Un Climate Change Report

Over 77% of Earth's land became drier in last 30 years, warns UN report

Over 77 per cent of Earth's land experienced a drier climate during the three decades leading up to 2020, compared to the previous 30-year period, according to a report released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Monday. During the same period, global drylands expanded by approximately 4.3 million square kilometres an area nearly a third larger than India now covering more than 40 per cent of the Earth's land. The report, launched at the 16th conference of the UNCCD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, warned that if efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions fail, another 3 per cent of the world's humid areas are projected to transform into drylands by the end of this century. Meanwhile, the number of people living in drylands has doubled to 2.3 billion over the past three decades. Models suggest that as many as 5 billion could inhabit drylands by 2100 in a worst-case climate change scenario. These billions of people face even greater threats to their lives and liveliho

COP29: 'X' factor could shape Global South's future, climate talks at Baku

After two weeks of intense negotiations at the UN climate conference here, countries are facing an 'X' sitting in a bracket instead of a clear figure for the trillions of dollars needed to help developing nations fight climate change -- a problem they did not create. Developed countries, which built their economies on fossil fuels and are responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, are still avoiding a key question: how much climate finance will they provide to developing countries each year starting in 2025? At the UN climate conference in Baku, they are required to update the climate finance goal of USD 100 billion agreed upon in 2009 to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year to meet the needs of developing countries amid the intensifying impacts of climate change. It's the final day of the conference, and countries are awaiting a new "acceptable" version of the draft text that can be refined to produce a balanced outcome. The draft text on the new ..

COP-16: World's 1st global ecosystem atlas unveiled; how will it help biz

The new initiative aims to help governments, businesses, financial institutions, and local communities to make informed decisions, support sustainability and manage risks

Commonwealth leaders to discuss slavery reparations, climate change

Island leaders are expected to issue a declaration on ocean protection at the summit, with climate change being a central topic of discussion

Differential exposure: How climate change hits the poor the hardest

Among Indian firms, the paper finds smaller non-agricultural firms are more exposed to flooding and heat than larger firms

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

Education systems under siege: Climate change threatens global learning

A UNESCO report claims that heat, floods, and storms are causing widespread learning loss, especially in low- and middle-income countries, threatening decades of educational progress

China warns of hotter, longer heatwaves as avg temperatures hit new highs

Last year, average national temperatures hit a new high, leading to record levels of glacial retreat and melting permafrost in the northwest

Mission 2025 group urges governments to aim more ambitious climate goals

Corporate backers include consumer goods company Unilever, the world's biggest furniture retailer IKEA and British sustainable energy company Octopus EV

Mission 2025 group urges governments to aim more ambitious climate goals

Corporate backers include consumer goods company Unilever, the world's biggest furniture retailer IKEA and British sustainable energy company Octopus EV

Four in five people want stronger climate action, says UNDP survey

Only 7 per cent of people globally said their country should not transition at all

EU Commission plan may exempt long-haul flights from new emissions rules

The EU is developing plans to require airlines to track and report their contribution to climate change from January 2025

Global temperature may briefly cross 1.5 degree C threshold by 2028: UN

The 1.5 degree Celsius threshold refers to a key goal of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. The agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels

World hits streak of record temperatures as UN warns of 'climate hell'

The average global temperature for the 12-month period to the end of May was 1.63 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average

India sizzles at 50 degrees Celsius: A look at world record temperatures

Multiple cities in India recorded their highest maximum temperatures of the season on Tuesday, the weather body said, naming Rajasthan's Churu as the warmest district so far

China plans to cut CO2 emission in key sectors by 1% of 2023 level

The plan said China would 'strictly' control coal consumption, 'reasonably' control petroleum consumption and promote use of biofuel and sustainable aviation fuel

Over 50% of world's mangroves at risk due to climate change: IUCN

More than half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse, with nearly one in five facing severe risk, according to the findings of the first global mangrove assessment. Climate change threatens one-third (33 per cent) of the mangrove ecosystems, according to the study done using the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems -- a global standard for measuring the health of ecosystems. Deforestation, development, pollution and dam construction pose a serious threat to mangroves, but the risk to these ecosystems is increasing due to sea-level rise and the increased frequency of severe storms due to climate change. "IUCN's Red List of Ecosystems is key to tracking progress towards the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The first global assessment of mangrove ecosystems gives key guidance that highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of ...

Weather reports from satellites help India's farming innovation drive

The Indian government, which just relaxed foreign investment rules for the space sector, is leaning heavily into the use of satellite data to solve problems on the ground, with agriculture a key focus

Current carbon removal plans inadequate to meet Paris Agreement goals

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

ADB's numbers on climate adaptation finance in Asia 'overstated': Oxfam

The Asian Development Bank's actual finance numbers for its largest climate adaptation projects in countries in Asia, including India, are "overstated" and could be off by 44 per cent, USD 0.9 billion instead of the reported USD 1.7 billion, Oxfam claimed in a report. The ADB, however, reaffirmed its figures, standing by its methodology and commitment to deliver USD 100 billion in climate financing by 2030, with USD 34 billion earmarked for adaptation and resilience. "We stand by our climate adaptation finance numbers" and the bank's determination is to fulfil its climate financing goals and its recent increase in climate finance commitments in 2023, a spokesperson of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said, responding to the report released by Oxfam, a non-profit. The report "Unaccountable Adaptation: The Asian Development Bank's overstated claims on climate adaptation finance" focused on ADB's largest climate adaptation projects in Asia and the Pacific, examining 15 major initiative