• DTE - Web

Natural Resource Extraction in Ghana Needs Tighter Regulations, Finds Survey

Ghana’s natural resources need to be better regulated to reduce environmental damage, a recent survey has found. Local communities are also deprived of their fair share of benefits of natural resource extraction. Over 60 per cent of Ghanaians believe mining, oil drilling and wood harvesting negatively impact the environment, a survey released November 8, 2022, by research network Afro barometer found. The results were based on interviews by non-profit research and advocacy institute Ghana Center for Democratic Development on behalf of Afrobarometer. The research network provides data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance and quality of life. The government needs to tighten regulation of natural resource extraction, over 85 per cent of the survey participants said.

• Down To Earth

Glacial meltdown leaving Kashmir's farmers bereft of hope

Climate change continues to have an adverse effect in the northern parts of India, especially in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. With temperatures heating up, glaciers and ice sheets around the world and especially above the Kashmir Valley are now in a severe meltdown stage, driving up sea levels, causing floods in some parts and droughts in other parts. Nearly 70 percent of Kashmir’s population is heavily dependent on farming and allied agricultural practices and activities for its survival, and therefore, is naturally in a state of panic and alarm over news of the rapid snow-melt, which could damage their crops hugely. Scientists in India and abroad have been issuing warnings about warming temperatures at regular intervals. In spring this year, we heard about Kashmir’s mustard crops being washed away by flood waters. Now we are hearing news of the rice, corn and bean harvests taking a severe hit because there hasn’t been sufficient natural water to water them. The farming community, according to one report, is extremely upset by the unexpected climatic changes as they have been left with a “Hobson’s Choice”, i.e., who to feed, the family or the livestock? Geo-climatic conditions in India make it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries and therefore, the management of such calamities, when they occur and in its aftermath, become critical both within its borders and across the region. Brighter Kashmir has been giving regular updates about the damaging impact of climate change on the local agriculture sector. In May this year, the daily warned climate change impacting Jammu and Kashmir’s apple yield. In its report then it said that apple production in the valley had been majorly hit due to factors like global warming, climate change, poor irrigation, excessive use of pesticides and unregulated construction activity. It cautioned the UT administration to provide irrigation at short intervals for Kashmir’s apple orchards and to have a rethink about its conservation strategies to improve irrigation by creating more tube wells for water storage, etc. A month earlier, in April, Brighter Kashmir warned of Jammu and Kashmir being on the cusp of an imminent climatic disaster and potential economic crisis. Citing a report of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the daily revealed that of the ten glaciers located in J&K, most of them, if not all, were melting. According to the CSE study, the region’s largest glacier – Kolahoi -- has lost 23 percent of its original area since 1962. To get a better perspective of this worrisome phenomenon, Brighter Kashmir approached Professor Dr Ghulam Jeelani of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Kashmir, who warned all those months back that both the Kolahoi Glacier and the Shafat Glacier were disappearing at a rapid rate because of increased global warming, and that this could make the Kashmir Valley a severe water stressed area. Professor Jeelani was forthright in saying then that, “Glacial melting is definitely affecting the agricultural sector and the horticulture of the region.” He also warned of the danger of thawing permafrost. “When the earth remains frozen for at least two consecutive years, it is called permafrost. When permafrost melts, it can damage and destroy infrastructure like roads, houses and bridges,” he said. The Journal, Nature Geoscience, said in its February 2022 report that glaciers across the world now contain far less ice than previously thought. It said that glaciers have lost roughly 5.4 trillion tons of ice between 2000 and 2019 alone. Agricultural experts are now warning that even a small shift in the snowmelt pattern can create an agricultural crisis in the Valley and by extension affect other sectors of the region’s economy. There is one report that claims that farmers in South Kashmir have lost around 70 percent of their crops this season due to dry spells and floods. Glacial experts like Shakil Ahmad Romshoo claim that the seven glaciers of J&K and Ladakh have been shrinking at an average of five metres per year now, instead of the average one metre per year since 2016. The truth of the matter is that the Himalayas are getting hotter, melting glaciers faster in spring. Flooding is getting more intense because of increased rainfall. In summer, the reverse happens; there isn’t enough water to irrigate the crops because of drought. If temperatures keep rising and "extraordinary glacier melting" becomes the norm, that could threaten food, energy and water security in the entire region. Kashmir's Department of Agriculture is fighting an uphill battle to provide the farming community with up-to-date information about climate swings and immediate help when droughts or floods wipe out crops. The UT administration has also introduced a national crop insurance scheme that compensates farmers for losses caused by extreme weather events. The need of the hour is to upgrade data collection to help Kashmir's farmers reverse this negative climatic trend.

• Director General Office

The routine air pollution crisis

The fact is Delhi is also part of the pollution problem - its sources of combustion add to the pollution of neighbouring states and theirs to Delhi Every year around October 20, without fail, there is shock and alarm in my city, Delhi. This is when air pollution peaks — and the pandemonium, name-calling and blame-game begin. We choke and scream, and all hell breaks loose in television studios as anchors demand answers over the noxious haze and politicians find ways to shirk responsibility. Over the past few years, there have been two courses of action, or inaction. One, our city government has commissioned study after study so that the “real” sources of pollution are identified and action is taken. Second, it has insisted that the contribution to pollution is from “outside” — it belongs to another government — which is then promptly denied by this “other” government. And in this way, we keep going around in circles. The fact is — and I repeat myself — we know the sources of pollution, even though the exact contribution of each sector may change with different studies and in different seasons. These are combustion-related emissions from vehicles, factories, diesel generators, power plants and household cooking, and dust from roads, construction sites and others. Remember that dust is not a pollutant, it is toxic because it is coated with emissions from combustion. So the first question that should be asked every winter — indeed every month before the winter sets in — is what steps have been taken to address these combustion-related emissions and what more needs to be done. The second question is about the boundaries of the airshed. There is no doubt that when farmers burn crop residue to clear fields for the next planting season, the winds on certain days carry the pollutants to Delhi and its surrounding areas. If this happens when the weather is adverse (local wind speed is slow or there is moisture in the air), pollution levels rise and the air becomes deadly. Today, as I write this column, I struggle to breathe. Then there are industries that were relocated from the city but are still using coal or other dirty sources of fuel. These industries, now in Delhi’s neighbours, further add to the deadly pollution cocktail. The bottom line is that air pollution knows no boundaries. So this politics of finger-pointing and scoring points will not lead to cooperation or meaningful action. The fact is Delhi is also part of this pollution problem — its sources of combustion add to the pollution of neighbouring states and theirs to Delhi. I write this, hoping that we can put the meaningless debates aside and focus on what really matters — drastic action against every source of pollution. This is where we need the report card. Take vehicles, for instance. Two expressways have been built to divert trucks from Delhi; the congestion charge on truck entry is also working. But all this is not enough. We now need to change the fleet of trucks so that the much cleaner vehicles built using BS6 emission technology come on to roads. This would require a well-financed scrapping programme so that truck owners can be subsidised to make this switch. We need a much-augmented plan to reinvent mobility so that we can move people, not cars. We cannot get clean air with half-baked public transport plans, where a few buses are added all in the name of mobility. We need real change in Delhi and in the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR). Then, of course, comes the use of coal as fuel in industries and power plants. Delhi has shut down its last coal power plant, but, as I said, air pollution knows no boundaries. Thermal power plants in the NCR continue to use coal without improvement in their emission technologies. Delhi has also banned the use of coal in its “legal” industrial areas, but there is more industry working in illegal areas and here enforcement is non-existent. The Commission for Air Quality Management in the NCR and Adjoining Areas — established by the Union government to take steps to mitigate pollution — has directed industries in the NCR to move away from coal to natural gas or biomass. But today, the price of natural gas is prohibitive — the Ukraine war and the demand for gas in rich Europe have made sure that cleaner natural gas is uneconomical to burn in countries like India. This, then, is the other question we need to ask. Will reducing the tax burden on natural gas — currently as high as 50 per cent — make it more feasible? What else can be done to provide cleaner electricity to industries in the region? Farmers burn their straw not because they are cussed but because they do not have alternatives. Today, even when machines exist for in-situ straw management, they often do not have the money to pay for this equipment or time to transport the bales to industries that would use it to substitute coal. Much more needs to be done so that farmers see a value in this straw. This season of despair and air distress will not go away without these hard, decisive, scaled-up and year-long actions. Let’s keep this report card open when we discuss pollution next year — same time.

