Page 7 - Climate Change

Leaders at climate meetings in NY warn of growing mistrust between nations

National leaders addressed the group after adopting a 'Pact for the Future' aimed at ensuring and increasing cooperation between nations

Need to address data challenges for slashing urban emission: Experts

Indian cities can play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emission and building resilient urban environments if data collection and "scenario modelling" were strengthened, according to experts working on urban emission and strategies on mitigation plans. Using the Climate Action for Urban Sustainability (CURB) tool, up to 77 per cent of urban emission could possibly be tackled by 2050 by identifying sectors having the greatest potential in slashing emission, a team from Delhi's World Resources Institute (WRI) found. However, the challenges are plenty, the authors said. These include a limited capacity of institutions for data-driven exercises. This will need to be addressed to slash greenhouse gas emission and create sustainable, resilient urban environments. "Strengthening data collection, scenario modelling, and capacity-building frameworks will enable cities to set more ambitious and achievable climate targets, positioning them as key drivers of India's overall greenhouse

At UN summit, India calls for global shift to sustainable lifestyles

Adopting sustainable lifestyles could tackle many of the challenges posed by climate change and global success is more likely if affordable solutions are offered, India has said at the United Nations "Summit of the Future". Addressing the summit in New York on Friday, Leela Nandan, secretary in the Union environment ministry, also said that climate change discussions often focus solely on emission reductions, but "we are more likely to succeed if we offer affordable solutions, not simply impose decisions". The Summit of the Future brings together world leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss global challenges and strengthen multilateral cooperation to tackle emerging threats. Citing an estimate by the International Energy Agency, Nandan said, "If we were to put our actions into the right context in terms of saving energy, saving water, reducing waste, reducing e-waste, adopting sustainable food systems, we would have reduced annual global emissions by 2 billion tons

Climate, abortion, and gun control: Young women demand change in America

Young men have shown reluctance to embrace the liberal label, despite becoming more progressive on select issues, said a recent report

UN chief urges nations to approve blueprint to address global issues

The United Nations chief urged the world's divided nations on Wednesday to compromise and approve a blueprint to address global challenges from conflicts and climate change to artificial intelligence and reforming the UN and global financial institutions. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that discussions on the Pact of the Future are in their final stretch and failure to reach the required consensus among all 193 UN member nations would be tragic. A year ago, Guterres sounded an alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet and summoned world leaders to a Summit of the Future at their global gathering this year to unite and take action to reform the UN and other institutions established after World War II and address new global threats. It is taking place Sunday and Monday, just before Tuesday's start of the annual high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly. Negotiations on the 30-page pact, now in its fourth revision, have been taking place for months, and

Size of Indian economy can easily double by 2030: NITI CEO Subrahmanyam

India could easily double the size of its economy by 2030, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday. At an event organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), Subrahmanyam added that climate change is an opportunity for India to become a leader in climate technology. "Our economy should easily double by 2030...India's ambition to become the third-largest economy by 2026-2027 necessitates a cohesive grand strategy," he said. Currently, in US dollar terms, India is the fifth largest economy with a size of about USD 3.7 trillion in nominal terms. "India will be a big dominant player, it already matters and it will matter much more in global affairs, by 2047," he said. Subrahmanyam said by 2047, India will be among the world's youngest nations demographically, poised for prosperity, with a projected per capita income of around USD 18,000 to USD 20,000. "This growth is significant as India is expected to emerge as a major global player, building on the substantial ..

