednesday to talk of increased urgency and the need for stronger efforts to curb the spewing of heat-trapping gases. With major international climate negotiations in Brazil 6 weeks away, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened a special leaders summit during the General Assembly to focus on climate change.

'Ended 7 wars, never got call from UN': Highlights from Trump's UNGA speech

From a broken escalator and teleprompter mishap to jabs at India, China, and the UN, here are the top takeaways from US President Donald Trump's speech at UNGA

Trump tells UN that climate change is 'greatest con job' globally

Scientists say climate change is real, mostly caused by humans, and getting worse. They point to rising temperatures, stronger storms, and melting ice as clear signs

CPCB must boost capacity to balance growth, green norms: Bhupender Yadav

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) must focus on building capacity so that cities and industries can expand while ensuring compliance with environmental norms. Addressing an event to mark CPCB's 51st foundation day, Yadav said environmental protection "should not be treated like a panic button" but should become part of civic values and daily behaviour. He recalled that CPCB was set up in 1974 when environmental concerns were rising globally. "Today, we are in a period of major transformation. Our environmental regulation also needs to evolve. The challenge before CPCB is how to make its regulatory mechanisms relevant to society's needs, how to strengthen its capacity and how to ensure effective implementation," he said. Citing Delhi's growth, Yadav said the capital's population has increased from "about 30-40 lakhs (3-4 million) in the mid-1970s to nearly 4 crore (40 million) today, putting immense pressure on the ...

SDGs should take priority over climate targets, says CEA Nageswaran

India's Chief Economic Adviser Anantha Nageswaran has warned that India's climate goals must not undercut its economic aspirations

Climate-driven health risks could cost global economy $1.5 trn by 2050: WEF

Climate-related health risks can cost the global economy at least USD 1.5 trillion (over Rs 131 lakh crore) in lost productivity in the next 25 years due to rising illness and labour shortages across key sectors, a new study showed on Thursday. The World Economic Forum report, developed in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, assessed climate-driven health impacts in four of the most affected economic sectors: food and agriculture; the built environment; health and healthcare; and insurance. The USD 1.5 trillion estimate reflects losses in only the first three sectors, under a mid-range scenario, suggesting the burden on the global economy could be far higher, it said. The study encourages companies to act now to protect workforce health, build operational resilience and safeguard productivity before the costs of climate adaptation become unmanageable. The findings highlighted that adapting to extreme heat, infectious diseases and other health risks accelerating due to clima