• Down To Earth

Peristiwa Cuaca Ekstrem Melanda India Hampir Setiap Hari

Jakarta - Hampir setiap hari dalam sembilan bulan pertama tahun ini, India mencatat peristiwa cuaca ekstrem, termasuk gelombang panas, gelombang dingin, angin topan, petir, hujan lebat, banjir, dan tanah longsor. Center for Science and Environment (CSE), organisasi penelitian dan advokasi kepentingan publik di India, mengatakan bencana perubahan iklim lokal terjadi pada 241 dari 273 hari hingga 1 Oktober 2022 dan telah merenggut sedikitnya 2.755 jiwa. Bencana itu juga mempengaruhi sekitar 1,8 juta hektar lahan tanaman, membunuh lebih dari 69.000 ternak, dan menghancurkan 416.667 rumah. Laporan tersebut muncul saat para pemimpin global berkumpul untuk Konferensi Perubahan Iklim PBB (COP27), yang saat ini berlangsung di Sharm El Sheikh, Mesir. "Ini adalah pertanda jelas perubahan iklim. Ini bukan tentang satu peristiwa, tetapi tentang peningkatan frekuensi peristiwa, bahwa apa yang kami lihat sebagai peristiwa ekstrem dalam 100 tahun sekarang telah dikompres menjadi satu dalam lima tahun atau bahkan kurang," kata Direktur Jenderal CSE Sunita Narain kepada DW. Pada COP27 di Mesir, India ingin mendorong untuk memastikan bantuan bagi negara berkembang, termasuk melindungi tenaga kerjanya yang dipekerjakan di industri terkait bahan bakar fosil saat transisi ke sumber energi terbarukan. Selain itu bantuan dana dibutuhkan untuk pembiayaan adaptasi iklim, mitigasi, dan bantuan keuangan untuk kerugian dan kerusakan akibat perubahan iklim. India 'kehilangan hingga 5% dari PDB-nya karena perubahan iklim' India mengalami kerugian pendapatan sebesar US$159 miliar (€158,6 miliar), hampir 5,4% dari produk domestik brutonya, karena panas yang ekstrem pada tahun 2021, menurut Climate Transparency Report (CTR) 2022. Menurut CTR, paparan panas tahun lalu di India menyebabkan hilangnya 167 miliar jam kerja, meningkat 39% dibandingkan dengan 10 tahun terakhir abad ke-20. "Frekuensi dan intensitas peristiwa cuaca ekstrem akan semakin meningkat seiring dengan meningkatnya suhu global," kata Chandra Bhushan, Pendiri dan Direktur International Forum for Environment, Sustainability, & Technology, kepada DW. "India sudah kehilangan 3-5% dari PDB-nya karena perubahan iklim, dan jumlah ini bisa meningkat hingga 10% jika pemanasan tidak dibatasi di bawah 2 derajat Celsius." "Sementara banyak yang sedang dilakukan untuk meningkatkan sistem peringatan dini dan menyediakan penyelamatan dan bantuan, India perlu berinvestasi lebih banyak dalam adaptasi dan ketahanan. Ini akan membutuhkan dukungan global dalam mengelola dampak iklim," tambahnya. Sekitar 80% penduduk India tinggal di daerah yang sangat rentan terhadap bencana ekstrem seperti banjir parah atau gelombang panas. Di dalam negeri, India telah menetapkan target iklim nasional yang ambisius, yang dikenal sebagai Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) dan juga tujuan nol bersih, atau netralitas karbon. Pada COP26 tahun lalu, Perdana Menteri India Narendra Modi berjanji untuk mencapai netralitas karbon pada tahun 2070. Janji pendanaan dan transisi iklim India menginginkan janji USD100 miliar per tahun – janji dana iklim untuk negara berkembang yang dibuat negara-negara industri maju pada COP15 tahun 2009 – untuk dipenuhi sampai 2020. Namun, sudah dua tahun lewat, dana itu belum ada. "Negara-negara maju harus memenuhi target dan kewajiban mereka terhadap pendanaan iklim, yang gagal mereka lakukan," kata Menteri Lingkungan Hidup Bhupender Yadav kepada wartawan menjelang KTT COP27 di Mesir. Dia memimpin delegasi India yang beranggotakan 18 orang di konferensi perubahan iklim PBB itu. Abinash Mohanty, mantan Direktur Center for Environment, Energy, and Climate Change, mengatakan kepada DW "2022 telah menjadi bukti beberapa iklim ekstrem yang lebih keras dan suram di seluruh dunia, dan tidak terkecuali India. Frekuensi dan intensitas ekstrem ini akan melampaui semua ambang batas di masa depan." Dia berpendapat, India harus memastikan bahwa kerja sama regional dan kerja sama Utara-Selatan harus digalang untuk menanggulangi guncangan iklim. Diperlukan solusi sistemik, teknologi, dan keuangan yang didukung oleh bukti berbasis sains, sehingga memberikan akses ke informasi iklim untuk semua.

