Page 8 - Global Warming

World Bank Chief Banga hails COP28 momentum as climate pledges mount

World leaders spent the first three days at the climate conference unveiling a string of announcements from cutting methane emissions to ramping up the flow of money to poorer countries

COP28: India skips pledge to triple global renewable energy target by 2030

India and China both on Saturday refrained from signing the pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030 even though New Delhi already committed to it as part of its G20 presidency. During the UN's climate talks here, 118 countries committed to tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030 in a highly endorsed initiative. This ambitious goal aims to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels in the world's overall energy production. The countries which backed the pledge included Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Nigeria, and Barbados. Although China and India have expressed endorsement for the threefold increase in renewable energy by 2030, neither of them formally supported the comprehensive pledge on Saturday. This commitment involves scaling up clean power alongside a decrease in the utilisation of fossil fuels. The pledge called for phase down of unabated coal power and putting an end to the financing of new coal-fired pow

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Himalayas melting alarmingly: UN chief insists on urgent action at COP28

Warning of a potential catastrophe in the Himalayas where the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday said the ongoing annual climate talks here must respond to the needs of the developing nations, especially the vulnerable mountain countries that need urgent help. Almost 240 million people depend on the glaciers and 10 major rivers, such as Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra, originating in the Himalayas. Another billion people living downstream of these rivers across eight countries, including India, are also dependent on the glacier-fed rivers. Addressing a meeting with mountain countries at this year's Conference of Parties (COP28), UN Secretary-General Guterres emphasised that nearly a third of Nepal's ice had vanished in just over 30 years, and it was directly linked to greenhouse gas pollution that heats up the planet. Guterres, who visited Nepal, including the Everest region, in October last week, called for developed countries to clarify t

Developing nations press rich world to fight climate change at UN summit

Leaders of developing nations jumped into Saturday's second-day of a UN climate summit to press rich industrial countries to share their knowhow to fight global warming and ease the financial burdens they face while trumpeting their own natural resources that swallow heat-trapping carbon in the air. The 28th annual UN Conference of the Parties, or COP28, in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates featured about 150 presidents, prime ministers, royals and other leaders who are presenting their plans to cut heat-trapping emissions and mostly seek unity with other nations to avert climate catastrophe that seemed to draw closer than ever in 2023. The developing world took centre stage early Saturday. Several African leaders noted their continent's rainforests help gobble up excess carbon dioxide in the air and emphasised how their countries belch out only a tiny fraction of heat-trapping emissions compared to richer countries. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea one of ...

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COP28 spotlights global warnings about the pain of climate change

In the day's opening address, Britain's King Charles is expected to warn that repeated signs of climate impact are being ignored, with devastating consequences

Carbon capture, storage tech is crucial to curb emissions: CCS Institute

The Global CCS Institute is an international think tank whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a vital technology to tackle climate change

Why is 1.5 deg C the most misunderstood number in the climate fight

When it comes to the collective goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C, there's been only one acceptable talking point in the runup to the COP28 conference in Dubai

India, UAE steadfast in efforts to influence climate action discourse: PM

He expressed hope UAE-hosted COP28 will bring fresh impetus to effective climate action and international cooperation in advancing the goals of UNFCCC

Climate action must ensure priorities of Global South not compromised: PM

Regarding climate finance, PM Modi said that he has always maintained that climate change is a collective challenge that demands a unified global response

Pressure builds to cut fossil fuel use as oil exec takes over climate talks

Pressure to phase out fossil fuels mounted Thursday on the oil company chief who took over fragile international climate negotiations that opened in Dubai on Thursday in what some say are contradictory dual roles. United Nations and climate talks leaders might have relieved some of the pressure when negotiators unanimously approved much-fought over plans to launch and fund a program to compensate poorer nations hit by floods, storms, drought and other climate extremes. Several nations, led by host United Arab Emirates, immediately pledged more than $420 million for the fund, which took 30 years to approve. Leaders said they hope the quick win on a key financial issue would set a new tone for negotiations that had put the climate talks newly installed boss on the hot seat and not just because the planet keeps smashing heat records. Days before the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP28) began, meeting preparation notes were published that linked efforts by the United Arab Emirat

India to be most impacted by climate change: IIT Bombay professor

An Indian Institute of Technology Bombay professor who is touring the country on a solar-powered bus since late 2020 to create awareness among people about solar energy and the threat of climate change has said that India would be among the top countries to be impacted by the latter. Professor Chetan Singh Solanki, often called the Solar Man of India', arrived in Indore in Madhya Pradesh as part of his Energy Swaraj Yatra'. India is among the countries that are going to be most impacted by climate change. We are seeing that climate change is causing unseasonal rains and severe floods, Solanki told PTI on Thursday. To spread awareness about the threat of climate change, Solanki said he took leave without pay from IIT Bombay to set out on the Energy Swaraj Yatra' in November 2020, adding that the drive will continue till 2030. I have resolved not to go home till the yatra is over. This solar-powered bus is now my home. It has covered more than 47,000 kilometres and I have addressed .

