• Director General Office

Flooding destroyed his home four times in three years. This is the reality of climate change for India's poor

Anish Yadav was sleeping in his home, a fragile hut made of wood and plastic, when the water rushed in. A concrete retaining wall that had previously held back monsoon floodwaters had collapsed, sending a deluge through Yadav's slum in Malad, a northern suburb in India's financial hub Mumbai. "We woke up to people screaming for help," said Yadav, 26, of that night in July 2019. "The water had risen to our heads ... and I saw people being swept away with the water with my own eyes." For his entire life, the wall had protected Yadav and his neighbors from increasingly severe monsoon storms. His house had never been damaged before -- but with the wall now gone, he has had to rebuild his home four times in three years. Every year, thousands of people die in India from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, which drenches the country from June to September. The monsoon is a natural weather phenomenon caused by warm, moist air moving across the Indian Ocean toward South Asia as the seasons change. But the climate crisis has caused the event to become more extreme and unpredictable. India's poor, like Yadav, are among the most vulnerable. "The irony of it is that the poor of the world are actually victims of climate change," even if they aren't the ones who "created the problem," said Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment and veteran Indian environmentalist. This weekend, world leaders are gathering in Glasgow for the COP26 climate talks as they seek to reduce carbon emissions and avoid a catastrophic rise in global temperatures. Yet for millions of Indians, pledges on paper won't save their homes. The climate crisis is already at their front door -- and it's knocking down the frame. Four homes lost in three years Mumbai, the country's most populous city, boasts glittering skyscrapers and glitzy luxury hotels. It's also a city of widespread poverty and wealth inequality, where about 65% of its 12 million residents live in shacks of tarp and tin in crowded slums. Yadav and his mother were evacuated to a school after their home was first swept away in 2019. The flood had killed 32 people, and authorities said the slum was too dangerous to live in -- but when an offer of new housing didn't materialize, Yadav and his mother returned to the slum to rebuild. "My house is about 10 by 15 feet and the floor is made of dirt," Yadav said. "In that soil, we have hammered down wooden poles. We tie them together and then cover it with plastic sheets. If there is a cyclone or a strong wind, it will be uprooted entirely." Family members started keeping what scarce valuables they had in plastic bags, so they could evacuate quickly. But there's only so much you can protect. During the 2020 monsoon season, Yadav and his mother once again lost their home, clothing and precious food items to rain and flooding. It happened again in May this year, when a massive cyclone hit India's west coast -- an unusual event, since they typically strike the east coast. Yadav said at that point, people were fed up with authorities and the constant cycle of destruction, evacuation and rebuilding. "How can we live this way?" he said. The most recent disaster came in September, at the tail end of this year's monsoon season, when debris from past flooding swept toward the slum. "It was around 1:30 in the (morning) and debris started flowing down," Yadav said. "It was raining heavily and we heard it moving." Residents were again evacuated to the school, where they remain to this day with little clean water or electricity and no toilets. "We have no idea when we will go back or get another home," Yadav said. "(Authorities) are just saying that we will get housing in three to four days, but nothing is being done. People have lost their jobs and they don't have money for food. The system is to blame here." The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai's governing body, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Places are becoming unlivable As the climate crisis worsens, floods pose a particular danger to the 35% of India's population -- roughly 472 million people -- who live in urban slums, according to the World Bank. Muralee Thummarukudy, acting head of the UN Environment Program's Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Global Support Branch, said slum dwellers tend to live in flimsy structures on the outskirts of cities where land is less stable and more exposed to natural disasters. They also often don't have any kind of insurance that allows them to rebuild or relocate. These residents are also more vulnerable to the secondary effects of flooding, including the spread of waterborne diseases, groundwater contamination, and the loss of food supplies. Rajan Samuel, managing director in India for Habitat for Humanity, says disasters wipe out livelihoods as well as homes. "The trend I am seeing is that livelihood gets disrupted with every disaster, and then there is shelter which goes as well," he said. "We need to mitigate both." Some states have taken action -- like Odisha, which built stormwater drains in its slums, or Kerala, which offers financial incentives for residents in climate-vulnerable places to relocate. Yet on a national level, progress has been slow. Several ambitious initiatives to improve slums and retrofit cities have flailed over the past two decades, stymied by a lack of funding, insufficient participation, poor planning or the red tape of Indian bureaucracy, according to a number of international organizations, researchers and local media. And though the government is now training cities across India to become "climate smart," experts say there are many other measures that need to be taken -- like improving evacuation processes and redesigning water systems and other urban infrastructure. Narain, from the Centre for Science and Environment, said existing systems were built "at a time when disasters were still once in 10 years, once in five years. Now, it is 10 disasters a year." Recent floods, droughts and other devastating climate events are "all showing us very clearly what will the future be," she added. Climate migrants For years, climate experts and scientists have warned the climate crisis could displace more than a billion people in the coming decades -- potentially forming a class of "climate migrants" and refugees. Flooding is one of the major dangers, with record rainfall causing devastation in Germany and China this summer. In India, people are already on the move. Natural disasters forced more than 5 million Indians to leave their homes in 2019, according to a study conducted by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace. And that number is expected to rise as the climate crisis worsens. Many of those displaced Indians, like Yadav, have no means to relocate and no choice but to continually rebuild their homes in disaster-prone locations. Yadav and his family are reluctant to move from their patch of land in the slum, unless the government provides an alternative. He and his mother are now surviving off their meager savings, money borrowed from relatives, and cash earned from pawning their jewelry. Right now, he's losing hope and dreading the thought of having to rebuild -- yet again. "It has been going on for so long," Yadav said. "You never know if the water will flood the house and destroy the house."