• Down To Earth

Öfgar í veðri orðnar nánast daglegt brauð á Indlandi

Þrumuveður, úrhellisrigningar, aurskriður, flóð, kuldaköst, hitabylgjur, hvirfilbyljir, þurrkar, sandstormar, stórhríð. Á fyrstu níu mánuðum ársins hafa veðuröfgar átt sér stað á Indlandi allt að því daglega. Á nán­ast hverjum degi fyrstu níu mán­uði árs­ins hafa öfga­full veður geisað á Ind­landi. Við erum að tala um hita­bylgj­ur, kulda­köst, hvirf­il­bylji, þrumu- og eld­inga­veð­ur, úrhelli, flóð og aur­skrið­ur. Umhverf­is- og vís­inda­stofnun Ind­lands (CSE) segir í nýút­gef­inni skýrslu sinni að öfgar í veðri hafi átt sér stað 241 dag af fyrstu 273 dögum árs­ins. Á 88 pró­sentum tíma­bils­ins. Stofn­unin segir enn­fremur að vegna þess­ara öfga hafi 2.755 manns týnt lífi, 1,8 millj­ónir hekt­ara rækt­ar­lands orðið fyrir tjóni, um 415 þús­und hús eyði­lagst og tæp­lega 70 þús­und dýr sem ræktuð eru til mann­eldis fall­ið. Sér­fræð­inga­hópur milli­ríkja­nefndar Sam­ein­uðu þjóð­anna um lofts­lags­breyt­ingar (IPCC) skil­greinir veð­ur­öfgar sem atburði sem ger­ast oftar eða á öðrum stöðum og á öðrum tímum en að með­al­tali síð­ustu ára­tugi. Skýrslan sýnir það sem vís­inda­menn svo sem vissu. Að Ind­verjar eru meðal þeirra jarð­ar­búa sem helst eru farnir að finna fyrir ham­förum vegna lofts­lags­breyt­inga. „Þetta er til merkis um lofts­lags­breyt­ing­ar. Þetta snýst ekki um einn atburð heldur aukna tíðni margra atburða – að þær veð­ur­öfgar sem við áður sáum einu sinni á hund­rað árum hafa orðið tíð­ari og verða einu sinni á fimm ára fresti eða oft­ar,“ segir Sunita Nara­in, for­stjóri CSE. Og öfgarnar hafa vissu­lega komið harka­lega niður á efna­hag Ind­lands. Talið er að í fyrra, þegar gríð­ar­legir hitar hrjáðu Ind­verja, hafi um 5,4 pró­sent af lands­fram­leiðsl­unni tap­ast. Einn mæli­kvarði sem bent hefur verið á eru vinnu­stund­ir. Þær voru 167 millj­örðum færri árið 2021, 39 pró­sent­um, en að með­al­tali tíu árin þar á und­an. Sendi­nefnd Ind­verja á lofts­lags­ráð­stefn­unni (COP27) sem nú stendur yfir í Egypta­landi, hafa vakið athygli á þessu og vilja m.a. tryggja að ekki verði gengið of nærri jarð­efna­elds­neyt­is­vinnslu í land­inu sem skapar gríð­ar­lega mörg störf í landi sem er að reyna að brjót­ast út úr fátækt. Stjórn­völd hafa sett sér mark­mið um að draga úr fram­leiðslu og notkun jarð­efna­elds­neytis á sama tíma og byggt verðir verða upp frek­ari inn­viðir fyrir vinnslu og notkun end­ur­nýj­an­legra orku­gjafa. Og öfgarnar hafa vissu­lega komið harka­lega niður á efna­hag Ind­lands. Talið er að í fyrra, þegar gríð­ar­legir hitar hrjáðu Ind­verja, hafi um 5,4 pró­sent af lands­fram­leiðsl­unni tap­ast. Einn mæli­kvarði sem bent hefur verið á eru vinnu­stund­ir. Þær voru 167 millj­örðum færri árið 2021, 39 pró­sent­um, en að með­al­tali tíu árin þar á und­an. Sendi­nefnd Ind­verja á lofts­lags­ráð­stefn­unni (COP27) sem nú stendur yfir í Egypta­landi, hafa vakið athygli á þessu og vilja m.a. tryggja að ekki verði gengið of nærri jarð­efna­elds­neyt­is­vinnslu í land­inu sem skapar gríð­ar­lega mörg störf í landi sem er að reyna að brjót­ast út úr fátækt. Stjórn­völd hafa sett sér mark­mið um að draga úr fram­leiðslu og notkun jarð­efna­elds­neytis á sama tíma og byggt verðir verða upp frek­ari inn­viðir fyrir vinnslu og notkun end­ur­nýj­an­legra orku­gjafa. AUGLÝSING Ind­verjar hafa sett sér metn­að­ar­full og að því er talið er raun­hæf lofts­lags­mark­mið. Þannig hafa stjórn­völd ein­sett sér að ná kolefn­is­hlut­leysi fyrir árið 2070. Þá er stefnt að því að draga úr losun gróð­ur­húsa­loft­teg­unda um 45 pró­sent fyrir árið 2030. Á næstu átta árum er enn­fremur stefnt að því að orka frá end­ur­nýj­an­legum orku­gjöfum verði um 50 pró­sent af allri fram­leiðslu fyrir lok ára­tug­ar­ins. Sér­fræð­ingar benda á að aukin tíðni og ákefð veð­ur­öfga muni halda áfram að aukast með hækk­andi hita­stigi á jörð­inni. Öfgar í veðri eru farnar að bitna á efna­hag Ind­lands og munu halda áfram að gera það í auknum mæli. Þar sem öfgarnar virð­ast vera að skella á af fullum þunga þessi miss­erin er ekki hægt að bíða eftir að aðgerðir til að vinna gegn hlýnun lofts­lags skili árangri. Ind­verjar verði að hafa ítar­legar áætl­anir um hvernig eigi að aðlag­ast breyttu veð­ur­fari. Til þess verk­efnis þurfa þeir stuðn­ing alþjóða sam­fé­lags­ins. Um 80 pró­sent Ind­verja búa á svæðum sem eru við­kvæm fyrir öfgum í veðri, s.s. fyrir flóðum eða hita­bylgj­um. Þróuð hafa verið við­vör­un­ar­kerfi, kerfi sem vara fólk við flóða­hættu og felli­bylj­um, en þau ná ekki enn til allra. Svo er mis­jafnt hvort að fólk hafi yfir höfuð burði til að bregð­ast við slíkum við­vör­un­um. Leita skjóls. Flýja tíma­bund­ið. Sér­fræð­ingar segja að afleið­ingar öfga­veð­urs á Ind­landi í ár eigi enn eftir að koma fram. Bæði sé um áhrif til styttri og lengri tíma að ræða. „Eftir því sem fleiri gögn koma fram í dags­ljósið þá sjáum við að lofts­lags­breyt­ingar eru að eiga sér sífellt hraðar stað og öfga­fullir veð­ur­at­burðir að ger­ast hver ofan í ann­an,“ segir Roxy Mathew Koll, lofts­lags­sér­fræð­ingur við Hita­belt­is­stofn­un­ina á Ind­landi. „Þetta er að ger­ast hraðar en við áttum von á.“ Hún segir Suð­ur­-Asíu vera „tákn­mynd“ lofts­lags­breyt­inga og að í þeim heims­hluta sjá­ist skýr merki um tíð­ari hita­bylgj­ur, flóð, þurrka og felli­bylji. Allt þetta hafi svo áhrif á orku­ör­yggi, aðgang að hreinu vatni og mat­væl­um. AUGLÝSING Aðlögun að lofts­lags­breyt­ingum er rán­dýrt fyr­ir­bæri. Efna­meiri þjóðir hétu því á COP15, lofts­lags­ráð­stefnu Sam­ein­uðu þjóð­anna árið 2009, að fjár­magna slíkt, hétu gríð­ar­legum upp­hæðum í þessi þörfu verk­efni hjá fátæk­ari lönd­um. Löndum sem bera minnsta ábyrgð á lofts­lags­breyt­ingum af manna­völdum en bera hit­ann og þung­ann af afleið­ing­un­um. Stjórn­völd á Ind­landi vilja að ríku löndin standi við þessi lof­orð sem ekki hafa verið efnd, tveimur árum eftir þann frest sem þau fengu. Þau hafa enda lagt áherslu á það á COP27 að þessar bætur fáist – og það sem fyrst. Nýja skýrslan um veð­ur­öfgar árs­ins sýni svart á hvítu hversu brýnt sé að bregð­ast við. Ekki seinna en strax.

