Page 54 - Climate Change

A torrid summer, rise in power demand risks stalling Asia's climate goals

It's the expectation of a torrid summer that has sent coal stockpiles in Asia's biggest economies soaring in recent months - and sooner or later, all that carbon is going to end up getting burned

Fossils or not? Nations split on how to meet global climate goals

Senior officials from dozens of nations meeting in Berlin remained divided Wednesday on how to meet international climate goals, with some pushing for a phase-out of fossil fuels and others insisting that oil and gas can continue to play a role in the future provided their emissions are somehow contained. The two-day Petersberg Climate Dialogue hosted by Germany heard calls for a new target on ramping up renewable energy to be negotiated and agreed at this year's U.N. climate summit in December. But German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made clear that this proposal should not detract from the need to drastically cut fossil fuel use, a position shared by other European nations and vulnerable island states present at the Berlin talks. The United Arab Emirates, which will host the U.N. talks in Dubai, backed the idea of significantly boosting wind and solar power, but made clear it wants to keep fossil fuels as an option for the foreseeable future. Sultan al-Jaber, the UAE offic

India must reduce energy intensity to reach net zero 2070 target: RBI

India's goal of achieving the net zero target by 2070 would require an accelerated reduction in the energy intensity of GDP by around 5 per cent annually

India, China proposes roadmap for carbon transition instead of deadline

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India, backed by China, is trying to build a consensus within the G20 group to let countries choose a roadmap to cut carbon emissions instead of setting a deadline to end the use of fossil fuels, three Indian government officials said.

Climate change talks see pushes for global renewable energy target

Germany called Tuesday for governments around the world to work on setting an ambitious target for renewable energy that would ring in the end of the fossil fuel age and help prevent dangerous global warming. Speaking at the start of a two-day meeting in Berlin attended by dozens of top climate envoys, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock noted that the world needs to sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). But we also know that not all countries are prepared to do so, she said. That is why I want to open the debate (...) on whether we should and can reach a target on renewables at the next climate conference. Baerbock's proposal flips the script on a previous push to set a deadline for phasing out all fossil fuels, which faced stiff resistance from major oil and gas exporting nations. They instead back the idea of capturing planet-warming emissions as a way to reducing greenhouse gas in the ...

Here are 5 ways finance companies are trying to de-risk heat waves

To meet this problem, some financial service providers have started to offer instruments aimed at reducing personal and economic risk associated with heat waves

Severe heatwave may trigger, worsen asthma conditions of patients: Experts

Even as climate models have indicated an increasing heatwave this summer for India, people suffering from asthma, may be at significant risk, said experts here on World Asthma Day

Climate change sparks disaster fears in Anchorage Hillside, Alaska

Research on a flat spot for air evacuations. Talk of old-style civil defense sirens to warn of fast-moving wildfires. Hundreds of urban firefighters training in wildland firefighting techniques while snow still blankets the ground. This is the new reality in Alaska's largest city, where a recent series of wildfires near Anchorage and the hottest day on record have sparked fears that a warming climate could soon mean serious, untenable blazes in urban areas just like in the rest of the drought-plagued American West. The risk is particularly high in the city's burgeoning Anchorage Hillside neighbourhood, where multi-million dollar homes have pushed further and further up steep slopes and to the forest's edge. Making the challenge even greater is that many of these areas on the Hillside home to about 35,000 people have but one road in and out, meaning that fleeing residents could clog a roadway or be cut off from reaching Anchorage at all. The prospect of a major wildfire there kee

India to join international climate action in civil aviation from 2027

Among them are a two per cent annual fuel efficiency improvement through 2050, carbon neutral growth and net zero by 2050. The ICAO has clubbed them under CORSIA and LTAG

Climate change increases risk of new viruses across India: Scientists

Changing climatic conditions, particularly temperature and moisture variations following events such as extreme rainfall in some places and drought in others, will lead to a surge in the spread of vector-borne and infectious diseases across India, say scientists. As concerns mount over the recent increase in respiratory viral infections, including H2N3, adenoviruses and swine flu, in many parts of India, the scientists said it might be too early to attribute it to climate change. But is definitely plausible. The prospect of climate change leading to an increased burden with the spread of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria looms large. According to public health expert Poornima Prabhakaran, steadily rising temperatures affect the pattern of transmission of disease agents like viruses as well their vectors through a number of pathways. These include changes in the incubation period, the transmission potential and the duration of transmission - all of which can impact th

