Page 8 - Environment

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 ...

EU faces cliffhanger vote on major bill that is fighting climate change

Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament Tuesday as the bloc faces a major 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, hundreds of demonstrators were set to demand 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. Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians were bracing ahead of Wednesday's vote for a brutal debate over whether to push the plan off the table. The legislature's environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it. We urge them to not reject it but vote for the strongest law possible. To mitigate the climate crisis and halt biodiversity loss, we must #RestoreNature, Thunberg wrote on her Twitter feed. The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green Deal th

Sariska tigers relocation success story started before 2014: Jairam Ramesh

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that 15 years ago, the tiger population in the Sariska Tiger Reserve had been reduced to zero, but the relocation of the big cats from Ranthambore and elsewhere to that reserve proved to be a "remarkable success story that started much before 2014". His remarks came over a media report that said the tiger population at Sariska hit its highest mark in three decades at 30, with the birth of two cubs. According to the report, the cubs were born to ST-19 and the trio was captured on camera in the buffer zone of the park near Alwar on July 6. Tagging the report, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Just 15 years ago the tiger population in the sprawling Sariska Tiger Reserve had been completely wiped out. It had reduced to precisely ZERO." Relocation was then considered to revive Sariska but it faced great opposition including from some tiger experts, he said. "However, relocation from Ranthambore and elsewhere began an

Climate change: It's all about money

Down to earth

India has devised unique biodiversity conservation model: Bhupender Yadav

The Minister stressed the need for ecological conservation of critical ecosystems through conserving the food chain of the ecosystem and ensuring the well-being of the topmost predator

Govt set to declare India manual scavenging free by August: Official

As the government's deadline to declare India manual scavenging free nears, about 246 districts of the country are yet to declare themselves free from the inhuman practice, according to officials. The matter was discussed at the eighth meeting of the central monitoring committee chaired by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar. According to data shared in the meeting, out of 766 districts, as many as 520 districts have declared themselves manual scavenging free, while 246 districts are yet to submit the report. "I would request the states concerned to submit a report to us as we are committed to our vision of declaring India manual scavenging free by August 2023," a senior official with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said. He said the defaulting states are required to either declare all their districts free from manual scavenging or upload existing insanitary latrines and manual scavengers, if any, associated with them so that requisite rehabilitation benefits can

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

After Joshimath, wide cracks in Uttarkashi's Mastari village cause panic

Wide cracks have appeared in the roads and walls of several homes in Mastari village here, nearly 300 km from Joshimath, which caught national attention earlier this year when thousands of people had to be evacuated to safer locations due to land subsidence. The quick response team of the disaster management authority rushed to the village to inspect the cracks and asked people there to be alert. While land subsidence is an old problem in the village, rains last Saturday led to the widening of cracks at people's homes, with water beginning to stream out of the crevices, causing panic among the villagers, Satyanarayan Semwal, the head of Mastari, said. "Landslides are happening continuously in the village but the authorities are not paying as much attention to Mastari as it deserves," Semwal said. The problem of land subsidence began in Mastari village after the earthquake of 1991, locals say. In 1997, geologists conducted a survey in the village and suggested that the villagers be

Centre's help needed for projects to check sea erosion: Karnataka minister

The Union government should provide assistance to the state in taking up permanent projects to check sea erosion at different places along the 320-km coastal line of Karnataka, state Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport Mankala S Vaidya has said. Talking to reporters after visiting the Kodi Kanyana fisheries port in Udupi district on Sunday, he said the state government is doing its best by taking temporary measures to prevent sea erosion. However, a permanent should be found by taking up projects in a phased manner with the support of the Union government, Vaidya said. He said the problems being faced by fishermen in Bengre, Kodi Kanyana and Hangarakatte will be solved jointly by the Fisheries and Port departments. The jetty project at Kodi Kanyana will be taken up soon. Former minister Jayaprakash Hegde and leaders of fishermen groups accompanied Vaidya during the visit.

El Nino's fierce heat carries new risk of resurgent deadly viruses

Mosquitoes that transmit such viruses flourish in the warmer weather that El Niño is set to bring to many parts of the world

No plans to shift cheetahs from Kuno National Park: Bhupender Yadav

"Indians are leading the world in environment conservation today," Yadav said

As temp soars in India, officials dispute claims of 100 heat-related deaths

The people most at risk from heat waves are the poor, the old and very young, and those in isolated rural areas

Infosys, association of tennis professionals launch 'Carbon Tracker'

Infosys solution to enable ATP players to track and mitigate their carbon emissions from travel on the tour

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

Deaths, runaways, space crunch: Is 'Project Cheetah' on the right track?

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on June 1 reportedly said, "we take responsibility for whatever happened", but asserted that the translocation project will be a major success

Plastic pollution a global environmental crisis, says NGT Chairperson

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Justice A K Goel, the chairperson of the National Green Tribunal, said plastic pollution has become a global environmental crisis that threatens our planet. He said reliance on single-use plastic has resulted in immense harm to our oceans, land, and health, and to address this challenge collective efforts and individual responsibility are crucial. "We must raise awareness, reduce consumption of single-use plastic, promote recycling and responsible waste management, support innovation for sustainable alternatives, and implement strong policies and regulations," Justice Goel said. He said the NGT has played a significant role in enforcing plastic waste management rules, raising awareness, and emphasising extended producer responsibility. "However, more work is needed, and as individuals and communities, we must lead by example to create a positive change in society and protect our environment for future generations," he said. A tree plantati

'Solution to plastic pollution' on UN's agenda as planet chokes on plastic

On this World Environment Day (June 5), the UN focuses on solving the plastic pollution crisis as India plans to tackle plastic pollution as a key component of its global mass movement, Mission LiFE