• Director General Office

COP27: Only together can we win

It's a nightmare moment for climate change activists like me as we head for the next conference of parties (COP27) — this time being organised in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. The rich world, which has to act decisively to cut fossil fuel emissions and to finance transitions in the rest of the world, is going through its own economic crisis. Energy prices are high; this winter, it will be tough for households to stay warm. Climate change sceptics and the fossil fuel industry are close to taking a victory lap as they whip up public opinion against the needed energy transition — out of fossil fuel and into cleaner sources. The rich countries are already moving towards reinvestment in fossil fuels, although they say this is temporary and that they will go back to meeting their commitments to decarbonise. It's going to be a hard winter and beyond. This is when every region has experienced the pain of extreme weather disasters — from floods to heatwaves, and from forest fires to the changing intensity and frequency of cyclones and hurricanes. We are seeing a glimpse of what awaits us as temperatures increase further — from the 1.1°C rise now since the pre-industrial era. It is the revenge-of-nature moment that we have brought on ourselves by years of procrastination. The world has refused, again and again, to accept the basic principles that must guide action on climate change. First, climate change is a global problem and it requires cooperation between all nations. Second, it needs rules that are fair and just, for the poor and the rich alike. Third, science is clear that humans are responsible for the global temperature rise and that this increase will lead to more and more variable and extreme weather events, much like what we are seeing now. Four, it is possible to estimate each country's responsibility for the stock of emissions already in the atmosphere — the historical cumulative emissions that have "forced" climate change impacts. And fifth, countries that have not yet contributed to the emissions will do so in the future, simply because the world has reneged on the need to make global rules that would apply fairly to all. This is not a tragedy of the commons. It is a monumental failure of collective leadership. Our failure. At COP27, we have an opportunity to repair this terrible mess we are in — not all of it, but at least to restore a semblance of trust. The world can do this by putting on the table the issue of loss and damage — the negotiations on the need to pay for damages that the countries of the South are experiencing because of climate change issue of loss and damage is not new — the demand for this goes back to the time when the climate agreement was in the making in the 1990s. But it has been sidelined, openly rejected and dismissed. It made its way into the Paris Agreement only after the affected and vulnerable countries accepted that loss and damage would not become a basis for any "liability or compensation". This is when environmental jurisprudence demands that the polluters should pay. This global politics, where the rules are made by the rich and for the rich, as it would seem, needs to be addressed in the face of the catastrophic events that are breaking the backs of countries, making their people even more vulnerable to future shocks and forcing them to migrate out of homes that they call their own. We cannot just call these events new normal and turn the page. This is why loss and damage must be on the table — not to be pushed away with another puny promise of a fund that never materialises but to be accepted as a legitimate demand of countries that need reparations for damages they are enduring. But this negotiation must be based on the agreement enshrined in the climate convention — that cumulative emissions of countries must be the basis of their responsibility to act. The numbers on the emissions — and which countries have appropriated the carbon budget of the world — are known and cannot be dismissed. This has to be the basis of who will be liable to pay compensation for the loss and damage. Given that the gentlemen-negotiators do not like to call a spade a spade, they can choose to avoid all the references to liability or compensation, but they must not erase the principle of why and who in the world must take this action. The world must also go back to rule-based decisions and not base its decision on the whims and fancies of the powerful. I am saying this because facts show that China — part of the Group of developing countries — is now yesterday's US. Its annual emissions are double of what the US, the second highest (but historically largest), emits. By 2030, China will equalise its emissions on a per capita basis with the US and also its share of the already depleted carbon budget. This is why we need rules for all — what was proposed in 1992 and what the world has shunned and shirked. Had the US agreed to emission reductions based on its contribution, the same would have been applied to others — including China. But now, it's free for all. This is not the regime that the world needs for loss and damage. There is enough evidence that while countries could have worked to reduce climate impacts, say, through better flood and drainage planning, the scale and ferocity of the extreme events are unprecedented and devastating. So, this climate nightmare moment can turn into a dream only if the world that gathers in Egypt has the courage to act differently and to realise that in this only one Earth of ours, we are interdependent. (Writer is Director General of CSE and editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets; https://www.downtoearth.org.in/)

• Sustainable Habitat

Delhi Earthquake: एक हफ्ते में दूसरी बार भूकंप से दहला दिल्ली, प्रशासनिक अनदेखी से आ सकती है बड़ी तबाही

दिल्ली-एनसीआर में शनिवार शाम को एक हफ्ते में लगातार दूसरी बार तेज झटके के भूकंप ने लोगों को दहशत में डाल दिया है। भूकंप के लिहाजा से दिल्ली-एनसीआर सिस्मिक जोन चार में है। इसलिए भूकंप का खतरा ज्यादा है। ऐसे में किसी भी वक्त भूकंप के तेज झटके आने की संभावना बनी हुई है। इसके बावजूद प्रशासन इसे लेकर बहुत ज्यादा गंभीर नहीं है। यही वजह है कि न तो भूकंपरोधी इमारतें बनाने पर ध्यान दिया जा रहा है और न पुरानी इमारतों की मजबूती सुनिश्चित करने के कारगर कदम उठाए जाते हैं। हाई कोर्ट के आदेश पर करीब दो साल पहले दिल्ली में नगर निगम ने नियोजित इलाकों में कराए गए सर्वे में 30 साल और उससे पुरानी करीब 96 प्रतिशत बहुमंजिली इमारतों का ढांचा भूकंप झेल पाने के अनुकूल नहीं पाया गया था। फिर भी अभी तक भवनों की मजबूती सुनिश्चित करने के लिए ज्यादा काम नहीं हुआ। वहीं अनधिकृत कालोनियों में भवनों के निर्माण में किसी दिशा निर्देश का पालन नहीं होता। प्रशासन की यह अनदेखी भारी पड़ सकता है और बड़ा भूकंप आने पर बड़ी तबाही हो सकती है। दिल्ली में 1799 अनधिकृत कालोनियां और बड़ी संख्या में लालडोरा क्षेत्र है। अनधिकृत कालोनियों में ही करी 40 लाख से अधिक आबादी रहती है लेकिन यहां निर्माण कार्य के लिए कोई मानक तय नहीं हैं। इन अनधिकृत कालोनियों में लोगों की जिंदगी भगवन भरोसे हैं। वोट बैंक की राजनीति के कारण इस अनियोजित बसावट को रोकने के लिए कोई ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया जा रहा है। अधिवक्ता अर्पित भार्गव के अनुसार राष्ट्रीय राजधानी में इमारतों को भूकंप रोधी और उनकी मजबूती सुनिश्चित करने के लिए दिल्ली हाइकोर्ट के आदेश पर 2019 में एक एक्शन प्लान बना था। इसके तहत दो वर्षों में सभी ऊंची इमारतों और अगले तीन वर्ष में सभी इमारतों की ढांचागत मजबूती सुनिश्चित करने को कहा गया था, लेकिन यह कार्य 10 प्रतिशत भी नहीं हुआ है।सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरनमेंट (सीएसई) में सस्टेनेबल हैबिटेट प्रोग्राम के निदेशक रजनीश सरीन ने कहा कि भूंकप रोधी निर्माण प्रणाली के अनुसार क्षेत्र भूकंप के लिहाज से जिस सिस्मिक जोन में होता है, उससे एक जोन अधिक ध्यान में रखकर भवन के ढांचे का निर्माण किया जाता है। यह मानक नियोजित इलाकों के भवनों व हाईराइज भवनों के लिए होता है। भूकंप की तीव्रता उसे झेल पाने के भवन की ढांचागत क्षमता से अधिक होने पर बड़ी तबाही आ सकती है। रखरखाव का अभाव बन सकता है तबाही का कारण उन्होंने कहा कि राष्ट्रीय राजधानी में बार-बार भूकंप आने की समस्या के मद्देनजर 30 साल और उससे अधिक पुराने भवनों के ढांचे को प्रमाणित कराने के लिए वर्ष 2020 में सर्वे हुआ था। इसका मकसद यह देखना था कि बहुमंजिली इमारतें भूकंप के लिहाज से कितनी सुरक्षित हैं। यह सर्वे लैब टेस्ट पर आधारित कम और आंख से भवन का ढांचा देखकर सर्वे अधिक किया गया। भवन के ढांचे की मजबूती का पता लगाने के निर्माण सामग्री और सरिया का सैंपल लैब में भेजकर जांच की जाती है ढांचा कितना मजबूत है। सर्वे में यह प्रक्रिया कम अपनाई गई। इसके अलावा तीन दशक में निर्माण की तकनीक बदल गई और अब दिल्ली एनसीआर में हाईराइज भवन बन रहे हैं। समय के साथ उन हाईराइज भवनों का रखरखाव प्रभावित होता है। बिल्डर कुछ सालों बाद रखरखाव की जिम्मेदारी आरडब्ल्यूए को सौंप देते हैं, जिसमें तकनीकी विशेषज्ञ शामिल नहीं होते। इसलिए रखरखाव व मरम्मत कार्य मानकों के अनुरूप नहीं होता। राजधानी के इन क्षेत्रों में है ज्यादा खतरा पृथ्वी विज्ञान मंत्रालय की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार पूर्वी दिल्ली, लुटियंस दिल्ली, सरिता विहार, पश्चिम विहार, वजीराबाद, करोलबाग, जनकपुरी भूकंप की दृष्टि से ज्यादा असुरक्षित है। छतरपुर, नारायणा, वसंत कुंज जैसे इलाके ज्यादा सुरक्षित हैं। राजधानी की पुरानी इमारतें 5 से 5.5 तीव्रता का भूकंप सह सकती हैं। दिल्ली में बनी नई इमारतें बनी हैं 6.6 तीव्रता के भूकंप को झेल सकती हैं।

