Page 18 - Climate Change

Climate change: World's forests are doing much better than we think

The destruction of tropical forests gets so much (justified) attention that we're at risk of missing how much progress we're making in cooler climates.

Climate change figures prominently in Pakistan parties' manifestos

Extreme events, such as the floods of 2022, exposed Pakistan's vulnerabilities to the effects of climate change and weakness in the state's disaster planning

A scientific, sustainable way to finance climate goals of countries

A green taxonomy is the foundation upon which a financial system aligns with a country's climate goals

How to enforce climate agreements with trade measures

Future climate-change COPs can focus on other consequential issues, rather than on crafting the right mix of hollow words that everyone can agree on

NITI, govt launch forum for advancing climate resilient agri-food system

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on Wednesday jointly launched the 'Investment Forum for Advancing Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems in India', an official statement said. The initiative aims to develop an investment and partnership to advance climate-resilient agrifood systems among the government, private sectors, and farmers' organisations, and financial institutions in India, it said. Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration, NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand emphasised on the need for awareness on how agriculture contributes to climate change, citing a contribution of a little more than 13 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the country. He observed that agriculture could play a role in carbon sequestration through tree plantation on farmland. Chand also called for a new direction in economic analysis of agriculture production, considering the impact on ...

Biden administration taking heat from all sides over Louisiana LNG project

Bill McKibben, an environmentalist who led a successful fight against the now-cancelled Keystone XL oil pipeline, said any approval of CP2 by the Biden administration 'would be a huge miscalculation.'

Sense of urgency required to tackle climate crises, poverty: WB chief Banga

World Bank chief Ajay Banga on Thursday said a sense of urgency can be the only saviour for the world faced with a set of intertwined crises, including that of climate and poverty. "What we have is an existential climate crisis," the World Bank President said here during a session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. "We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about climate. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about healthcare. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about food insecurity and fragility," he said. This is the reality and "we have a set of intertwined crises," Banga said and stressed that a "sense of urgency is our only saviour". According to him, 45 per cent of the World Bank financing will go towards climate efforts. In addition, the Bank has promised to connect 100 million people in Africa to renewable power by 2030, address a misalignment in funding to reduce methane emissions, help small nations absorb

European Commission to back 90% emissions cut for 2040 climate target

The European Union is drafting its first 2040 climate target, to bridge the gap between its existing goals to cut net emissions 55% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050

UN Chief Antonio Guterres calls for urgent action on climate change, AI

Guterres also went on to mention the Israel-Hamas crisis and reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

Deloitte India unveils initiative to cut emissions attributed to software

Deloitte India on Wednesday unveiled an Enterprise Conscious Code initiative for sustainable, inclusive, and accessible software development that aims to cut up to 30 per cent of the emissions attributed to software alone. Launching the Code here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, Deloitte India said this initiative marks a significant leap towards sustainable and responsible software development, supporting global efforts to reduce carbon footprint, increase energy consciousness, and ensure accessibility for everyone. "The Enterprise Conscious Code (ECC) combines everything a company needs - the triple Ps of the bottom line - people, planet, and profits," it said. The Code offers ways to build eco-friendly software, promoting the use of techniques that contribute to a greener planet. Currently, about 3 per cent of the world's carbon emissions are attributed to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, equivalent to roughly 1.58 bill

YouTube making money off new breed of climate denial, monitoring group

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) used artificial intelligence to review transcripts from 12,058 videos from the past six years on 96 of Alphabet Inc's YouTube channels

Global cooperation needed to curb climate crisis, save 14.5 mn lives: WEF

Disasters intensified by the climate crisis may lead to USD 12.5 trillion economic losses and 14.5 million deaths worldwide by 2050, a new World Economic Forum analysis warned on Tuesday. But, there is still time for global stakeholders to take decisive and strategic action to counter these forecasts and mitigate the health impacts of climate change globally, it said. The report, Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health, developed in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, was released at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024. It analysed the climate crisis through a new lens by providing a detailed picture of the indirect impact climate change will have on human health, the global economy and healthcare systems around the world. "While there has been much discussion about the impact of climate change on nature and the global economy, some of the most pressing consequences of the Earth's rising temperatures will be on human health and the global healthcare system,"

