Page 2 - Environmentalism

Delhi to organise 'e-vehicle parade' in October to boost usage, sales

Delhi's environment department will organise an 'e-vehicle parade' at Rajghat in early October, aimed at encouraging the purchase and use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the city. Officials anticipate that over 500 EVs will participate in this event, with a registration link for interested owners to be announced shortly. A senior official from the environment department said that a tender has been issued for the event, which is expected to cost around Rs 5.76 lakh. Bids will be accepted until September 30, and the parade will be conducted within five days of awarding the tender. "The primary objective is to promote EV usage in Delhi and raise awareness about their benefits. We encourage as many EV owners as possible to join the parade," an official said. "Transitioning to electric vehicles will contribute to reducing vehicular pollution in the capital," the official stated. Environment Minister Gopal Rai, who recently resumed his role following the formation of a new cabinet, emphas

Developing countries need over $5 trn for climate goals: Bhupender Yadav

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday said developing countries need more than USD five trillion to meet their climate goals by 2030, and the USD 100 billion promised earlier by developed nations is "too small" an amount. Addressing the 19th Sustainability Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Yadav said that developed countries, which are historically responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions and appropriating a large share of the global carbon budget, had pledged USD 100 billion and technology transfer to help developing nations combat climate change. "But they failed on both fronts... Now, developing countries need more than USD five trillion. USD 100 billion is too small an amount," he said. He added that if poorer nations, such as Ethiopia, were to adopt the consumption patterns of developed countries, humanity would need the resources of seven Earths to meet the global demands. Yadav also said the consumption patterns in India ali

Bali's hotel ban: A long overdue step to address overcrowding, environment

Authorities need to come up with a solution to mange the rampant overdevelopment that's become Bali's hallmark

ICRA ESG Ratings gives its first rating to InCred Financial Services

ICRA ESG Ratings Limited has assigned its first Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating to InCred Financial Services, a non-banking financial company. ICRA ESG received registration as a Category-I ESG Rating Provider (ERP) from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) earlier this fiscal. ICRA ESG was formerly known as Pragati Development Consulting Services Limited (PDCSL). "InCred Financial Services Limited, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) focused on personal loans, student loans, and business loans, has been assigned a rating of [ICRA ESG] Impact 57, Moderate," said ICRA ESG Ratings Limited (ICRA ESG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICRA, in a release. It further said the ICRA ESG-assigned ratings help investors assess the non-financial risks and opportunities associated with entities and facilitate making better investment decisions, paving the way for a more sustainable and responsible investment landscape. These ratings also help the rated entity gai

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

80% Indians support criminalisation of environmental damage by govt: Survey

Nearly four out of five Indians support criminalising actions by government officials or leaders of large businesses that cause serious damage to nature and the climate, according to a new global survey. The Global Commons Survey 2024, conducted by Ipsos UK and commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance (GCA), also revealed that nearly three out of five (61 per cent) Indians believe that the government is doing enough to tackle climate change and environmental damage. Ninety per cent of them are worried about the state of nature today. Seventy-three per cent of the respondents feel that the Earth is approaching critical environmental "tipping points", where climate or natural systems, such as rainforests or glaciers, may change suddenly or be more difficult to stabilise in the future. Fifty-seven per cent believe that new technologies can resolve environmental issues without requiring significant changes in individual lifestyles, while 54 per cent think that many cla

Siberian 'gateway to hell' triples in size in 30 years, scientists worried

The Siberian giant hole, called 'gateway to hell', has increased its size three times in the last three decades. Scientists raise concerns about its potential threat to the environment

Revenge tendency among wolves behind attacks in UP's Bahraich: Expert

As Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich grapples with wolf terror, an expert has said the series of attacks on the residents of Mehsi tehsil might be due to wolves "seeking revenge" for possible habitat loss or killing of their cubs. Wolf attacks on humans, including children, have been taking place in Bahraich since March but they saw a spike from July 17 onwards during the rainy season. Till September 2, eight people, including seven children, have died in these attacks while about 36, including women, children and elderly, have been injured. Gyan Prakash Singh, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) and a former forest officer at Katarniaghat Wildlife Division of Bahraich district, said wolves, unlike other predatory animals, have a tendency to seek revenge. "On the basis of my experience, I can say that wolves have a tendency to take revenge. In the past, humans must have caused some kind of harm to their cubs due to which these attacks are happening as revenge," Singh, who i