• Down To Earth

India's Climate Battle

Extreme weather events have claimed nearly 3,000 lives in India just this year alone. The Centre for Science and Environment released its report on the impact of the climate crisis on the country just days ahead of the COP27 summit. Smita Sharma has the details. #climatedisasters #india #cop27

• Climate Change and Green Economy

Awaiting a paradigm shift

The 27th Conference of Parties (COP27), being held in Egypt, is a golden opportunity for countries to clear the logjam in the path of climate action. Global collaboration is undoubtedly the keyword when it comes to tackling the magnitude of climatic threats we have been facing presently. COP27 is markedly different from the previous versions due to certain reasons. Firstly, it has come at a time when climatic aberrations are approaching a saturation point of sorts. Secondly, it is being held in Africa — a continent which remains the worst sufferer of climate disasters that are taking a heavy toll on lives and livelihoods. Proportional and parallel to the intensification of climatic aberrations, debates and discussions, too, have reached the peak — without much action though. The theme of COP27 — 'Together for Implementation' — is aptly reflective of the prevailing circumstances. While the first keyword signifies the much-needed global cooperation, the second a fatigue from inactive discussions. As is known, the world today stands divided on the climate action front — the rich world is pushing developing countries to enhance climate action and wean them away from the use of non-renewable sources of energy while the developing world is demanding appropriate streamlining of climate finance. India, as a leader of developing countries, has come to the centre-stage of the climate action deliberations. At the COP27, right from the beginning, it has held the crux of entire deliberations — climate finance — to the forefront. With a largely suitable setting at the COP27, whether India will be able to break the ice is a critical question. But the focus is right. Until now, the loud talks around climate action have led to a faulty perception that a lot is being done in this regard while, in reality, very little action has materialised. Idea is abstract, and not sufficient in itself. It has to be backed by concrete action. And action at large scale is not possible without appropriate finances. Amid mutual blame games between the developed and the developing world, lack of climate finance is the real curse. As an acknowledgement of their responsibility for overexploiting natural resources to the planet's detriment, the developed countries at COP15 in Copenhagen (2009) had decided to jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries tackle the effects of climate change. Despite heavy talks, this promise remained largely a promise. As per a report by the Centre for Science and Environment, the climate finance flow has increased since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 but still remains substantially low. In 2015, the overall flow was USD 44.6 billion, and rose to USD 80.4 billion in 2019 and USD 83.3 billion in 2020. This was still below the USD 100 billion promise. If it were USD 100 billion a year, would a significant part of the problem be solved? Certainly not. A standing committee on finance has estimated that USD 6-11 trillion are required till 2030 to meet the targets set by developing countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Essentially, the annual USD 100 billion funding flow has by and large become obsolete. Developing countries' insistence upon it is only symbolic. It is against this background that the developing world is pushing for the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) — a brand new climate finance target that may run in trillions. An Indian delegation at the meeting averred that the "ambitious goal set down by the developing countries requires substantive enhancement in climate finance from the floor of USD 100 billion per year". The nature of this financing should be "long-term, concessional, and climate-specific with equitable allocation between adaptation and mitigation projects." Transparency is the key word making the rounds. It is reassuring to see that climate deliberations are heading towards a paradigm shift. It remains to be seen how far the developing countries will succeed in bringing about a positive change on the climate action front.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

प्रमो द जो शी का लेख : कौ न देगा दुनि या बचाने की कीमत

भा रत सहि त वि का सशी ल देश, अमी र देशों पर नए वि त्ती य-लक्ष्य पर सहमत हो ने के लि ए दबा व डा ल रहे हैं। सेंटर फॉ र सा इंस एंडएं एनवा यरनमेंट द्वा रा प्रका शि त फैक्टशी ट के अनुसा र 2020 में, वि कसि त देशों ने 83.3 अरब डॉ लर जुटा ए। यह रा शि 2019 में 80.4 अरब डॉ लर थी । 100 अरब डॉ लर का वा दा 2023 तक पूरा हो ने की आशा नहीं है। मि स्र में, एकत्र हुए देश 2024 के लि ए और बड़े वि त्ती य-लक्ष्य तय करना चा हते हैं। ज़ा हि र है कि क्ला इमेट-फा इनेंस और क्षति की भरपा ई के लि ए अमी र देशों पर दबा व बढ़ने लगा है, पर जि तनी देर हो गी , उतनी ला गत बढ़ती जा एगी । मि स्र के शर्म-अल-शेख में 6 नवंबर से शुरू हुए संयुक्त रा ष्ट्र के कॉ न्फ्रेंस ऑफ द पा र्टी ज (कॉ प-27) सम्मेलन में जलवा यु परि वर्तन से वैश्वि क चिं ता एं जुड़ी हैं। जलवा यु परि वर्तन के दुष्प्रभा वों से लड़ने के लि ए संयुक्त रा ष्ट्र का यह सबसे बड़ा सा ला ना का र्यक्रम है। इस वैश्वि क-वा र्ता के केंद्र में एक तरफ जहरी ली गैसों के बढ़ते जा रहे उत्सर्जन की चिं ता है, तो दूसरी तरफ आने वा ले वक्त में परि स्थि ति यों को बेहतर बना ने की का र्य-यो जना । इन सबसे ऊपर है पैसा और इंसा फ। गरी ब देश, अमी र देशों से जहर-मुक्त भवि ष्य की ओर जा ने के लि ए आर्थि क-सहा यता मां ग रहे हैं। वे उस नुकसा न की भरपा ई भी चा हते हैं जो वैश्वि क ता पमा न में बढ़ो तरी के का रण हो रहा है, जि समें उनका को ई हा थ नहीं है। पि छले पौ ने दो सौ सा ल के औद्यो गी करण के का रण वा ता वरण में जो जहरी ली गैसें गई थीं , वे अभी मौ जूद हैं।

