Page 2 - Climate Plan

India not historically responsible for climate crisis: Commonwealth chief

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

Chief economic advisor Nageswaran calls out rich nations' climate hypocrisy

India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has criticised developed countries for their "double standards" on climate action, highlighting the G7's commitment to ending the use of unabated coal power plants only in the first half of the 2030s, despite their high carbon emissions. In the annual economic survey, Nageswaran said it is morally wrong to ask developing countries to abandon their aspirations for better living standards to allow developed countries to maintain their lifestyles in cleaner environments and cooler climates. He argued that economic growth would empower developing countries to better address climate change. Nageswaran said the UN convention on climate change and its Paris Agreement mandate that developed countries provide resources and take the lead in mobilising finance to tackle the global problem. "However, much of the climate action by developing countries has been done through domestic resources, and the emphasis of the developed countries has mai

Eco survey advocates traditional climate plan and 3Rs for net-zero target

Mission LiFE seeks to promote sustainable lifestyles through mindful utilisation of resources, minimisation of waste, and adoption of green choices

Climate change threatens to undo educational gains of recent decade: UNESCO

Climate related stressors like heat, wildfires, floods, droughts, diseases and rising sea levels affect education outcomes and threaten to undo educational gains of recent decade, according to the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM). The global report compiled by UNESCO, Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) project and University of Saskatchewan in Canada has pointed out that most low and middle-income countries are experiencing climate-related school closures every year, increasing chances of learning loss and dropout. "Climate change related impacts are already disrupting education systems and outcomes. Direct effects include the destruction of education infrastructure as well as injuries and loss of life among students, parents and school staff. Climate change has a negative impact on education indirectly through its displacement of people and the effects on people's livelihoods and health," the report said. "Over the past 20 years, schools .

Agri firm Samunnati gets Rs 133 cr debt funding from Swiss firm Blue Earth

Agriculture value chain enabler Samunnati on Friday said it has raised Rs 133 crore (USD 16 million) in credit financing from Swiss impact investment firm Blue Earth Capital. This is Blue Earth Capital's first debt investment and will help Samunnati expand initiatives aimed at improving the lives of small farmers across the country through projects focused on climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation practices. The funding from Blue Earth is the single largest debt tranche raised by Samunnati during the first quarter of the fiscal year. "We're grateful for the support from Blue Earth Capital... This boost will strengthen our efforts to improve the lives of smallholders through climate and sustainability projects," Samunnati founder and chief executive Anil Kumar SG said in a statement. In the current fiscal year, Samunnati has already secured USD 5 million (Rs 41 crore) in debt funding through external commercial borrowing from Enabling Qapital. In the previous fiscal year, it

Shell shareholders reject investor climate resolution filed by activists

The company, however, introduced a new 'ambition' to cut overall emissions from oil products such as gasoline and jet fuel sold to customers by 15-20% by 2030 compared with 2021

BJP went back on Sixth Schedule promise, will continue movement: Wangchuk

In March this year, Leh, known for its breathtaking landscapes and monasteries, made headlines as climate activist Sonam Wangchuk led a 21-day fast in sub-zero temperatures seeking autonomy for Ladakh. Thousands joined the Ramon Magsaysay Award winner whose life inspired actor Aamir Khan's character Rancho in Bollywood blockbuster "3 Idiots". After ending his fast on March 26, Wangchuk began a sit-in which was called off on May 10 in view of the Lok Sabha elections. Though the government did not accede to the protesters' demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Wangchuk says the movement is anything but over. "On one hand, land is going to corporations and on the other hand, China is capturing our land, thousands of square kilometres of land. People of the country need to understand our pain," Wangchuk told PTI. "The Sixth Schedule is required to protect the mountains, glaciers and ecology. Though it is required in the whole ...

None of G7 economies on track to meet 2030 mitigation targets, shows report

None of the G7 members are on track to meet their existing emission reduction targets for 2030, according to a new analysis released on Tuesday. The analysis by Climate Analytics, a global climate science and policy institute, comes ahead of the G7 climate, energy, and environment ministers' meeting in Venaria Reale, Italy, during April 28-30. The G7 collectively aims to achieve a 40-42 per cent emission reduction by 2030 but existing policies suggest that it will likely achieve only 19-33 per cent by the end of this decade, the analysis showed. This is at best around half of what is needed and would lead to greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 exceeding a 1.5 degrees Celsius compatible level by around four gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Such a shortfall in ambition does not provide the leadership signal needed from the world's richest countries, making up around 38 per cent of the global economy and responsible for 21 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the .

March marks yet another record in global heat, says EU climate agency

Each of the last 10 months ranked as the world's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin

Climate activists seek major human rights ruling against European states

Depending on the ruling, countries may need to update their plans for reining in climate-warming emissions in the near term

US Fed blocks tough global climate-risk rules for Wall Street Banks

European central bankers have been advocating for the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to agree on requiring lenders to disclose their strategies for meeting green commitments

EU must prepare for 'catastrophic' climate change risks: Environment agency

Policymakers need to draw up new plans to address the challenges, the Copenhagen-based body said in its first Europe-wide analysis of climate-related risks

Feb hottest on record with avg temp 1.77 deg C above pre-industrial period

The world last month experienced the warmest February on record, with the average temperature being 1.77 degrees Celsius more than the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, the European Union's climate agency said on Thursday. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) also said that 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 Nino -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. C3S last month said 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. According to climate scientists, countries need to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius a

Poland protests: Many injured amid violent clashes between farmers, police

Poland saw its most violent protest by farmers and supporters yet Wednesday as some participants threw stones at police and tried to push through barriers around parliament, injuring several officers, police said. Police used tear gas and said they detained over a dozen people and prevented the protesters from getting through to the Sejm, the Polish parliament. Farmers are angry over European Union climate policies and food imports from Ukraine that they say threaten their livelihoods. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU in recent weeks, but this one was decidedly angrier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation. Police noted on the social media platform X that its officers are not a party to the ongoing dispute and warned that behavior threatening their safety cannot be taken lightly and requires a firm and decisive response. The deputy agriculture minister, Michal Kolodziejczak, said he didn't believe that real, normal farmers caused a riot in fr

India will always be a 'champion' for climate action, says Ruchira Kamboj

We feel that climate change is interlinked with development matters and hence needs discussion in forums with universal participation, Kamboj said while addressing UNSC open debate

India, Singapore pact in climate finance has promising future: NITI Aayog

The cooperation between India and Singapore in the field of green finance has a promising future, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery has said, asserting that the two countries can work within the framework laid out in the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration on sustainable finance. The three-day Singapore visit of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog's vice-chairperson came under the Distinguished Visitors Programme (DVP) of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aimed to strengthen bilateral ties and foster mutual cooperation across all levels, according to the foreign affairs ministry here. India and Singapore can make something quickly and important happen in terms of green finance-climate finance within the framework that has been laid out in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration on sustainable finance, he said after concluding the visit to understand thinking among planners in the city-state. Adopted on September 9 last year, the G20 New Delhi Leaders'

WTO's trade policy toolkit for climate action

Our policymakers may take note of the recommendations and fine-tune our policies

Carbon market push at COP28 summit tries to fix scandal-tainted credits

The concept of trading carbon credits across borders to accelerate the green transition is not new, nor are challenges to its transparency and impact

Phasing out fossil fuels among options on table for COP28 climate talks

"Absolutely not," he said when asked in a TV interview in Riyadh whether his country, the world's top oil exporter, would be happy to see the language added

COP28 and the coal question

Before India and China can commit to a future without coal, there are geopolitical and technological hurdles that need to be resolved