Teamwork with stakeholders key to solving Delhi's pollution woes: Gopal Rai

The problem of pollution in Delhi can only be solved through teamwork, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday as he urged the Centre to give permission for artificial rain during winter, when air quality levels in the city plummet. Addressing a press conference, Rai said though the Delhi government has taken several steps to address the problem, pollution levels in and around the national capital spike in November. "An emergency situation arises in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The Kejriwal government is working to reduce the pollution levels. Ever since our government came to power, the pollution levels have declined," he said. But November witnesses a spike in pollution levels, he said. "Last year, IIT-Kanpur submitted a proposal that artificial rain or a cloud seeding experiment could be done in Delhi. They said that financial management and security permissions were needed. Last year, there was very little time so permissions could not come through. "We held

DMRC redesigns Phase-4 construction plans to avoid felling 69 trees

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has redesigned its Phase-4 construction plan to save 69 trees on the Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg Corridor, officials said on Monday. They said that permission was received for felling overall 15,508 trees across Delhi for this phase, and approval was awaited for cutting 71 more on the Majlis ParkMaujpur Corridor. "The DMRC has redesigned its construction plans to avoid felling of 69 trees on the Janakpuri West to RK Ashram Marg corridor. Earlier, permission was sought for these trees as well. "For Phase-4 works overall, permission has been received for the cutting of 15,508 trees across Delhi. Out of these, 5,003 trees have been cut and over 7,000 have been transplanted," the official stated. The DMRC makes provisions for the plantation of 10 trees for each tree cut or transplanted for construction. All efforts are made to either avoid areas with trees while planning the alignment or transplantation, they said. However, delays in receiving

'Plant trees': Shah launches Rs 1,003 cr development projects in Ahmedabad

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched development projects costing Rs 1,003 crore in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city and appealed to the people to join the nation-wide tree plantation campaign to protect the environment. Highlighting the importance of trees to protect the environment and the ozone layer, Shah said the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has taken the pledge to plant 30 lakh trees in 100 days for the coming generation, and he is closely associated with the campaign. "This is a beautiful campaign, and it is a big thing that a municipal corporation will plant 30 lakh trees. But I would like to ask the citizens of Ahmedabad as to what will be your contribution?" he said. Shah said the people of Ahmedabad should plant at least those many trees as the number of their family members in their residential societies, nearby waste lands, and their children's schools. "Every citizen should make it the aim of their life to take steps to increase oxygen in the environment

Women tie rakhis to trees in UP's Shahjahanpur, offer fertilisers as sweets

In a unique effort to spread awareness about the need for environment preservation, women in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur have been tying rakhis to trees and offering them fertilizers instead of sweets. Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on Monday. The women participating in this campaign are part of a WhatsApp group called 'VIP'. The group is headed by a committee which plans and coordinates its activities. Raksha Bandhan symbolises the sacred feeling of a brother and a sister taking care of each other. The idea behind this initiative was to help people connect with the environment so that they are inspired to conserve it, committee president Neetu Gupta told PTI on Sunday. "We decided to get women to tie rakhis to trees. Since last Thursday, the members of our group have been tying rakhis to trees, applying tilak on them and watering them after mixing fertilizer in the soil as sweets," she said. "In view of the deepening climate change crisis, we thought that the best way to prot

SpaceX to launch methane satellite to hold super polluters accountable

Developed by Planet Labs PBC with technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Tanager-1 will be able to help pinpoint methane and carbon dioxide emissions from individual facilities