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Farm fires and Delhi's pollution: Stop villainising the farmer

It is not as if Punjab farmers don't know how harmful it is to put fire to paddy stubbles. They know their families are the first ones to be smothered by pollution. How come they seem helpless then? Soon after the newspaper headlines screamed '38 per cent pollution in New Delhi region due to straw burning', the daggers were out. At every TV debate that followed, the panellists, including doctors, lawyers and experts, were up in arms against farmers, blaming them for the thick layer of the pungent smog that engulfs the capital city. ADVERTISEMENT Ads by Why is no action being taken against farmers, a panellist asked? Why has no FIR been filed against them, asked another. Even newspaper editorials wanted FIRs to be filed against the perpetrators. One can understand why the panellists were furious, but to call farmers criminals and demand the Punjab Pollution Control Board to take them into custody is unbecoming of the educated and elite. Such indignant behaviour is not only a reflection of their own ignorance, but also a clever way of deflecting attention from their own behaviour and responsibility. The day Delhi reported 'severe' pollution, strangely Punjab had 'moderate' air quality. Even on days when stubble burning increases to exceptionally high levels, the fact that Delhi itself is responsible for 62 per cent of the pollution load is glossed over. In October, a study by the Centre for Science & Environment said 14 million vehicles in Delhi were responsible for 51 per cent of the air pollution. Of this, while it is easy to restrict the entry of diesel trucks, the fact that the growing numbers of SUV cars, which are globally known to produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation industry, has never been questioned. SUV cars are the second-worst polluters globally, the first being the power sector. Although Delhi’s air quality worsens during the time of paddy harvest in the north-western region, the pollution levels remain high across the year. So much so that 15 years ago, even sitar maestro Ravi Shankar said driving in the city was like driving through a 'gas chamber'. In these 15 years, the air pollution load has only increased. It is not as if Punjab farmers don't know how harmful it is to put fire to paddy stubbles. They know their families are the first ones to be smothered by pollution. They are aware that burning crop residues destroys valuable soil nutrients as well. But knowing all the devastating impacts, how come they seem helpless? Punjab is the food granary. The intensive cropping pattern -- paddy, followed by wheat -- leaves a short window of two weeks, wherein farmers have to harvest the standing crop, take it to mandis and then undertake the wheat-sowing operations. With the state producing nearly 200 lakh tonnes of paddy straw every harvest season, its disposal becomes a problem. There are not many biomass power units that can absorb the huge biomass that is produced. The decomposer solution too has failed as it takes much longer for the stubbles to degrade in the soil. Given that paddy stubbles contain silica, it isn't suitable as fodder either. Burning of paddy straw, thus, is the easiest way out. Over the years, Punjab has been provided with 1.05 lakh machines for in-situ management, at 50 per cent subsidy for farmers and 80 per cent for cooperatives and aggregators. Machines like Happy seeder, Super seeder, Straw reaper, Chopper, Rotavator etc. are required to effectively manage stubbles. It also needs a tractor with a higher horsepower to operate the machines. Since these machines are used for not more than three weeks in a year, Punjab is staring at another problem in the years to come -- fast turning into a junkyard for machines. Already, the state is overloaded with tractors -- five lakh against the required one lakh. News reports say, given the high fuel cost, farmers prefer not to use these machines. With the average farm income being less than that of a chaprasi, and with Punjab farmers carrying a cumulative debt of Rs 1 lakh crore, they realise that these machines eat into their meagre profits. For years now, farmers have been demanding an incentive of Rs 3,000 per acre or enhancing the paddy Minimum Support Price by Rs 200 per quintal to enable them to manage the stubbles. If only the Centre had earlier provided for an adequate incentive package, the monumental health and environmental consequences arising from farm fires could have been avoided. Denial of an incentive all these years is primarily the reason for the failure to douse stubble-burning. Instead of coercing the farmers with legal action, the effort should be to understand their compulsions and help them overcome the crisis.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