• Director General Office

Flooding destroyed his home four times in three years. This is the reality of climate change for India’s poor

Anish Yadav was sleeping in his home, a fragile hut made of wood and plastic, when the water rushed in. A concrete retaining wall that had previously held back monsoon floodwaters had collapsed, sending a deluge through Yadav’s slum in Malad, a northern suburb in India’s financial hub Mumbai. “We woke up to people screaming for help,” said Yadav, 26, of that night in July 2019. “The water had risen to our heads … and I saw people being swept away with the water with my own eyes.” For his entire life, the wall had protected Yadav and his neighbors from increasingly severe monsoon storms. His house had never been damaged before — but with the wall now gone, he has had to rebuild his home four times in three years. Every year, thousands of people die in India from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, which drenches the country from June to September. The monsoon is a natural weather phenomenon caused by warm, moist air moving across the Indian Ocean toward South Asia as the seasons change. But the climate crisis has caused the event to become more extreme and unpredictable. India’s poor, like Yadav, are among the most vulnerable. “The irony of it is that the poor of the world are actually victims of climate change,” even if they aren’t the ones who “created the problem,” said Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment and veteran Indian environmentalist. This weekend, world leaders are gathering in Glasgow for the COP26 climate talks as they seek to reduce carbon emissions and avoid a catastrophic rise in global temperatures. Yet for millions of Indians, pledges on paper won’t save their homes. The climate crisis is already at their front door — and it’s knocking down the frame. Four homes lost in three years Mumbai, the country’s most populous city, boasts glittering skyscrapers and glitzy luxury hotels. It’s also a city of widespread poverty and wealth inequality, where about 65% of its 12 million residents live in shacks of tarp and tin in crowded slums. Yadav and his mother were evacuated to a school after their home was first swept away in 2019. The flood had killed 32 people, and authorities said the slum was too dangerous to live in — but when an offer of new housing didn’t materialize, Yadav and his mother returned to the slum to rebuild. “My house is about 10 by 15 feet and the floor is made of dirt,” Yadav said. “In that soil, we have hammered down wooden poles. We tie them together and then cover it with plastic sheets. If there is a cyclone or a strong wind, it will be uprooted entirely.” Family members started keeping what scarce valuables they had in plastic bags, so they could evacuate quickly. But there’s only so much you can protect. During the 2020 monsoon season, Yadav and his mother once again lost their home, clothing and precious food items to rain and flooding. It happened again in May this year, when a massive cyclone hit India’s west coast — an unusual event, since they typically strike the east coast. Yadav said at that point, people were fed up with authorities and the constant cycle of destruction, evacuation and rebuilding. “How can we live this way?” he said. The most recent disaster came in September, at the tail end of this year’s monsoon season, when debris from past flooding swept toward the slum. “It was around 1:30 in the (morning) and debris started flowing down,” Yadav said. “It was raining heavily and we heard it moving.” Residents were again evacuated to the school, where they remain to this day with little clean water or electricity and no toilets. “We have no idea when we will go back or get another home,” Yadav said. “(Authorities) are just saying that we will get housing in three to four days, but nothing is being done. People have lost their jobs and they don’t have money for food. The system is to blame here.” The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai’s governing body, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Places are becoming unlivable As the climate crisis worsens, floods pose a particular danger to the 35% of India’s population — roughly 472 million people — who live in urban slums, according to the World Bank. Muralee Thummarukudy, acting head of the UN Environment Program’s Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Global Support Branch, said slum dwellers tend to live in flimsy structures on the outskirts of cities where land is less stable and more exposed to natural disasters. They also often don’t have any kind of insurance that allows them to rebuild or relocate. These residents are also more vulnerable to the secondary effects of flooding, including the spread of waterborne diseases, groundwater contamination, and the loss of food supplies. Rajan Samuel, managing director in India for Habitat for Humanity, says disasters wipe out livelihoods as well as homes. “The trend I am seeing is that livelihood gets disrupted with every disaster, and then there is shelter which goes as well,” he said. “We need to mitigate both.” Some states have taken action — like Odisha, which built stormwater drains in its slums, or Kerala, which offers financial incentives for residents in climate-vulnerable places to relocate. Yet on a national level, progress has been slow. Several ambitious initiatives to improve slums and retrofit cities have flailed over the past two decades, stymied by a lack of funding, insufficient participation, poor planning or the red tape of Indian bureaucracy, according to a number of international organizations, researchers and local media. And though the government is now training cities across India to become “climate smart,” experts say there are many other measures that need to be taken — like improving evacuation processes and redesigning water systems and other urban infrastructure. Narain, from the Centre for Science and Environment, said existing systems were built “at a time when disasters were still once in 10 years, once in five years. Now, it is 10 disasters a year.” Recent floods, droughts and other devastating climate events are “all showing us very clearly what will the future be,” she added. Climate migrants For years, climate experts and scientists have warned the climate crisis could displace more than a billion people in the coming decades — potentially forming a class of “climate migrants” and refugees. Flooding is one of the major dangers, with record rainfall causing devastation in Germany and China this summer. In India, people are already on the move. Natural disasters forced more than 5 million Indians to leave their homes in 2019, according to a study conducted by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace. And that number is expected to rise as the climate crisis worsens. Many of those displaced Indians, like Yadav, have no means to relocate and no choice but to continually rebuild their homes in disaster-prone locations. Yadav and his family are reluctant to move from their patch of land in the slum, unless the government provides an alternative. He and his mother are now surviving off their meager savings, money borrowed from relatives, and cash earned from pawning their jewelry. Right now, he’s losing hope and dreading the thought of having to rebuild — yet again. “It has been going on for so long,” Yadav said. “You never know if the water will flood the house and destroy the house.”