CEOs fear for their firms in pre-Davos survey as AI, climate risks rise

Advancements in generative AI were top of the concerns for most survey respondents, with almost 75% predicting it would significantly change their business in the next three years

Davos 2024: Conflict, climate change, AI get top of list for discussion

The Earth is heating up, as is conflict in the Middle East. The world economy and Ukraine's defence against Russia are sputtering along. Artificial intelligence could upend all our lives. The to-do list of global priorities has grown for this year's edition of the World Economic Forum gabfest of business, political and other elites in the Alpine snows of Davos, Switzerland. It gets going in earnest Tuesday and runs through Friday. Over 60 heads of state and government, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be heading to town to hold both public appearances and closed-door talks. They'll be among more than 2,800 attendees, including academics, artists and international organization leaders. The gathering is mostly high-minded ambition think business innovation, aims for peace-making and security cooperation, or life-changing improvements in health care and a venue for decision-makers in an array of fields and industries to ...

PM Modi lauds IMD for exceptional service, advancing climate research

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday commended the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for its exceptional services to the nation, saying it has been instrumental in safeguarding lives and advancing climate research. "Today we mark 150 years of the India Meteorological Department's exceptional service to our nation. From pioneering weather forecasting to advancing climate research, IMD has been instrumental in safeguarding lives and enhancing our understanding of the environment," the prime minister posted on X. The IMD kickstarted its 150th anniversary celebrations on Monday with the launch of the 'Panchayat Mausam Seva' that aims to take weather forecasts to every farmer in every village. It also rolled out the National Framework for Climate Services to mainstream climate information in every sector and activity. Launching the portals, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said the IMD's impact transcended mere weather forecasts and has emerged as a safety net, protecting national

2023 officially warmest year on record by huge margin, confirms WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has officially confirmed that 2023 is the hottest year on record by a huge margin, smashing global temperature records. The yearly average global temperature approached 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which is significant because the Paris Agreement on climate change aims to limit the long-term temperature increase to no more than the same amount. According to the agreement, the long-term increase is calculated as an average over decades rather than an individual year like 2023. Global temperatures in every month between June and December set new monthly records, with July and August registering as the hottest months on record, the UN agency said in a statement. Strictly, the WMO found that the annual average global temperature was 1.45 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels. They consolidated six leading datasets used for monitoring global temperatures, all of which ranked 2023 as the warmest year on record. T

Best of BS Opinion: The Total trinity, 'It's foreign policy, stupid' & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

India's climate goals: Navigating a complex dilemma

Its experience underscores that unanimous advocacy for carbon taxation can be misguided, as it ignores country-specific realities

JSW Group ties up with Finland-based Coolbrook for low-carbon emission tech

JSW Group on Thursday said it has partnered with Finland-based firm Coolbrook to implement a low carbon emission technology at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka. In a statement, JSW Group said the partnership follows Coolbrook's successful completion of the first phase of large-scale pilot tests for RotoDynamic Technology at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Netherlands in 2023. "This strategic partnership will focus on implementing Coolbrook's RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) Technology at JSW's manufacturing sites at Vijayanagar Works in Karnataka with the primary goal of achieving low CO2 emissions in steel and cement production," it said. The RDH technology utilises renewable electricity to power high-temperature industrial processes in steel and cement production, significantly reducing the need to burn fossil fuels, JSW Group said. "Deployment of RDH Technology is expected to have a sizeable impact on the decarbonisation of the group's manufacturing process," P K Murugan, ...

One Nation, One Pass: Forest produce portal gets 24K applications

Transit permits are issued for tree species that are regulated, while the users can self-generate No Objection Certificates for exempted species