भारत चाहता है नया जलवायु वित्त लक्ष्य

विकासशील देशों को अपने महत्वाकांक्षी लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए प्रति वर्ष 100 अरब डॉलर के स्तर से जलवायु वित्त में "पर्याप्त वृद्धि" की आवश्यकता होती है और समृद्ध देशों को संसाधनों की गतिशीलता का नेतृत्व करने की आवश्यकता होती है, भारत ने चल रहे संयुक्त राष्ट्र जलवायु शिखर सम्मेलन सीओपी 27 में जोर दिया है। विकासशील देशों को अपने महत्वाकांक्षी लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए प्रति वर्ष 100 अरब डॉलर के स्तर से जलवायु वित्त में "पर्याप्त वृद्धि" की आवश्यकता होती है और समृद्ध देशों को संसाधनों की गतिशीलता का नेतृत्व करने की आवश्यकता होती है, भारत ने चल रहे संयुक्त राष्ट्र जलवायु शिखर सम्मेलन सीओपी 27 में जोर दिया है। 2009 में कोपेनहेगन में COP15 में, विकसित देशों ने जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रभावों से निपटने में विकासशील देशों की मदद करने के लिए 2020 तक प्रति वर्ष 100 बिलियन डॉलर संयुक्त रूप से जुटाने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध किया था। हालाँकि, अमीर देश इस वित्त को देने में बार-बार विफल रहे हैं। भारत सहित विकासशील देश, अमीर देशों को एक नए वैश्विक जलवायु वित्त लक्ष्य के लिए सहमत होने के लिए प्रेरित कर रहे हैं - जिसे जलवायु वित्त (एनसीक्यूजी) पर नए सामूहिक मात्रात्मक लक्ष्य के रूप में भी जाना जाता है - जिसे वे कहते हैं कि इसे संबोधित करने और अनुकूलित करने की लागत के रूप में खरबों में होना चाहिए। जलवायु परिवर्तन बढ़ा है। बुधवार को COP27 में NCQG पर एक उच्च-स्तरीय मंत्रिस्तरीय संवाद में, भारत ने इस बात पर प्रकाश डाला कि राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर निर्धारित योगदान (NDC) के लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए जलवायु कार्यों के लिए विकसित देशों से वित्तीय, तकनीकी और क्षमता-निर्माण समर्थन की आवश्यकता है, जो लोग घटनाक्रम से अवगत हैं। . इंटरगवर्नमेंटल पैनल ऑन क्लाइमेट चेंज (आईपीसीसी) के काम का हवाला देते हुए, भारत ने कहा कि समृद्ध देश वातावरण में कार्बन स्टॉक में प्रमुख योगदानकर्ता हैं, जो स्पष्ट रूप से यूएनएफसीसीसी और इसके पेरिस समझौते के मूल सिद्धांतों के महत्व को अंतर्निहित करते हैं - इक्विटी और सामान्य लेकिन विभेदित जिम्मेदारियां और संबंधित क्षमताएं (सीबीडीआर-आरसी)। सीबीडीआर-आरसी जलवायु परिवर्तन को संबोधित करने में अलग-अलग देशों की विभिन्न क्षमताओं और अलग-अलग जिम्मेदारियों को स्वीकार करता है। "इस तरह, सम्मेलन और उसके पेरिस समझौते के प्रावधानों और सिद्धांतों को एनसीक्यूजी की चर्चा और परिणामों का मार्गदर्शन करना चाहिए ताकि एक समान परिणाम सुनिश्चित हो सके जो विकासशील देशों में जलवायु कार्रवाई को सक्षम बनाता है।" "विकासशील देशों द्वारा निर्धारित महत्वाकांक्षी लक्ष्य के लिए प्रति वर्ष 100 अरब डॉलर के न्यूनतम स्तर से जलवायु वित्त में पर्याप्त वृद्धि की आवश्यकता है। भारतीय प्रतिनिधिमंडल ने बैठक के दौरान कहा, संसाधनों को जुटाने के लिए विकसित देशों के नेतृत्व की जरूरत है और अनुकूलन और शमन परियोजनाओं के बीच समान आवंटन के साथ दीर्घकालिक, रियायती और जलवायु-विशिष्ट होना चाहिए। इसमें कहा गया है, "200 9 में विकसित देशों द्वारा 100 अरब डॉलर की प्रतिबद्धता न केवल जरूरतों के पैमाने को देखते हुए थी, बल्कि अभी तक हासिल नहीं की गई है।" आर्थिक सहयोग और विकास संगठन (ओईसीडी) के आंकड़ों के मुताबिक, अमीर देशों से मिलकर एक अंतर सरकारी निकाय, विकसित देशों ने 2013 में 52.5 अरब डॉलर जुटाए। 2015 में 44.6 अरब डॉलर तक गिरने के बाद, वित्त प्रवाह में लगातार वृद्धि हुई है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट द्वारा प्रकाशित एक फैक्ट शीट के अनुसार, 2020 में, विकसित देशों ने 83.3 बिलियन डॉलर जुटाए, जो 2019 में 80.4 बिलियन डॉलर से अधिक है। वित्त पर स्थायी समिति ने अनुमान लगाया है कि विकासशील देशों द्वारा अपने एनडीसी और अन्य संचार में निर्धारित लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए 2030 तक $ 6 ट्रिलियन से $ 11 ट्रिलियन की सीमा के संसाधनों की आवश्यकता है, जिसमें आवश्यकता निर्धारण रिपोर्ट भी शामिल है। एनडीसी वैश्विक तापमान वृद्धि को दो डिग्री सेल्सियस से नीचे, अधिमानतः 1.5 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक सीमित करने की राष्ट्रीय योजना है। भारतीय पक्ष ने कहा, "स्पष्ट रूप से, जलवायु वित्त की आवश्यकता तब भी बहुत अधिक है, जब अनुमानों ने पूरी तरह से पहचानी गई जरूरतों को पूरा नहीं किया है, खासकर अनुकूलन के लिए।" इस साल के सम्मेलन में, 6 से 18 नवंबर तक मिस्र के समुद्र तटीय सैरगाह शर्म अल-शेख में आयोजित किया जा रहा है, विकसित देशों से विकासशील देशों को अपनी जलवायु योजनाओं को और तेज करने के लिए प्रेरित करने की उम्मीद है। दूसरी ओर, विकासशील देश जलवायु परिवर्तन और परिणामी आपदाओं से निपटने के लिए आवश्यक वित्त और प्रौद्योगिकी प्रदान करने के लिए अमीर देशों से प्रतिबद्धता चाहते हैं। भारतीय प्रतिनिधिमंडल ने इस बात पर प्रकाश डाला कि जलवायु कार्रवाई के लिए बाजार दर पर वित्त की पहुंच से विकासशील देशों के वित्त पर काफी दबाव पड़ेगा। "आगे बढ़ते हुए, यदि महत्वाकांक्षी जलवायु लक्ष्यों को प्राप्त करना है, तो इन्हें विकासशील देशों द्वारा वित्तीय संसाधनों तक महत्वाकांक्षी, उपयुक्त और उचित पहुंच द्वारा परिलक्षित इरादों द्वारा समर्थित होने की आवश्यकता है। इसमें कहा गया है, "एनसीक्यूजी को इनमें से प्रत्येक आधार पर काम करने की जरूरत है और इस तरह विकासशील देशों द्वारा प्रभावी कार्रवाई को सक्षम बनाया जाना चाहिए।" भारत ने जोर देकर कहा कि यह जरूरी है कि तकनीकी विशेषज्ञ संवाद संसाधन जुटाने की मात्रा और गुणवत्ता पर ध्यान केंद्रित करें। "जबकि निजी क्षेत्र एक पूरक भूमिका निभा सकता है, विकसित देशों पर विभिन्न स्रोतों से जुटाने में नेतृत्व करने की प्रतिबद्धता है। विकसित देशों द्वारा लाए जाने वाले सार्वजनिक संसाधनों की सीमा जलवायु प्रवाह को निर्धारित करने में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाएगी। इसलिए, अकेले निजी वित्त पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना हतोत्साहित करने वाला है, "यह कहा।

• Sustainable Food Systems

'5 star dhokla': Is FSSAI nutritional labelling a challenge for MSME firms?

"Health star ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the c .. Read more at: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/fssais-nutritional-labelling-draft-norms-to-hit-msme-food-firms-trade-body/95441009

• Director General Office

Perennial dilemma

Since air pollution knows no boundaries, the politics of finger-pointing and scoring brownie points will obstruct cooperation or meaningful action Every year around October 20, without fail, there is shock and alarm in my city, Delhi. This is when the air pollution peaks — and the pandemonium, name-calling and blame-games begins. We choke, we scream, and all hell breaks loose in television studios as anchors demand answers over the noxious haze and politicians find ways to shirk responsibility. Over the past few years, there have been two courses of action, or inaction. One, our city government has commissioned study after study so that the "real" sources of pollution are identified and action is taken. Second, it has insisted that the contribution to pollution is from "outside" — it belongs to another government — which is then promptly denied by this "other" government. And in this way, we keep going around in circles. The fact is — and I repeat myself — we know the sources of pollution, even though the exact contribution of each sector may change with different studies and in different seasons. These are combustion-related emissions from vehicles, factories, diesel generators, power plants and household cooking, and dust from roads, construction sites and others. Remember that dust is not a pollutant, it is toxic because it is coated with emissions from combustion. So, the first question that should be asked every winter — indeed every month before the winter sets in — is what steps have been taken to address these combustion-related emissions and what more needs to be done? The second question is about the boundaries of the airshed. There is no doubt that when farmers burn crop residue to clear fields for the next planting season, the winds on certain days carry the pollutants to Delhi and its surrounding areas. If this happens when the weather is adverse (local wind speed is slow or there is moisture in the air) pollution levels rise and the air becomes deadly. Today, as I write this column, I struggle to breathe. Then there are industries that were relocated from the city but are still using coal or other dirty sources of fuel. These industries, now in Delhi's neighbours, further add to the deadly pollution cocktail.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