COP28: PM Modi emplanes for his visit to UAE for UN climate talks

PM Modi will address the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit in the United Arab Emirates and participate in the three high-level side events, of which two will be co-hosted by India

Loss and Damage Fund, climate finance India's key focus at COP28: Env min

Loss and Damage Fund, climate finance and issues related to nationally determined contributions to reduce emissions will be the focus areas of discussions that India would be taking up during the COP28, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said on Thursday. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Indian Pavilion at COP28 where he underscored the importance of everyone to come together to fight climate change. We have seen India's commitment towards its environment-friendly policies... There are many issues to discuss here...there is loss and damage, also the issues of the last COP like article 6 and the climate finance associated with developing countries, those issues will also be discussed at the COP, he said. Article 6 regulates voluntary cooperation among countries to achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce emissions. It incorporates both market mechanisms and non-market approaches, including cooperation in areas such as finance, technology ...

COP28: India walked the talk when it comes to climate action, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for supporting developing countries with adequate climate financing and technology transfer to enable them to deal with climate change. As he heads to Dubai to attend the World Climate Action Summit, Modi said India has walked the talk when it comes to climate action while highlighting the importance India attached to the issue during its G20 presidency. "During our G20 presidency, climate was high on our priority. The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration includes numerous concrete steps on climate action and sustainable development. I look forward to the COP28 taking forward the consensus on these issues," Modi said in his departure statement. Modi will attend the World Climate Action Summit on Friday during the United Nations 'Conference of the Parties' on climate, known as COP28. Several world leaders are set to attend the climate action summit to discuss ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively combat climate change. The

2023 set to be the warmest year on record, says WMO latest report

"2023 has shattered climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation and despair," WMO said in a statement

Fund to compensate developing nations for climate impacts approved at COP28

The UN climate talks in Dubai opened with a bang with countries clinching an early deal on how to compensate developing and poor countries that bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite contributing little to it. The agreement on the operationalisation of the Loss And Damage Fund on the first day of COP28 sets the stage for ambitious decisions over the next 12 days. At the COP27 in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh last year, rich countries agreed to establish a loss-and-damage fund. However, the decisions on funding allocation, beneficiaries and administration were referred to a committee. Differences between countries were so stark that it necessitated additional meetings to resolve these issues. A draft agreement was arrived at earlier this month and a revised agreement was released a day ago. The draft agreement had called for the World Bank to host the fund for the next four years. It asked the developed countries to contribute to the fund but said other countries and private parti

2023 is hottest year on record, brace for more climate extremes says UN

The U.N. weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, and a warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, forest fires, glacier melt, and heat waves in the future. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times a mere one-tenth of a degree under a target limit for the end of the century as laid out by the Paris climate accord in 2015. The WMO secretary-general said the onset earlier this year of El Nino, the weather phenomenon marked by heating in the Pacific Ocean, could tip the average temperature next year over the 1.5-degree (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) target cap set in Paris. It's practically sure that during the coming four years we will hit this 1.5, at least on temporary basis, Petteri Taalas said in an interview. And in the next decade we are more or less going to be there on a permanen

India should not take new commitments at COP28 climate talks in Dubai: GTRI

India should not take new commitments at the ongoing United Nations COP28 climate talks in Dubai and continue its green transition without additional assurances, think tank GTRI suggested on Thursday. The climate conference is being held at the Dubai Expo City from November 30 to December 12. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that India has already made significant commitments at COP27 (Conference of Parties) and the Paris Agreement, aligning with its Long-term Low Emissions and Development Strategy. India's commitment to generating half of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 is noteworthy. "At COP28 India need not take new commitments at COP28. Instead, it may continue its green transition without additional commitments," GTRI Co-Founder Ajay Srivastava said. However, he added that the country's high methane emissions, especially from the agriculture sector, pose a challenge. "Any improvement will require .