June-August recorded as India's 2nd-hottest quarter since 1970: Scientists

India experienced its second-hottest quarter from June to August this year since 1970, with over one-third of the country's population enduring at least seven days of dangerous heat, according to a new report by a US-based group of climate scientists and communicators. The report from Climate Central said climate change made high temperatures over three times more likely on 29 days during these three months. "June through August 2024 was India's second-hottest season since at least 1970, when reliable satellite records are available," the report said, adding that India had the highest number of people exposed to climate change-driven temperatures in Southern Asia during this period. More than 20.5 million people endured high temperatures heavily influenced by climate change for at least 60 days, it said. More than 426 million people (about one-third of India's population) faced at least seven days of dangerous heat, with temperatures exceeding 90 per cent of the usual highs for the

'Firehose' storm hits part of North Carolina; scientists see climate change

The Carolinas braced for a storm that forecasters warned could bring heavy rain as much as 6 to 8 inches in some spots. But one narrow band got a firehose that dumped as much as 20 inches in a so-called 1,000-year flood that shocked many with its intensity. The storm that left homes flooded, cars submerged and schools closed Tuesday in parts of North Carolina wasn't really a surprise to scientists who have long said that such rainfalls are one marker of climate change. Data shows one of the strongest relationships between climate change and precipitation is that as the atmosphere warms, the capacity to hold water increases. Therefore we see more intense rainfall in a shorter period of time, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. Monday's deluge centred on Carolina Beach south of Wilmington, where more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain fell in 12 hours and almost 21 overall. That much rain qualifies as a 1,000-year ..

Climate crisis may push 40 mn more children into severe hunger: Report

The annual report of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation projects that climate change could result in an additional 28 million children suffering from wasting by 2050

COP29 leaders unveil new climate funding and energy storage goals

Over 120 countries pledged at last year's COP28 summit in Dubai, for example, to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030

'Mission Mausam' promises: Cloud chambers, AI, better weather forecasting

Mission Mausam aims to enhance India's weather forecasting through advanced technology, cloud chambers, and AI, promising improved predictions and better climate change mitigation

Climate change risks grow faster for wealthy, poorest remain at risk: Study

Economic risks for the wealthy due to climate change is growing at the fastest rates because of impacts to global supply chains and goods and services, even as the highest risks remain with the poorest around the world, according to a new study. Across countries, lower-income consumers are known to face higher economic risks in a changing climate because of a low capacity to adapt. However, researchers explained that inequality in consumption between varied income groups within a country is grounded in how easily one is able to substitute goods to adapt to the effects of climate change, including shocks to supply chains. The team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany found that low-income consumers are more vulnerable to supply shocks as they spend a greater share of their budget on hard-to-substitute necessary goods. On the other hand, high-income consumers spent larger shares of their budget on easier-to-substitute goods so that they suffer smaller

Replacing rice crop could help recover groundwater lost since 2000: Study

Replacing about 40 per cent of the area sown with rice with other crops could help recover 60-100 cubic kilometres of groundwater lost since 2000 in north India, a study has found. Current cropping patterns -- dominated by rice, which relies heavily on groundwater for irrigation -- could result in a loss of about 13-43 cubic kilometres of groundwater if warming of the planet continues, a team of researchers, including those from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat, said. The researchers proposed shifting from existing cropping habits by cutting down on cultivating rice as a potential solution for sustaining the fast-depleting resource in a warmer world that threatens food and water security. "Replacing 37 per cent area of rice with other crops can recover 61 to 108 cubic kilometres groundwater compared to 13 to 43 cubic kilometres with current cropping pattern under the 1.5-3 degrees Celsius global warming levels," the authors wrote in the study accepted for ...

'Spiked ozone levels stunting tropical forests' growth, Asia affected more'

Ozone pollution is stunting the growth of tropical forests, with the effect being stronger in Asia, where such forests are losing nearly 11 per cent of new growth, research has found. Air quality will continue to play an important, yet often overlooked, part in how forests absorb and store carbon, according to lead author Flossie Brown, a recent graduate of the University of Exeter. While ozone in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere protects people from harmful ultraviolet radiations from the Sun, ozone closer to the ground level is harmful to plant and human health. The gas is formed when pollutants from human activities combine in the presence of sunlight. The researchers explained that urbanisation, industrialisation and burning fossil fuels and fires have resulted in an increase in 'precursor' gases -- such as nitrogen oxides -- that form ozone. The team found that ozone at the ground level can stunt new growth in tropical forests by over five per cent, translating into