COP27: India Insists on New Global Climate Finance Target by 2024

Developing countries, including India, are pushing rich countries to agree to a new global climate finance target. At the ongoing UN climate summit, India has asserted that developing countries require a “substantive enhancement” in climate finance from rich countries by 2024 as the previously-set goal of $100 billion per year by 2020 was minuscule given the scale of their needs, official said on Thursday. At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries had committed to jointly mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries tackle the effects of climate change. Rich countries, however, have repeatedly failed in delivering this finance. Developing countries, including India, are pushing rich countries to agree to a new global climate finance target – also known as the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) – which they say should be in trillions as the costs of addressing and adapting to climate change have grown. Rich countries say the issues of numbers are political and should be under political discussions and not part of technical discussions. At a high-level ministerial dialogue on NCQG at COP27 on Wednesday, India, on behalf of like-minded developing countries, highlighted that climate actions to meet the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets require financial, technological, and capacity-building support from developed countries, people aware of the developments said. Citing the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), India said rich countries are the major contributors to the carbon stock in the atmosphere, clearly underlying the importance of the core principles of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement – equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC). CBDR-RC acknowledges the different capabilities and differing responsibilities of individual countries in addressing climate change. “As such, the provisions and principles of the convention and its Paris Agreement should guide the discussions and outcomes of the NCQG to ensure an equitable result that enables climate action in developing countries,” it said. “The ambitious goal set down by the developing countries requires substantive enhancement in climate finance from the floor of $100 billion per year. The mobilisation of the resources needs to be led by the developed countries and should be long-term, concessional, and climate-specific with equitable allocation between adaptation and mitigation projects,” India said. “The commitment of $100 billion made in 2009 by developed countries was not only minuscule given the scale of needs, but has also not been achieved yet,” it said. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental body consisting of wealthy nations, developed countries mobilised $52.5 billion in 2013. After dropping to $44.6 billion in 2015, the finance flow has steadily increased. In 2020, the developed countries raised $83.3 billion, a jump from $80.4 billion in 2019, according to a fact sheet published by the Centre for Science and Environment. The Standing Committee on Finance has estimated that resources in the range of $6 trillion to $11 trillion are required till 2030 to meet the targets set by developing countries in their NDCs and other communications, including the Needs Determination Reports. NDCs are national plans to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “Clearly, the need for climate finance is immense even when estimates have not completely captured the identified needs, especially that for adaptation,” India said. According to sources, preliminary discussions on NCQG began on a contentious note. The developed and developing countries have locked horns on finance and who should pay for mitigation and adaptation. At this year’s conference, being held in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18, developed countries are expected to push developing nations to further intensify their climate plans. On the other hand, developing countries would seek commitment from rich countries to provide finance and technology needed to address climate change and resulting disasters. India highlighted that access to finance at the market rate for climate action will lead to considerable stress on the finances of developing countries. “Going ahead, if ambitious climate targets have to be achieved, these need to be backed by intentions reflected by ambitious, appropriate, and reasonable access to financial resources by developing countries. “The NCQG needs to deliver on each of these grounds and thereby, enable effective action by developing countries,” it said. India stressed that it is imperative that technical expert dialogues concentrate on the quantum and quality of resource mobilisation. “While the private sector may play a complementary role, the commitment is on the developed countries to lead in mobilisation from various sources. The extent of public resources that the developed countries bring in will play a critical role in determining the climate flows. So, it is discouraging to see the focus on private finance alone,” it said. India said while the previous technical expert dialogues on the NCQG under the Ad Hoc Work Programme have presented an opportunity for the exchange of ideas, a more structured and targeted approach needs to be adopted to enable the successful fulfilment of the mandate ahead of 2024. It said discussions within the technical expert dialogues in 2023 should focus mainly on the quantum, recognising the urgency of such discussions for developing countries. India said a discussion on quality and other elements such as access and transparency is incredibly important. A structure must be put in place moving forward to ensure decisions on all these elements can be taken by 2024. Coming into COP27, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav had told the media that India expects action from rich countries in terms of climate finance, technology transfer and strengthening the capacity of the poor and developing countries to combat climate change. India also seeks clarity on the definition of climate finance — the absence of which allows developed countries to greenwash their finances and pass off loans as climate-related aid.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

“Doctors Can Treat, Policy Makers Need To Tackle Air Pollution”: Dr. Rachna Kucheria

Dr. Rachna Kucheria, a general physician and a public health expert (MD-MDH) said the reductions in the AQI numbers were not helpful as they are still above the desirable level Delhi ranks third among the top 20 most polluted cities across the world, according to IQAir’s 2022 list, a Swiss air quality technology company, specialising in protection against airborne pollutants. Vehicular emissions contribute 51 per cent and construction about 7 per cent to air pollution, according to a study published in the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The reports further state that waste burning and road dust contribute nearly 5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. Apart from that, local sources, such as cow dung cake combustion, cause 32.9 per cent of the pollution in the national capital. Speaking to NDTV-Banega Swasth India team about the current status of Delhi’s air pollution, Dr. Rachna Kucheria, a general physician and a public health expert (MD-MDH) said the reductions in the Air Quality Index (AQI) numbers were not helpful as they are still above the desirable level. She said, In technical terms, most of us are looking at the AQI numbers, every day we are tracking them. Some days ago, the AQI was nearly 500, which later came down to 300–340 in a few days. But it is still above the desirable level; it is still a level where people are getting sick acutely. The pollution levels are more dangerous for people with underlying chronic respiratory issues. She further said that the doctors have seen a rise in the number of patients in the hospitals due to the air pollution. Young adults and people without medical histories are also being severely affected, she added. Young people in their late 20s are reporting upper respiratory issues, coughing, wheezing, etc. My colleagues who work in the emergency setting of hospitals are seeing a higher number of patients with heart problems. So, things like heart attacks, clotting of the veins, hardening of arteries, and effects on pregnant women are being observed, Dr. Kucheria said. In terms of future interventions, Dr. Kucheria stated that the solutions to rising levels of pollution did not rely on doctors, but on policymakers and other concerned officials. She emphasised the need for policymakers to become proactive in tackling the air pollution menace and also advised certain measures people can follow to avoid contracting any respiratory issues. All we as doctors can do is treat patients, basically react to the issue, and not prevent it. That is the work of policymakers, they need to step in. Dr. Kucheria detailed a couple of steps individuals can adhere to, to protect themselves in the coming days: People habitually walking can ignore going through the smoky haze. But if need be, one must prefer the afternoon timings, between 1pm-2pm, as it is warmer, and due to the environmental factors People who have been prescribed medications must take them diligently. People must be up-to-date with their adult vaccines, such as the flu shot. Using a mask is essential, and an N95 is the most useful. Limit the movement and try working from home to avoid as much contact with the pollution as possible