Top headlines: PLI incentives to 8 sectors, tweak in SEZ rules, and more

Business Standard brings you top news at this hour

Green hydrogen company Ohmium raises $250 mn to help address climate change

In what could prove a milestone for an industry that hopes to help address climate change, the Silicon Valley company Ohmium announced Wednesday it has raised $250 million to increase production of machines that can make clean hydrogen and displace fossil fuels. Some climate experts say burning hydrogen can substitute for burning coal, oil or gas, for example in making steel or cement without contributing to climate change. That's been largely theoretical, but real world examples are now growing. Just four or five years ago, a company working on clean hydrogen from water would not have been able to raise several hundred million dollars, said Daryl Wilson, executive director of the Hydrogen Council. But now there's rapid growth and demand for it, and a broader recognition that it's key to addressing climate change, he said. Mark Viehman, a hydrogen and clean fuels expert at the consulting firm Capgemini, called $250 million a very impressive fundraise, and said its own recent resear

Drop the 'natural' in natural gas: Climate activists urge US officials

The Federal Trade Commission has said the Green Guides are based on how consumers reasonably interpret claims, not technical or scientific definitions

Study highlights regions most susceptible to harm due to heatwaves

A new study has highlighted under-prepared regions across the world most at risk of the devastating effects of scorching temperatures. The research, led by University of Bristol, UK, showed that unprecedented heat extremes combined with socioeconomic vulnerability puts certain regions, such as Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, and Central America, most in peril. It is published in the journal Nature Communications. In this study, the researchers used extreme value statistics - a method to estimate the return periods of rare events - and large datasets from climate models and observations to pinpoint regions globally where temperature records are most likely to be broken soonest and the communities consequently in greatest danger of experiencing extreme heat. The researchers also cautioned that statistically implausible extremes, when current records are broken by margins that seemed impossible until they occurred, could happen anywhere. These unlikely events were found to have transpi

Trouble looms for ancient Indian grain pokkali that helps combat climate

"While prawns fetch more money than pokkali, a focus on them is upending a delicate ecosystem, making it difficult for farmers who want to continue with pokkali," said environmental experts

Meet Günter Faltin, the German professor who knows too much of tea

Founder of Teekampagne says, focus on quality, beating the "cheaters" is key to resolving the challenges of Darjeeling tea

UN Chief urges climate action, biodiversity protection on Earth Day

On the occasion of International Mother Earth Day, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement calling for urgent action to protect the environment and combat climate change

Climate change continues to advance in 2022 as populations impacted: Report

"While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events," said WMO

Success of climate crisis will in part depend on India's decisions: US

The success of the world in combating the climate crisis will in part depend on decisions taken by India, a senior US official has said, as he vowed to work with New Delhi and other countries in achieving the ambitious targets. These remarks were made by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu, who in an interview with PTI said that the US is determined to support that effort through technology and through financing. I would say none (of the issues) is more important than the climate crisis. The success of the world in facing the climate crisis will in part depend on decisions taken by India, Lu said. "And we have so much respect for the Prime Minister's pledge to create 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity in India by 2030, he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious energy transition goal. Our teams are working every day on this challenge together and I have great confidence that working together not only between the United ..

Kamala Harris announces $562 mn for climate resilience in Florida

Returning to Florida to discuss climate change, Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Friday that USD 562 million will be spent on 149 projects around the country aimed at improving resilience to threats such as rising seas and the kinds of coastal flooding that recently slammed the southeast part of the state. Harris outlined the funding plan during an appearance at the University of Miami, where she also toured a lab immersed in coral restoration work and a hurricane simulator capable of generating Category 5-strength winds of more than 157 mph (253 kph). Harris, who appeared in March at a Miami Beach climate summit, said the projects, which are spread across 30 states, are an example of how climate investments boost job creation and manufacturing while tackling a major environmental issue. "When we invest in climate, we not only protect our environment, we also strengthen our economy," Harris said in a tweet during her Miami visit. The funding is part of what the Biden ...