Page 50 - Climate Change

Climate change, tree plantation can't be left with govt alone: BJP's Chuba

"States like Sikkim have also created 'power policies to facilitate capital investments' to promote renewable energy"

Biden endorsed by 4 environmental groups for efforts against global warming

President Joe Biden told an audience of conservation and environmental groups Wednesday that their work has never been more important at a time when they are battling the greatest threat facing future generations. Speaking at the annual Capital Dinner of the League of Conservation Voters, Biden told the supportive audience there are "a lot of threats to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren" but climate change "is the only truly existential threat". He said the audience members and his administration had done good work in combatting the threat but everyone needed to "finish the job". Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were endorsed by four environmental and conservation groups at the dinner: the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, NextGen PAC, NRDC Action Fund and the Sierra Club. Speakers for the organisations praised the Biden-Harris team as the administration that has done the most to combat climate change. In earlier comments, former House Speaker Nanc

Climate measures will not fully close emissions gap by 2030: Germany

German officials said on Wednesday that an array of climate measures being introduced by the government will bring the country closer but not all the way toward meeting its national goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Germany's Climate Ministry said measures already in place or soon to become law will reduce emissions by about 900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide for the period from 2022 to 2030. An emissions gap of about 200 million tons of CO2 will remain and needs to be closed through additional steps over the coming years, largely because of persistent high emissions in the transportation sector. Germany aims to reduce its emissions of planet-warming gases by 65 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030. The target for 2040 is an 88 per cent reduction on the path to net zero" emissions by 2045. A sharp increase in wind and solar power, energy efficiency improvements and subsidies for industry to reduce fossil fuel use are among the measures taken or planned by ...

Countries must be aware of high fiscal cost of climate change: CEA

Nageswaran also said it may not be possible to attain all three goals of becoming net zero, achieving economic competitiveness, and attaining fiscal sustainability

Climate change making travelling by planes more turbulent: Research

Climate change has made travelling by planes more turbulent today than it was four decades ago, according to a study. The researchers from the University of Reading in the UK found that clear-air turbulence, which is invisible and hazardous to aircraft, has increased in various regions around the world. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that at a typical point over the North Atlantic one of the world's busiest flight routes the total annual duration of severe turbulence increased by 55 per cent from 17.7 hours in 1979 to 27.4 hours in 2020. Moderate turbulence increased by 37 per cent from 70.0 to 96.1 hours, and light turbulence increased by 17 per cent from 466.5 to 546.8 hours, the researchers said. The team noted that the increases are consistent with the effects of climate change. Warmer air from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is increasing windshear in the jet streams, strengthening clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic and ...

El Nino has arrived, bringing promise of worldwide weather turmoil

Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year

Climate activist Greta won't be school striking but vows to still protest

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg said on Friday she will no longer be able to skip classes as a way to draw attention to climate change because she is graduating from high school. Thunberg, 20, started staging Friday protests outside the Swedish parliament building during school hours in 2018. Teenagers from around the world followed her lead, leading to an international student movement called Fridays for Future. Because she won't be a student anymore, Thunberg noted that her future Friday activities that technically won't be school striking. But in a tweet, she vowed to continue protesting, saying, The fight has only just begun. We are still moving in the wrong direction, where those in power are allowed to sacrifice, Thunberg wrote on Twitter. We're rapidly approaching potential nonlinear ecological and climatic tipping points beyond our control. As a teenager Thunberg was invited to speak to political and business leaders at UN conferences and the annual World ...

Central Railway key to making railways net zero carbon emitter by 2030

To accelerate the transition to green power, Indian Railways has chosen the Central Railways as the model agency responsible for signing an agreement to procure wind energy for the entire railways

New York sets record for air pollution, Governor says it's 'emergency'

In many places, the sky took on an eery orange glow prompting an NWS unit in New York State to tweet: This is not Mars

World's biggest cos made no progress on limiting global warming since 2018

The vast majority of worlds biggest companies have done almost nothing in past five years to cut their planet-heating pollution enough to avoid catastrophic climate change, according to a media report

Greenhouse gas emissions at 'all-time high', global warming at rapid rate

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been found to be "at an all-time high", with human activity resulting in the equivalent of 54 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere on average every year over the last decade. A group of 50 leading scientists have said in an analysis that human-caused global warming has continued to increase at an "unprecedented rate" since the last major assessment of the climate system published two years ago. One of the researchers said the analysis was a "timely wake-up call" and it comes as climate experts meet in Bonn, Germany, to prepare the ground for the major COP28 climate conference in the UAE in December, which will take stock of progress towards keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. The researchers wrote in the analysis that human-induced warming, largely caused by fossil fuel burning, reached an average of 1.14 degrees Celsius for the most recent decade (2013 to 2022) above pre-industrial levels, up from 1.0