• Director General Office

COP-26 kicks off today; India to stress on climate tech, funds

The summit aims at reviewing and amending promises by countries and companies worldwide to contribute to mitigation efforts The much-awaited United Nations’ COP-26 will kick off in Glasgow on Sunday even as host British PM Boris Johnson reportedly estimated the chances of a successful outcome to the climate summit at “about six out of 10”. India has assured full support to the UK COP presidency for the meaningful outcome of COP-26 with Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stating that the summit should be about “action and implementation”. More needed to limit temp rise to 1.5°C Britain hopes the summit will adopt plans to help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 CSE’s Sunita Narain says even that is enough to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C However, since combating climate change is a universal challenge, India wants global climate action to be guided by principles and values of climate justice and equity. In those terms, technology transfer and climate finance — the two factors essential for a level playing field between developed and developing countries — will form the basis of India’s pitch at the summit. The country will pitch for the $100 billion per year climate financing by developed nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will participate in the high-level segment of COP-26, titled “World Leaders’ Summit (WLS)” along with 120 heads of states/governments from around the world on November 1-2, will highlight “the need to comprehensively address climate change issues, including equitable distribution of carbon space, support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience building measures, mobilisation of finance, technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth”. There are huge expectations from COP-26, including arriving at a consensus on unresolved issues of the Paris Agreement Rule Book, long-term climate finance and market-based mechanisms, etc. The summit (October 31 to November 12) aims at reviewing and amending promises by countries and companies worldwide to contribute to mitigation efforts.

• Director General Office

COP-26 kicks off on October 31; climate technology, finance to be India’s main focus

Hosts Britain hopes the summit helps the world move closer to limiting global warming, but experts say even enhanced NDCs are not nearly enough to limit rising temperature rise to 1.5°C With host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly estimating the chances of a successful outcome to the United Nations COP 26 at “about six out of 10”, the much-awaited climate summit kicks off on October 31 in Glasgow. India has assured the UK COP Presidency of full support for the meaningful outcome of COP-26 with Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stating that the upcoming climate summit should be of “action and implementation”. However, since combating climate change is a universal challenge, India wants global climate action to be guided by principles and values of climate justice and equity. In those terms, technology transfer and climate finance—the two factors essential for a “level playing field between developed and developing countries”—will form the basis of India’s pitch at the summit. The country will pitch for the $100 billion per year climate financing by developed nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will participate in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled ‘World Leaders’ Summit (WLS) along with 120 heads of states/governments from around the world on November 1-2, will highlight “the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space, support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience-building measures, mobilisation of finance, technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth”. There are huge expectations from COP 26 including arriving at a consensus on unresolved issues of the Paris Agreement Rule Book, long-term climate finance, market-based mechanisms, etc. The summit (October 31 to November 12) aims to review and amend promises by countries and companies worldwide to contribute to mitigation efforts. Amid a growing number of extreme climate events, there is tremendous pressure on developing nations like India to revise nationally determined commitments (NDCs), cut-off coal/fossil fuels, and declare a Net Zero target. But with per capita carbon emissions per year “far less than countries like the USA, EU, and China”, India’s stance is that it is doing what is required to tackle climate change and is willing to contribute “constructively” to further efforts. But “fossil fuels are essential for its growth plans and targets” and “what is happening today is due to historic actions of developed nations”. India’s INDC pitch includes approximately 450-Gigawatt renewable energy by 2030, and other mitigation efforts. Indian negotiators are expected to move to establish a mechanism for ‘loss and damage’ due to climate change-related events and compensating regions most vulnerable and help them prevent and manage mishaps in the future. According to reports, Britain hopes the summit will adopt plans to help move closer to the target of limiting the rise in the average global temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. While the Paris Agreement of 2015 pledged to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the world has already warmed by 1.1°C since then. CSE’s Sunita Narain says even enhanced NDCs are not nearly enough to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. “Many poor countries, with low annual emissions, have pledged higher targets than rich countries, which is a mockery of the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and a human rights concern,” she says.

• Director General Office

China will take one-third of carbon space by 2030, India 7%, says CSE

The arguments presented by the CSE advocated the concept of climate justice which calls for right of the developing world to grow to provide basic facilities to its people China will take away almost one-third of the remaining global carbon space between 2020 and 2030 and India just seven per cent, says a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) based on trajectory of climate change causing emissions from across the world. The CSE said China with rich countries including Europe would occupy 70% of the world’s carbon space and very less carbon budget would be left for the developing world. The report comes two days before the start of climate conference of 192 countries in Glasgow, Scotland, to chalk out a plan to restrict temperature rise to less than 1.5 degree Celsius by the turn of the century. The CSE data analysis highlights the importance of carbon space for the developing world including India and Africa. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) in its sixth assessment report released in 2019, said starting 2020, the world was left with total carbon budget of 400 GtCO2 for all times to come. GTCO2 is short for gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. As per IPCC, global emissions need to reduce by 45 per cent over 2010 levels by 2030 to keep the temperature rise to 1.5°C. In 2010, global CO2 emissions were 33 Gt (Gegatonnes),” the CSE said. “Therefore, the world needs to keep its annual CO2 emissions under 18.2 Gt in 2030 to meet this target. But, even if the world achieves the enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), it would be emitting 37.71 GtCO2 in 2030. This is more than double the amount of CO2 the world should be emitting in 2030…The world will emit 409 GtCO2 in 2020-30, against the available budget of 400 GtCO2,” the CSE said, in its analysis. And, the CSE analysis says that available carbon space would be occupied by 2030 even with the enhanced NDCs, the voluntary mitigation submission of all countries, which so far 142 countries of the total 192 signatories to the United Nations Climate Framework Convention have submitted. Sunita Narain, CSE’s director general, said that even with enhanced NDCs the world will cross the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature rise threshold since pre-industrial era by 2030 and in this a major contributor would be China. “If we look at the emission data since 2000, China has been the foremost polluter,” she said. China accounts for 31% of the total global emissions and seven historical polluters --- United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Japan, Canada and European Union --- account for 34%. India, through the fourth biggest emitter in absolute terms, contributed just seven per cent. “So, the developed world and China is responsible for over 70 per cent of the carbon emissions so far,” she said. And, don’t expect China’s emissions to go down even though it has announced phasing out of coal by 2040 and achieving net zero emissions by 2060. “In the coming 10 years, China will take up 33% of the remaining carbon budget. Despite heavy reduction targets, the original seven big polluters, along with China will occupy 62%. The remaining world, with 66% of the population will be left with 38%,” CSE said. The arguments presented by the CSE advocated the concept of climate justice which calls for right of the developing world to grow to provide basic facilities to its people. In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has explicitly spoken about climate justice saying any climate deal has been pillared on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. Under these principles, the historical polluters have to take higher emission cuts and provide money to the developing world to adapt to the changing weather because of climate change whereas the developing world needs to take some mitigation measures. “There is a need to discuss the remaining carbon budget, necessary to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degree C, and how it should be allocated - not just appropriated. We cannot have an ambitious agreement unless it is equitable. So, CoP26 must not repeat the mistakes of the past by trying to erase equity and climate justice,” the CSE said. Chandra Bhushan, CEO, IForest, an advocacy group working in the area of environmental issues, said the debate on carbon space was unending. “China is now the new historical emitter and has replaced the United States in this debate on carbon budget. I don’t think there is any space left for this fight to go on. We need to think out of the box to reduce emissions and check devastating impacts of climate change.”