'Climate change triggers landslide, sent tremors across Earth for 9 days'

A landslide in Greenland, triggered by glacier melting due to climate change, caused an earthquake, vibrations from which reverberated throughout the planet for nine straight days and damaged infrastructure, according to a new study. In September 2023, a 1.2 kilometre-high mountain peak in an East Greenland fjord -- a narrow inlet of sea between two steep cliffs -- collapsed, causing a tsunami about 200 metres tall. Researchers said the giant wave rocked back and forth across the fjord for nine days, which sent seismic shocks reverberating throughout Earth's crust, baffling scientists around the world. While no one was hurt, the shocks destroyed infrastructure worth nearly USD 2,00,000 at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island in eastern Greenland, the international team, including researchers from the University College London, UK, said. According to them, the landslide was a result of the melting of glacier at the foot of the mountain, becoming thinner and unable to hold u

Should build manufacturing economy greener than China's: Tata Steel CEO

India should build a manufacturing economy which is greener than China's, with a holistic approach that involves both the government and the private sector, Tata Steel CEO T V Narendran said on Wednesday. While addressing a panel discussion at AIMA Convention here, Narendran stressed the need to make the transition to a green manufacturing economy at a fast pace, else India would lose market share. "Unlike China which built a large manufacturing economy and now is trying to make it green, India can build a large manufacturing economy which is greener than the one that China built over the last 20-30 years," he said while replying to a question on the energy transition from fossil fuel to a cleaner future driven by two sectors cement and steel. "So that's an opportunity for India. It is also a risk for India. If India does not make the transition fast enough, we will find that large economic blocks like the US, Europe and China have already made the transition and India gets locked o

Cabinet approves Rs 2,000 cr 'Mission Mausam' to boost weather forecasts

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved "Mission Mausam" on Wednesday to enhance India's ability to predict and respond to extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change. The mission, with a budget of Rs 2,000 crore over two years, will be primarily implemented by three key institutions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) -- the India Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting. These will be supported by other MoES bodies, such as the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research and the National Institute of Ocean Technology. The mission will focus on improving observations and understanding to deliver highly-accurate and timely weather and climate information across temporal and spatial scales. This includes information on monsoon, air quality, extreme weather events, cyclones and weather

Climate change imminent, focus on areas like Green Hydrogen needed: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday stressed on the need to focus on new areas of energy transition like Green Hydrogen to deal with climate change saying it is not a matter of future rather it calls for an action now. Addressing through a video message the 2nd International Conference on Green Hydrogen India 2024, Modi said, "There is a growing realisation that climate change is not just a matter of the future. The impact of climate change is being felt here and now. The time for action is also here and now." He was of the view that energy transition and sustainability have become central to global policy discourse. He noted that Green Hydrogen is emerging as a promising addition to the world's energy landscape and it can help in decarbonizing industries that are difficult to electrify. Refineries, fertilizers, steel, heavy-duty transportation -- many such sectors will benefit, he pointed out. Green Hydrogen can also act as a storage solution for surplus renewable energy, h

India needs urgent, actionable plan to meet climate goals as time runs out

Climate change poses a major vulnerability that demands a comprehensive, quantifiable medium- and long-term plan, along with close monitoring to ensure timely corrective actions

Scaling RE beyond 1,500 GW to face significant challenges, says study

India needs to install around 7,000 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 but deployment beyond 1,500 GW could face critical challenges, including climate risks, high land prices, land conflicts, and population density, according to a new study. The study by independent think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is the first of its kind to map India's renewable energy and green hydrogen potential by analysing the entire country's landmass and applying real-world constraints. India has a renewable energy (RE) potential of over 24,000 GW and around 7,000 GW of installed capacity is required to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. The fast-developing South Asian nation currently has an installed RE capacity of 150 GW, and the study says that the constraints are relatively manageable up to 1,500 GW. Arunabha Ghosh, the CEO of CEEW, said, While our RE potential is vast, the road to net zero is fraught with challenges. From land