Kerala landslides: Army partially withdraws from disaster-hit areas

Nine days after the massive landslides hit this north Kerala district killing hundreds, the Army, which led the search and rescue operations and also built the Bailey bridge to connect areas isolated in the disaster, on Thursday decided to partially withdraw from here. The Army's decision to partially withdraw from the operations was announced by state PWD Minister P A Mohamed Riyas who said the force fulfilled its duty and thanked them for their service. Riyas said the 190-foot long Bailey bridge built in a record time by the Army was instrumental in intensifying the search and rescue operations in the Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas which were devastated in the disaster and isolated completely. The Minister told reporters at the District Collectorate here it was painful to see them leave as everyone worked together, "like one body and mind", all these days. He said that the Army came at a time of distress and therefore, there was an emotional difficulty in bidding them ...

Severe drought returns to Amazon. And it's happening earlier than expected

Holder of one-fifth of the world's fresh water, the Amazon is beginning the dry season with many of its rivers already at critically low levels, prompting governments to anticipate contingency measures to address issues ranging from disrupted navigation to increasing forest fires. The Amazon Basin is facing one of the most severe droughts in recent years in 2024, with significant impacts on several member countries, stated a technical note issued Wednesday by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year. Historically, the driest months are August and September, when fire and deforestation peak. So far, the most affected countries are Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, according to ACTO. On Monday, Brazil's federal water agency decreed a water shortage in two major basins, Madeira and Purus, which cove

Wayanad an eye-opener for Goa, no compromise on ecological stability: CM

The devastating landslides in Wayanad in Kera are an eye-opener for Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday. Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday, killing 190 people, including women and children, so far, while more than 200 are missing. "The Wayanad tragedy is an eye-opener for Goa. I have given instructions to various departments that ecologically sensitive areas, which are prone to such incidents should not be touched. The stability of such ecologically sensitive places cannot be compromised," the CM said in the assembly. "A system will be developed to report and monitor hill cutting in the state. The government has identified four landslide hot-spots located in high altitudes in the north-eastern, eastern parts and in low-lying areas of western and south-western parts," he said. The major cause of landslides in Goa are found to be extreme rainfall events, slope ...

Melting polar ice is slowing Earth's rotation, lengthening days, says study

A scientific paper has indicated that melting polar ice caps are redistributing mass around the equator, slowing Earth's rotation and lengthening days at an unprecedented rate

Prez Murmu urges people to take smaller, local steps to protect environment

Highlighting the recent spate of terrible heatwaves in India and frequent extreme weather events around the globe, President Droupadi Murmu asked people on Monday to take smaller and local steps to protect the environment for a better tomorrow. In a note on the social media platform 'X' after visiting the seashore in this temple town, Murmu said oceans and the rich variety of flora and fauna have suffered heavily due to pollution but people living in nature's lap have sustained traditions "that can show us the way". "Inhabitants of coastal areas, for example, know the language of the winds and waves of the sea. Following our ancestors, they worship the sea as God," she said, while suggesting ways to protect and conserve the environment. The President arrived in Odisha on a four-day tour on July 6. "There are places that bring us in closer touch with the essence of life and remind us that we are part of nature. Mountains, forests, rivers and seashores appeal to something deep within

Sustainable, profitable: Tech tools help cos minimise environmental impact

From managing waste to tracking energy use, sustainability has become part of strategy of firms

Private company booked for polluting Periyar river near Kochi in Kerala

A case has been registered against a private company for allegedly polluting Periyar river near Kochi weeks after protests by environmental activists and locals against the alleged illegal discharge of chemical effluents into the waterbody, which posed a threat to the biodeiversity in it. The state Pollution Control Board also reportedly slapped a notice on the institution, one among the several companies located on the banks of Periyar river here, after the violation was detected during their recent patrolling, sources said. Police and the PCB adopted the tough stand against the firm amidst a raging row over the recent mass death of fish in Periyar river. Kochi had witnessed widespread protests by fish farmers, local people, environmental activists and political parties after dead fish were found floating in large numbers in fish farms across panchayats such as Varapuzha, Kadamakkudy, and Cheranalloor near here last month A police officer said a case was registered against the ...