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Saturday Interview | ‘Smog-towers will not help'

Vivek Chattopadhyaya, associated with the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, is an expert on clean air and sustainable mobility management. Vivek Chattopadhyaya, associated with the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, is an expert on clean air and sustainable mobility management. He has been closely involved in public campaigns, advocating the right to clean air. He has also been working on programmes aimed at improving the decision-making process related to air quality planning and mobility management as well as raising public awareness in cities. In an interview with SYED HASHIM NAJMI, he discusses, among other things, how the pollution crisis and the stubble burning issue in Delhi every year could be addressed. Q: The pollution level in Delhi goes up alarmingly with the onset of winter every year because of the rise in stubble burning in neighbouring states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. The Delhi government has appealed to the Centre to tell neighbouring states to persuade farmers to use the Pusa Institute-developed bio-decomposer to effectively handle the paddy stubble problem instead of burning it. How do you see the Delhi government’s proposal? A: Since the bio-decomposer method has been approved by scientific and agricultural research institutions and it is an in-situ solution for crop residue management, states must implement it. However, farmers should also be properly trained for this so that its effectiveness is not compromised on the ground. Similarly, other crop residue management measures which are also supported by governments must be scaled up by providing support, considering availability and affordability. Since the scale of implementation is large, a special task force should monitor the implementation of all measures. Q. What should be done to force states to use the bio-decomposer to dispose of the paddy stubble? A: The solution to this problem has to be multi-pronged with an insitu approach (such as decomposing, use of agricultural machines and equipment and straw management system) and an ex-situ method (using it as pallets, fuels in boilers, industries, etc). Since the scale of the area to be covered is huge with differing ground situations, a basket of solutions should be implemented. The strategy should be constantly evaluated for effectiveness, handling the problems faced in implementation and results. So, if the bio-decomposer turns out to be most cost-effective, environment-friendly, scalable and affordable, such in-situ management solutions should be promoted in a big way. But, at the same time, crop diversification should also be promoted because we know that in the water-scarce areas paddy cultivation poses several other environmental challenges. So, a comprehensive approach can work with grassroots involvement and hand-holding support for multiple applicable solutions. Q: Is there any other method to effectively handle the stubble burning issue? A: As mentioned above, there are several in-situ and ex-situ methods that have been identified. The question is how to scale their implementation, make it affordable for farmers so that they do not resort to burning. The PM Task Force, the Niti Aayog, the Ministry of Agriculture and state initiatives have identified such solutions, but constant supervision, guidance and learning from the groundlevel situation is needed to implement all the solutions as per our needs. The preparations should start with the beginning of the cropping season so that it does not become a fire-fighting situation every year. Q: The Delhi government has claimed that the two smog-towers set up in the city – one at Connaught Place and the other at Anand Vihar have been found to be effective in purifying polluted air. The government, therefore, says that installing more smog-towers in various parts of Delhi can lead to the pollution problem getting under control. But experts questioned the Delhi government’s claim soon after the first smog-tower came up.What are your views about smog-towers? A: Air purification works in closed areas, but in open areas there is wind velocity and the volume of air constantly changes. Reducing a tiny fraction of outdoor pollutants will require hundreds of such towers, still they will not be successful because once a pollutant gets emitted from a source, it is in the concentrated form. But once it is in ambient air, it gets diluted. So, it is economically and technically prudent to install pollution-control devices at sources rather than trying to capture pollutants from the air. Such towers will be energy-intensive and wasteful of resources. Also, no country in the world has cleaned up its air with air purification systems. It is always tighter regulations, effective implementation, cleaner fuels and technologies and effective monitoring that help in reducing air pollution. Therefore, the government should rather invest in clean technologies and solutions (improve public transport systems with clean technologies, waste collection, segregation and recycling and reuse strategy, tightening emissions of power plants and industries, enhancing renewable energy supply, etc) that will provide long-term benefits. Q: Besides the smoke generated by stubble burning, vehicle emissions are a major source of air pollution in Delhi. The Delhi government is trying to handle the vehicular pollution problem through its policy of promoting the use of electric vehicles and banning the use of older vehicles.Will these measures help? A: Vehicles emit higher in congestion and during idling situations compared to optimal driving speeds. For instance, during idling it is wasteful fuel consumption and there is also an increase in emissions. Whenever engines are turned off when traffic lights are on, it will help reduce emissions and protect people from exposure to emissions caused by vehicles in an idling condition. It is a small but effective effort and it should be implemented irrespective of seasons. And for this, traffic light timers should be installed across the city at intersections so that vehicle drivers are aware of them. In fact, in other countries there are regulations that we cannot idle-run vehicles near schools as this causes emissions harmful to people. Therefore, in all pollution control strategies, several kinds of efforts have to be made. But at the same time, governments should substantially improve public transport connectivity, last-mile connectivity, so that vehicle numbers can also be reduced and, at the same time, mobility options are provided to people. Q: Is banning older vehicles which are in good condition a justifiable step? What do you say about allowing the use of vehicles which are in good condition and for which a fitness certificate can be obtained? A: At present, private vehicles do not undergo roadworthiness checks annually but this should be done in India. Driving unfit vehicles which fail roadworthiness and emission tests is a major problem in cities, and unfit vehicles can be found in all age groups. So, the criteria should be based on fitness and enhanced emission checking systems but, at the same time, we need to replace the older fleet of Bharat Stage norm-compliant vehicles (pre- BS norm, BS-I, BS-II) because they were designed to meet older emission norms which were much lenient (emissions compared to new vehicles can be 10-30 times higher). Gradually, we have to move to new emission norm compliant vehicles with a view to reducing total vehicular emissions. Therefore, the vehicle scrapping programme should consider all these aspects for renewal of the fleet. Similar efforts are needed for commercial vehicles too. Q: Some people argue that those who do not have proper parking arrangements should not be allowed to purchase vehicles in Delhi. This too will help in reducing pollution. What is your view? A: The city is choked with cars, and private vehicles particularly are parked almost 98 per cent of the time either at home, office or in commercial areas. The demand is so high that most streets get choked and since many parts of the city are not designed to cater to high numbers of parked vehicles or do not have spaces left – the public spaces like roads and footpaths get encroached upon for the parking of vehicles. Therefore, seeking proof of parking space is also an effective strategy to solve these issues so that parked vehicles do not eat away public spaces. Also, parking area-wise management policies should be implemented to promote shared parking wherever possible. The parking policy should be oriented towards demand management rather than keep on supplying more and more parking spaces. Rather public transport connectivity, walking, cycling and last-mile connectivity modes should be promoted.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

