Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is in grave danger and the world must mark 2025 as the year of decisive climate action to reduce greenhouse gases and speed up the transition to renewable energy, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said on Tuesday. Saulo, who attended events to mark the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) 150th anniversary here, said the celebration comes at a crucial moment for the planet. She pointed out that 2024 was the hottest year on record in India and globally too. In 2024, India suffered prolonged extreme heat, which greatly impacted human health, agriculture, water supply and energy supplies, she recalled. "Heavy monsoon rains caused disruption and death, as we saw with tragic landslides in Kerala in July. More recently, air pollution hit alarming and dangerous levels in many parts of the country," Saulo said. The WMO chief said 2024 also became the first calendar year with an average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius above th

2024 recorded a global average temperature of 15.10 degrees Celsius, 1.60 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, driven by record-high greenhouse gas emissions

The Forest Survey of India defines forest as land covering at least one hectare and with a tree cover density of 10 per cent

Leaders of the world's biggest economies will reaffirm a strong commitment to multilateralism, especially in the light of the progress made under the Paris Agreement

The wavering global commitment is particularly worrying because the coming 12 months will be vital for setting the next decade of climate policies

In a landmark decision at the first day of the global climate talks here, COP29 have officially adopted the new operational standards for a mechanism of the Paris Agreement under Article 6, setting the stage for a global carbon market. This adoption of article 6.4, achieved during the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), sets the stage for operationalising Article 6, which has faced years of deadlock. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement facilitates international collaboration to lower carbon emissions. It offers two pathways for countries and companies to trade carbon offsets, supporting the achievement of emission reduction targets set in their climate action plans, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The first option, known as Article 6.2, allows two countries to establish a bilateral carbon trading agreement under their own terms. The second, Article 6.4, seeks to develop a centralised, UN-managed system to enable

The world's third-biggest emitter needs $12.4 trillion in investment to reach net zero ahead of its official target of 2070, BNEF said in its New Energy Outlook for India

Eversource's 32-member team is already on the look out for projects and companies that seek to combat climate change to invest in from the next fund

The current carbon removal plans of countries around the world will fall short in limiting the warming of the planet to 1.5 degrees Celsius, set out under the Paris Agreement, new research has suggested. The researchers pointed out that climate policy regarding removal of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere "needs more ambition". However, if the global energy demand could "significantly" reduce, the current carbon removal plans might be closer to achieving net-zero emissions, they found. "Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods have a small but vital role to play in achieving net zero (target) and limiting the impacts of climate change," said Naomi Vaughan of the University of East Anglia, UK, and co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. "Our analysis shows that countries need more awareness, ambition and action on scaling up CDR methods together with deep emissions reductions to achieve the aspirations of the Pari

The 2023-24 El Nino has peaked as one of the five strongest on record and will continue to impact global climate in the coming months despite a weakening trend, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Tuesday. The UN agency also said above-normal temperatures are predicted over almost all land areas between March and May. The prevailing El Nino conditions fuelled record temperatures and extreme events the world over, with 2023 being the warmest on record. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January. A permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit, specified in the Paris Agreement, however, refers to long-term warming over many years. In its latest update, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said there is about a 60 per cent chance of El Nino persisting during March-May and an 80 per cent likelihood of neutral conditions ..

The world last month experienced the warmest January on record, with the global mean temperature for the past 12 months exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, according to the European climate agency. However, this does not imply a permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris agreement, as it refers to long-term warming over many years. Every month since June last year has been the warmest such month on record. Scientists attribute the exceptional warming to the combined effects of El Nio -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. The global average temperature in January was 1.66 degrees Celsius above the January average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period. With an average temperature of 13.14 degrees Celsius, January 2024 was 0.12 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest January in 2020, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. Scien

Here's a lowdown on origin, measurement, and current status of the global temperature rise target in the aftermath of COP28

India's attempt to reduce poverty with high economic growth will be compromised if it is unable to provide better living spaces, writes Amarjeet Sinha

India on Wednesday urged world leaders at the global climate talks COP28 to implement the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit through the Global Stocktake process while maintaining the focus on the principles of equity and climate justice. Speaking at the closing plenary of the COP28, where a historic climate deal that called for a transition away from fossil fuels was reached, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said the collective efforts here have sent positive signals to the world in reinforcing commitment to maintaining the temperature goals set in Paris. The way ahead must be based on equity and climate justice, let us implement the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit through the Global Stocktake process, he said. Adopted after nearly two weeks of hectic negotiations, the first Global Stocktake deal, being termed the UAE consensus, urges countries to accelerate efforts toward the phase down of unabated coal power, which is a climb down after India and China strongly resiste

First global stocktake on Paris Agreement recognizes current emissions reductions not enough

While the Paris Agreement has accelerated clients' sustainability agenda, Rathninde believes it is much more than that

As the year of stocktaking of the Paris Agreement records historic high temperatures

With climate change-induced disasters multiplying, the Dubai summit cannot afford to be just a talk shop

A UN report on Friday said that global emissions are not in line with the modelled global mitigation pathways consistent with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement -- a legally binding international treaty on climate change. The Global Stocktake report of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), however, said there is a rapidly narrowing window to raise ambitions and implement existing commitments in order to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. It said much more ambition in action and support is needed in implementing domestic mitigation measures and setting larger targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions need to be reduced by 43 per cent by 2030 and further by 60 per cent by 2035 compared to 2019 levels and reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally, the report said, adding that creativity and innovation in policymaking across all sectors and systems, and international cooperation

Balancing the energy trilemma, the report shows that India's policy reforms have fostered stability, and accessibility and is on the track for green transition