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The United States remains central to climate negotiations and can make a crucial contribution to the preparation and execution of COP30, even after its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Brazil has said as it prepares to host this year's UN climate conference in Belm. COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago told journalists during an online briefing that there is no intention of ignoring the US, even if the Trump administration does not participate in climate negotiations. "No, there is no idea of ignoring the US because the US is the key country for this exercise. The US government may limit its participation, but the US as a country, as a place with such amazing technology and innovation, can contribute in a very important way to the preparation of COP30 (and) during COP30. So, the US is a central country for these discussions and solutions," Correa do Lago said in response to a question from PTI. Brazil's Environment and Climate Minister Marina Silva told journalists during her ..
Scientists and policymakers have voiced concern over the layoffs at the US climate agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), saying any reduction in observation data could affect monsoon forecasts and cyclone tracking in India. Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal NOAA employees on probationary status were fired last week. These included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in the national weather service offices. "We are worried. If NOAA reduces observations, there will be implications on weather forecasts. When ocean observations reduce, there is less data to assimilate. Hence predictability will reduce," M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, told PTI. Climate scientist at the Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology Roxy Mathew Koll termed the NOAA layoffs as a global crisis that could impact climate science. NOAA provides data and models that support weather-climate monitoring, forecasting and disaster preparedness .
2024 is set to end as the hottest year on record and the first with a global average temperature 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It will also be remembered as the year developed nations had their last big chance to prevent the world from permanently crossing this critical threshold by funding climate action in the Global South -- and they blew it. Relentless warming fuelled record-breaking heatwaves, deadly storms, and floods that devastated lives and homes by the thousands in 2024. Millions were displaced, and all eyes turned to the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, hoping for a climate finance package capable of ramping up action in the Global South. A study published in 2023 estimated that developed countries owe around USD 170 trillion for their excessive emissions, having consumed 70-90 per cent of the total carbon budget since the industrial era. Instead, developed countries -- mandated under the UN climate regime to finance climate action in develop
Pakistan has secured USD 10 million in climate finance funding to enhance integrated and adaptive water resource management in the Indus River, with a particular focus on nature-based solutions, to benefit the local communities. The funding was approved on Friday by the Adaptation Fund Board for the project called Sustainable Actions for Ecosystems Restoration in Pakistan (SAFER), according to a statement by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The Adaptation Fund was established in 2001 to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries which are Parties of the Kyoto Protocol that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The project particularly focuses on interventions around the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, and targets women, children, and youth, in order to build the resilience of those communities disproportionately hit by climate-induced crises. The proje
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite fast to demand the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, stayed put at the Ladakh Bhawan here on Monday with protesters claiming that they were denied permission to move to Jantar Mantar. Wangchuk and his supporters marched to Delhi from Leh to press their demand and were detained at the capital's Singhu border on September 30. The 'Delhi Chalo Padyatra' is being spearheaded by the Leh Apex Body (LAB). The protesters were released by Delhi Police on the night of October 2. On Sunday, Wangchuk stepped out of the Ladakh Bhawan around 4 pm and announced that he was going to sit on a fast. An LAB member told PTI on Monday that the authorities are yet to allow the protesters to move to an alternate site to continue their stir, so the fast will continue at the Ladakh Bhawan. In a brief interaction with the media on Sunday before starting his fast, Wangchuk said he and his supporters were forced to protest at the Ladakh Bhawan
India recorded a significant 19.3 per cent drop in particulate pollution in 2022 compared to 2021, the second-highest reduction in the world after Bangladesh, adding an average of 51 days to the life expectancy of every citizen, according to a new report. The annual report, "Air Quality Life Index" 2024, by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) also said that Indians are likely to lose 3.6 years of life expectancy if the country fails to meet the World Health Organisation's annual PM2.5 concentration standard of 5 micrograms per cubic metre. The researchers attributed the decline in particulate levels in India and other South Asian countries primarily to favourable meteorological conditions and a reduced number of thermal inversions -- when a layer of warm air traps cooler air near the ground, causing pollution to build up. PM2.5 concentrations in India in 2022 were around 9 micrograms per cubic metre, 19.3 per cent lower than 2021. The most significant ..
The COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan's Baku is the world's only chance to bridge the gaps in climate action and finance which is crucial to "rebuild trust" among countries and protect lives and livelihoods, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has said. In an interview with PTI via Zoom, Scotland said it is important to have the fossil-fuel producers as allies in the fight against climate change. Azerbaijan, the host of this year's UN climate talks, is a small petrostate on the Caspian Sea. Nearly all of its exports are oil and gas. "We are nearing the cliff, the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius limit. In fact, some of our scientists say that we are there now. Our home, our planet, is literally on fire. Instead of action, we see the gaps in emissions, finance, and justice widening. It is our duty to bridge those gaps, and COP is our only chance. It comes at a moment of immeasurable urgency," Scotland said. She said rich countries promised to provide USD 100 billion (one ..
India is not historically responsible for the climate crisis but it should not emulate polluting practices of the West from the 19th century during its development, Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has said. In an interview with PTI, Scotland said India has the opportunity to lead a just and equitable energy transition by sharing expertise and technology within the 56-nation club called Commonwealth, which represents 2.7 billion people. She also said that India can exemplify a new, clean and safe development model that can serve as a beacon of hope for the Global South. "India is a developing country, which was not historically responsible for creating this (climate) crisis. So, India is in a similar position to many of the Global South countries. And that is absolutely true," the Commonwealth secretary general said. Despite not causing the crisis, she said, India is suffering from severe climate consequences, including extreme heat, floods and intense monsoons, and