India moves to eliminate thousands of massive garbage piles

About 20 men in a landfill in the Indian capital rummage through mountains of garbage, searching for a piece of plastic or glass bottle that could be re-sold. It is one of over 3,000 large landfills dotting Indian cities, which the Indian government pledged earlier this month to eliminate and replace with waste treatment plants with an investment of 1.4 trillion rupees (about $18.9 billion). Lachiram collects garbage from all across the capital’s posh south Delhi area up to four times a day, cautiously unloading it from his truck into the Okhla landfill, standing as tall as a 16-floor building. Twenty-five years of accumulated garbage dominate the ruins of the sprawling 14th-century Tughlaqabad fort, a hospital located adjacent to the site and a nearby slum area. “We receive between 300 and 500 trucks a day,” the junior engineer at the landfill, Ravi Kumar, told EFE from his office set up among the garbage piles. The trucks climb to the top of the garbage heaps and pour tons of trash there. Some 20 ragpickers then try to find some piece of plastic amid the unloaded piles although Kumar claims that they are technically forbidden from landfills under an order by an Indian environmental court. The ragpickers, between 1.5 and 4 million and among the lowest in the informal sector, collect and segregate garbage without any type of protection in many cases and make a living by reselling the plastic, metal, glass, and cardboard they find amid the trash. “The reason why we have not already drowned under our own garbage is this informal workforce that basically makes a living by collecting trash,” Atin Biswas, program director (municipal solid waste), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told EFE. The CSE noted in a recent report that most of the ragpickers, who are stigmatized for working with garbage, are Dalits from the lowest rung of India’s caste hierarchy. “Few dispute the ubiquity of filth that is unique to India,” a society that “stigmatizes sanitation work as unclean and sanitation workers as untouchable,” writes academic Anand Teltumbde in “Republic of Caste”. Although about 70 percent of the Indian population still lives in rural areas, according to the last national census in 2011, there has been an urban explosion in recent decades in this country of 1.21 billion inhabitants. The amount of garbage generated each day has also grown accordingly. According to a recent CSE report on the informal garbage sector, the Asian country generates 62 million tons of garbage annually. Only 19 percent of this is treated in waste management plants while the rest ends up in one of the 3,159 landfills which, according to the Indian government, already have more than 800 million tons of garbage. “If you have to focus on the origin of all problems, it is because of very poor level of waste segregation,” Biswas says. Despite the laws in place, Indian households and large waste generating sectors such as the hotel industry and offices frequently mix organic waste with recyclable items. According to the expert, “once food waste is mixed with any other stream of waste like plastic or paper or metal or glass the value of both of them is kind of lost, and it makes it is extremely challenging to recover or recycle either of the waste.” The Indian government claims that the country “processes” 70 percent of the garbage generated but Biswas says that this is a much broader term than segregation, whose data the government stopped releasing since last year.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi: Diesel gensets banned as AQI tanks