Rockefeller Foundation to study energy transition amid rapid innovations

The Rockefeller Foundation is studying India's energy transition, especially with the fast-changing innovations and technologies that will fit into the development of low-carbon electricity systems and phase down fossil fuels. We are trying to understand what are the important things that are going to be needed in India during G20 and post-G20, Deepali Khanna, the Foundation's Vice President for Asian Office in Bangkok, said at the Ecospirity Week held June 6-8 in Singapore. India is a fast-growing economy and Khanna is confident that it is going to get to its target of Net-Zero Goal by 2070. But there is a lot that needs to happen now, she pointed out. Where and how can we provide technical assistance how can we bring about global lessons that we are learning innovations among others, said Khanna. We are keeping our eyes open to see what is there in the form of innovation. A lot is happening and a lot more needs to happen, she said of development around the energy transition ...

10 mn saplings to be planted on Gandhi Jayanti in Kamrup district: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the people of the state will join hands to plant 100 lakh saplings on Gandhi Jayanti this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 'Mission Life' to bring about a 'Jan Andolan' (People's movement) which will be at the forefront of the global climate action narrative, the chief minister said while participating in a tree plantation programme 'Amri Plantation' at Chandubi in Kamrup Rural district. The plantation of 100 lakh saplings on October 2 will help mitigate climate change, and expand our tree economy as the state government will offer Rs 300 per sapling and lead to a 38 per cent increase in forest cover by the year 2028, Sarma said. The temperatures have been rising and 'I sympathise with everyone experiencing the scorching heat in the state but we have to take steps to bring back temperatures to optimal level', the chief minister said. 'We will have to take steps to increase the forest cover, phase away ..

NDCs need not necessarily encompass all sectors: India at Bonn climate meet

Nationally Determined Contributions should not necessarily include all sectors or gases, India said at the ongoing Bonn climate conference, opposing a call by some developed countries, notably the US, for comprehensive, economy-wide NDCs aligned with the 1.5-degree Celsius target. NDCs are national plans aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. India also voiced skepticism regarding the existing models and scenarios used in climate science. Referring to the IPCC scenarios on global mitigation pathways, it said, "The models and scenarios currently in the scientific literature have not received the close scrutiny necessary to determine whether developing countries' needs, rights and aspirations are anywhere close to being met by their projections." "These models provide pathways that are based on constraining energy consumption and income growth in developing countries, and project a future for us that we do not want," it said. During the third and final meeting of t

Climate change could cause disease to 76.8% of corals by 2100: Report

When predicting future estimates of coral disease, the model suggested that the disease prevalence could reach 76.8 per cent in 2100 if temperatures continue to rise

Climate change: Arctic may be ice free in summer by 2030s, warn scientists

Decreased ice cover has a significant and lasting impact on weather patterns, human populations, and ecosystems

Over-emitting nations owe India $1,446 per capita as compensation: Study

Industrialised nations of the Global North, such as the US and Germany, are responsible for 90 percent of excessive levels of carbon dioxide emissions, and could be liable to pay a total of USD 170 trillion in compensation to low-emitters like India to ensure climate change targets are met by 2050, according to a new study. India is owed an annual compensation of USD 1,446 per capita until 2050 and a yearly compensation equivalent to 66 percent of its GDP in 2018, the study published in Nature Sustainability on Monday says. The researchers from University of Leeds, the UK, analysed 168 countries and quantified historical responsibility for climate breakdown, based on excess carbon dioxide emissions beyond equality-based fair shares of global carbon budgets. Climate science defines carbon budget as the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted for a given level of global warming (1.5 degree Celsius in this case). They proposed an evidence-based compensation mechanism that takes

India hoping to negotiate with EU on carbon tax instead of WTO complaint

India filed a discussion paper with WTO about how environmental regulations impact trade, but with respect to CBAM specifically, it hopes direct negotiations with the EU will yield speedy resolution

Menstrual cups reduce plastic waste generation by 99%: Soumya Swaminathan

According to a recent report, one woman generates around 14.1 kg of non-biodegradable waste in a lifetime if she uses commercially manufactured disposable sanitary pads

Sikkim CM Tamang urges people to plant trees, not leave any land barren

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang asked people to plant trees on barren land. Addressing a gathering after planting an 'Arucha' sapling on a government college campus on Monday, he said people should try to mitigate the impact of climate change and global warming by planting more trees and ensuring that no land remained barren in the state. Tamang urged people to make the state government's 'Mero Rukh Mero Santati' (My Tree, My Offspring) scheme successful by planting 100 saplings every time a baby is born. He had launched the scheme in February to strengthen the bond between nature and people. Sikkim, located in the Eastern Himalayas, has one of the highest forest cover in the country at over 47 per cent of the land mass.