Besides ban on diesel gensets and increase in parking fee, other measures that will come into force include ban on the use of coal and wood in restaurants and open kitchens and augmentation of bus and Metro services. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Thursday banned the use of diesel generator sets and ordered enhancing of parking fee by up to four times in Delhi-NCR, measures listed under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) when the air quality hits ‘very poor’, according to an official order. Though the air quality in Delhi is yet to hit ‘very poor’ category (when average AQI is between 200 and 300) this month, pollution levels have escalated fast since Monday when the city reported an AQI of 82 (in the satisfactory category) to 268 (poor category) on Thursday. HT reported on Tuesday that according to an assessment by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Delhi is headed towards an air emergency as stubble fires are expected to peak -- coinciding with Diwali (to be celebrated on November 4), when pollution levels usually spike because of large-scale bursting of firecrackers despite a ban. According to the CPCB order, the implementation of Grap measures under ‘very poor’ category were ordered to be enforced after a meeting convened by a sub-committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM) concluded that the air quality in the city is set to deteriorate in the coming days and hit dangerous levels. Actions under ‘very poor’ category, in addition to steps listed under the ‘poor to moderate’ AQI category should be implemented with immediate effect in Delhi-NCR,” the CPCB order read. Besides ban on diesel gensets and increase in parking fee, other measures that will come into force include ban on the use of coal and wood in restaurants and open kitchens and augmentation of bus and Metro services. These measures will be in addition to the steps that were enforced on October 18 listed under ‘moderate to poor’ category such as ban on firecrackers, stopping burning of garbage, mechanised sweeping of roads, sprinkling of water on unpaved roads and strict implementation of the PUC norms for vehicles. On October 18, three days after its usual commencement date, the CPCB called into force the GRAP, and said that the measures listed under the ‘moderate to poor’ air quality section of the emergency plan should be immediately put into place by the Capital’s agencies, irrespective of the daily AQI readings. Prashant Gargava, chairperson of the sub-committee on Grap, and member secretary, CPCB, told HT that conditions were expected to become worse in the coming days, with north-westerly winds bringing high load of pollutants from stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana. This is coinciding with a drop in the temperature that makes dispersal of pollutants difficult. “Therefore, we have decided to enforce measures under the ‘very poor’ category of Grap,” said Gargava, adding that citizens will be asked to take certain measures such as providing electric heaters to security guards to stop them for burning biomass to keep themselves warm. In a statement the CAQM said, “Grap is in place and under implementation. A statutory sub-committee including experts has been constituted for its operationalisation and issuing necessary orders. The Grap specifically provides for the action to be taken by various agencies responsible for implementation under different AQI categories: moderate to poor, very poor, severe and emergency...The sub-committee is regularly holding meetings to take stock of the situation for appropriate intervention.” Gargava said that power agencies have been advised to ensure that 24x7 power supply is provided across Delhi-NCR to cut dependence on generator sets. However, several areas, especially in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh depend on high power diesel gensets for power back up, as power supply is patchy. In 2019 and 2020, the government of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana had sought exemptions as many private housing societies in the two states completely depended on generator sets for their power supply. However, the CPCB has exempted the use of generators for emergency purposes such as medical services, elevators and escalators, railway, Metro and at airports. Senior municipal corporation officials said that they were yet to receive the CPCB order, adding that a similar order in 2017 led to chaos with people parking their vehicles on roads and pavements to avoid designated lots. A senior South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) official who oversees parking services said the four-fold hike could be counterproductive, saying in 2017 the hike led to chaotic traffic conditions had occurred and traffic jams in many areas. “A considerable portion of the authorised parking lots remained vacant,” he said. BS Vohra, president, East Delhi RWA Joint Front, said temperatures were yet to drop significantly, giving sufficient time to the residents bodies provide heaters to guards. He added, “Citizens are willing to fight pollution, but the government needs to come up with a long-term plan against the sources of pollution,” said Vohra. Experts said Grap measures must be implemented thoroughly. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said, “Everyone knows that Delhi sees the first instance of its worst pollution episodes after Diwali because of cracker bursting. This time around things could get worse because this will be around the same time that stubble burning instances peak. Agencies will have to ensure 100% boots on ground so that we can control the situation.”

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Dwarka tops list, Anand Vihar second among air pollution hot spots in Delhi

Dwarka has stayed in the top five list for nine out of the 12 days, and Anand Vihar on eight days, shows CPCB’s daily air quality bulletins As the air quality in Delhi has begun worsening, Central Pollution Control Board has started releasing daily air quality reports (AP) New Delhi Dwarka, Anand Vihar, Mundka and Shadipur have spent at least four days in the daily list of Delhi’s top five pollution hot spots since October 17, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Dwarka has stayed in the top five list for nine out of the 12 days, and Anand Vihar on eight days, shows CPCB’s daily air quality bulletins, underlining the need for immediate local measures to curb pollution in these areas where air has consistently stayed harmful. As the air quality in Delhi has begun worsening, Central Pollution Control Board has started releasing daily air quality reports, featuring the day’s top five most polluted locations across Delhi and NCR. The bulletin features the daily farm fire count, the daily Air Quality Index (AQI), meteorological conditions and forecast for the next day by both the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). Currently, Delhi has 13 pollution hot spots that the CPCB identified in 2018, including Rohini, Okhla Phase-2, Punjabi Bagh, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, and Narela. The other locations which feature regularly on the top five most polluted hot spots include Nehru Nagar, which featured on five days, Mundka (four days), Shadipur (four days) and Dilshad Garden (four days). On October 5, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that 150 pollution hot spots will be identified across the city for widespread and targeted interventions against local sources of pollution. “The 13 pollution hot spots that we had identified last year were based on consistently high levels of pollution in these areas. These 150 hot spots, however, will be selected based on the complaints of waste burning, open dumping and traffic jams that we received via the green Delhi app. We will be keeping a close watch on these areas this time from our green war room, and immediate action will be taken to control the sources of pollution there,” Rai said. Prashant Gargava, CPCB member secretary told HT that these reports were being shared with different government agencies as well as the municipal corporations, so that they can initiate suitable action. “Agencies will be better prepared once they know air quality is expected to deteriorate. Similarly, we have asked them to look at the data and act on pollution hot spots accordingly. Sprinkling water on unpaved roads and at construction sites, mechanised road sweeping, and controlling burning of waste can easily be enforced,” said Gargava. Experts said the data should be shared with citizens as well as agencies for better enforcement of measures to bring pollution under control at the hot spots. “We have already adopted a hot spot-management approach for 13 pollution locations, but we need to know the local sources of pollution at each spot, and how quick the agencies can respond. If one knows the top five most polluted locations, short-term measures such as the sprinkling of water could be done for instance,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Data shows that besides hot spots, areas that have not been added to the list, have been consistently reporting high pollution levels. For instance, Mundka features in the original list of 13 pollution hot spots, Shadipur, Dilshad Garden and Nehru Nagar don’t. “Agencies need to keep that in mind too and may revise pollution hot spots going ahead,” Chowdhury added. Mukesh Sharma, professor of civil engineering at IIT Kanpur and part of the team which will carry out real-time apportionment of sources of pollution in Delhi, said that though certain sources of pollution cannot be controlled in the short-term, but steps can always be taken to curb sources such as road dust and congestion. “Currently, this data can still guide action on the ground wherever required. In future, we need to identify locations that may be hot spots, and the potential sources that are responsible for highe levels of pollution,” said Sharma.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

COP26: PMO holds meet amid calls for India to up target

Normally, the Union Cabinet approves India’s stance at climate negotiations, which is then presented and negotiated during the conference of parties. This time, however, the PMO held a meeting to discuss what India’s stance should be at COP26. Ahead of the Glasgow climate change conference (COP26), the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday held a lengthy inter-ministerial meeting on India’s position at the summit, an official aware of the development said. The inter-ministerial meeting was represented by officials of most ministries, including power, new and renewable energy, earth sciences, finance and agriculture, among others. Normally, the Union Cabinet approves India’s stance at climate negotiations, which is then presented and negotiated during the conference of parties. This time, however, the PMO held a meeting to discuss what India’s stance should be at COP26. “Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will be travelling to the summit, the Cabinet approval was not needed. It was decided that India will not be an outlier,” said a senior official who attended the meeting. The official did not divulge details of what transpired at the high-level meeting. “We cannot give any more details at the moment but it was discussed at length as to what is possible for India respecting various principles of the Paris Agreement,” the official cited above said. “It was a very lengthy meeting. Unusual but all issues related to the negotiations were discussed. Just two days back, the environment minister, Bhupender Yadav, spoke with US special presidential envoy on climate John Kerry, where the minister said that India’s contribution will be communicated to the world at an appropriate time and place,” the official added. He acknowledged that there was a lot of diplomatic pressure on India to make a strong submission at COP 26. “Many foreign delegates who visited us have cajoled us to commit to a net zero target. The options are still open; I would say that no particular decision was arrived at but the options have been discussed,” the official said. Ahead of the Glasgow COP26, its president Alok Sharma said he expects India to incorporate a 450 GW renewable energy- by- 2030 target in the nationally determined contribution (NDC) it will submit. In a press conference organised by Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of journalists and newsrooms, on Tuesday, Sharma said every country starts with a different energy mix but India’s informal goal of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030 should be formalised in its NDC before COP26. “That’s what I told Indian officials and ministers when I was there,” he said. Sharma didn’t directly respond to a question on whether developed countries would agree to advanced net zero targets to make room for developing countries like India to grow. “That is a discussion that has been raised with me when I was in Delhi in the past and CBDR [common but differentiated responsibilities] is part of the Paris Agreement. My consistent message to every country is that we all need to play our part,” he said, before referring to the 450 GW target again. “I am impressed with the target of 450 GW. What I wanted is for that to be reflected in the NDC. I will be the first person to welcome that loudly if that happens.” At least 120 world leaders, including PM Modi, are likely to attend the summit at COP26 on November 1 and 2. Chinese President Xi Jinping hasn’t confirmed his presence but a negotiating team from China will be present, Sharma said. Glasgow will be more challenging than Paris. Our overarching ambition is to say at the end of Glasgow that we have kept 1.5 degree Celsius alive,” Sharma said. There is likely to be an agreement at the end of Glasgow which will be a result of two weeks’ of negotiations to say how the world plans to keep global warming under 1.5°C. Most experts agree that the target of keeping global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels has most likely been missed for good. There is no confirmation on what India’s submission at COP26 is likely to be. A 14-to-15-member delegation with officials from the ministries of power, finance, earth sciences, agriculture, new and renewable energy, environment, and water will represent India at COP26. It will be headed by environment minister Yadav. India’s lead climate negotiator is joint secretary in the environment ministry, Richa Sharma. PM Modi is likely to be in Glasgow till November 2 when he and UK PM Boris Johnson are expected to make a joint statement on the Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid’ (GGIOSOWOG) at COP 26. GGIOSOWOG will bring technical, financial and research cooperation to help facilitate cross-border renewable energy transfer projects according to the International Solar Alliance. Yadav is expected to lead India during the negotiations in the second week when several issues related to the Paris Rulebook — a set of guidelines for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement are likely to be debated. While not commenting on whether India will present an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) ahead of COP26, officials said: “It is not mandatory for India to update its NDC. It can update it during the global stocktaking in 2023. Whatever India announces will be on a voluntary basis.” According to them, “Developed countries have been pushing India to announce a net zero emissions target. But for us our position is clear — action has to be taken based on historical responsibility which means they (developed countries) transition to net zero emissions first leaving carbon space for us to grow.” India will push for climate justice and equity and contribution based on historical responsibility during negotiations with a similar stand as 24 other like-minded developing countries (LMDCs), including China. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, announced plans to reach zero-net emissions by 2060 at the Saudi Green Initiative on Saturday. The UAE, on October 7, became the first Gulf state to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Russia and China have also announced plans to transition to net zero by 2060. According to the UN, 130 countries have already set or are considering a net zero emissions target by mid-century. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation on energy and climate change issues in the UK, a net zero commitment by 2060 is under discussion in India. “Net zero for a later date is on the platter as an option,” a senior environment ministry official said last week. “India should announce an enhanced NDC not because of its responsibility or contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions; but because it is in our best interest. For us climate action is for co-benefit,” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi: In first for the season, temp below 15°C as AQI worsens

Delhi’s overall AQI was recorded at 232 (poor), from Tuesday’s reading of 139 (moderate), largely owing to a rise in farm fires across the northern plains The mercury fell below the 15-degree Celsius mark on Wednesday morning for the first time this winter, with the minimum temperature recorded at 14.6 degrees Celsius — two notches below normal — as Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply in the last 24 hours, and was expected to get over the rest of the week. Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 232 (poor), from Tuesday’s reading of 139 (moderate), largely owing to a rise in farm fires across the northern plains as the contribution of stubble burning in Delhi’s overall PM 2.5 concentration touched a season high of 16%, data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) showed. Safar, which comes under the Union ministry of earth sciences, has forecast that the air quality will further deteriorate “rapidly” in the next 24 hours to touch “very poor” by Thursday, and then hit the higher end of the “very poor” category by Friday. “Delhi’s AQI is in the ‘poor’ category. The effective fire count of stubble burning in the northwest region of Delhi is 656 and its share in PM2.5 is 16% as transport level winds are north westerly. AQI is now forecasted to deteriorate rapidly and slip to the ‘very poor’ category by Thursday and deteriorate further to the higher end of the ‘very poor’ category by Friday,” SAFAR said on Wednesday, stating that calm local winds, along with highly favourable transport-level winds (northwesterly winds that will bring pollution from Punjab and Haryana towards Delhi) are expected to enhance stubble-burning related intrusion. Any increase in fire counts in the next three days would increase the finer particle levels of Delhi,” it added. Prior to Wednesday, the highest contribution of stubble burning in Delhi’s air was 15% on October 21. Two stations – Shadipur and Anand Vihar were in the “very poor” category, with readings of 316 and 313 respectively. An AQI between 51 and 100 is classified as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 is “moderate”, between 201 and 300 is “poor”, and between 301 and 400 is “very poor”. An AQI over 401 is meanwhile classified as “severe” by the Central Pollution Control Board. The Capital’s air quality deteriorates to hazardous levels every winter, plunging the city into a public health emergency. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says while a delayed monsoon has helped control pollution spikes, historical data shows an episodic smog event is generally seen in late-October and early November, coinciding with stubble burning peaks and Diwali. “With the current meteorological conditions, we may see another such event before or around Diwali and the exposure to air pollution during this period is at its peak. With Covid-19 still around, as a community, we may have to avoid exposure to outside air and this is generally seen each year when regulatory agencies ask people to avoid stepping out or exercising during smog events,” she said. Safdarjung,Delhi’s base station recorded a maximum temperature of 28.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday – three notches below normal, while the minimum was recorded at 14.6 degrees. Mayur Vihar recorded the lowest maximum temperature on Wednesday at 26.8 degrees, while the lowest minimum across Delhi was 14.1 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur. A Met official says local winds are becoming calm at night, which coincides with a drop in temperature, leading to a spike in pollution late at night and in the morning. “Following the rain, there is also moisture in the air and you are now seeing a slight haze at night. Calm winds mean the contribution from stubble burning and local pollutants are now becoming trapped and similar conditions are expected in the next few days,” said the official who asked not to be named. IMD has forecast the minimum temperature to remain around 14 degrees Celsius for the next two days, and said it could dip to 13 degrees by Saturday. The maximum temperature, meanwhile, is expected to remain below 30 degrees till the end of the week.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

India at COP26: 450GW renewable energy goal by 2030 likely to be NDC highlight

UN summit in Glasgow: In a tweet after a meeting at the PMO on India’s stand at the COP26 climate change talks, environment minister Bhupender Yadav said India is on track to achieve the goal India’s goal of achieving 450GW renewable energy by 2030 is likely to be the highlight of the country’s contribution to climate change mitigation at the UN-led COP26 summit that begins in Glasgow on Sunday. In a tweet after an inter-ministerial meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on India’s stand at COP26, union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said India is on track to achieve the goal. “India under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji is leading the fight against climate change. As the country remains a ‘high performer’ in the Climate Change Performance Index, India is also on track to achieve the renewable energy target of 450 GW by 2030,” Bhupender Yadav tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced that India has installed 100GW of renewable energy. He added that India is the only country among G20 nations that is progressing rapidly to meet its climate goals. India has set a target of achieving 40% of electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. One of the means to achieve the target is installing 175GW of renewable energy by 2022. Under the Paris Agreement, India presently has three quantifiable NDCs. They include lowering the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, increasing total cumulative electricity generation from fossil-free energy sources to 40% by 2030, and creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes through additional forest and tree cover. Centre for Science and Environment director general Sunita Narain called the 450GW goal substantial. “It will be difficult to achieve, but we have to see what measures are put in place. There are projections that solar prices would go up because there aren’t enough loans or finance to support the capital cost mainly because the risk is high,” Narain said. An official, who attended the meeting at the PMO, said announcing a distant net zero goal may not be a solution to the present climate change crisis. “So, we may focus on immediate goals. But options are still open. The net zero option has not been closed,” the official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that since Narendra Modi will be travelling to Glasgow, the Cabinet’s approval was not needed. “It was decided that India will not be an outlier at COP26.” Ahead of COP26, the summit’s president Alok Sharma said on Tuesday that he expects India to incorporate 450GW renewable energy goal by 2030 in the NDC that it will submit. Sharma said every country starts with a different energy mix, but India’s informal goal of 450GW should be formalised in its NDC before the Glasgow talks. The Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a global partnership of 27 countries initiated by India in 2019, will also be launching an initiative to help small island states develop resilience to climate change at COP26. The initiative titled “Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States” will be implemented between 2022 and 2030 in 58 countries in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and the South China Sea. India, Australia, and the UK are likely to pledge $10 million each for the project and other CDRI initiatives. Other countries are also likely to contribute. Japan and the US have offered support in kind, mainly in technical expertise.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

COP26 Preview | Nations meet to act on climate amidst Covid-19 rupture

China’s mishandling of the initial Covid-19 infections may have alienated it and experts predict the talks could be even more contentious than earlier as the increasingly bipolar nature of global political summits pits China against the Western powers. Starting October 31, heads of states will meet for the 26th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, or COP26, as it is better known. While discussions on something as crucial as climate change cannot take place in a vacuum, the upcoming conference could be quite tetchy due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant global economic slowdown. The two-week annual summit was originally due to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Nations will once again converge to decide how to reduce harmful carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that threatens humanity’s collective future. Excess CO2 in the atmosphere has caused the average global temperature to shoot up over the past 150 years, melting glaciers and raising ocean levels. The latest COP comes in the backdrop of a major shift in global geopolitics. China’s mishandling of the initial Covid infections and its dogged refusal to even share the blame for the pandemic have alienated it from a large number of nations. The talks are expected to be even more contentious than before as the increasingly bipolar nature of global political summits pits China against the Western powers. The China-vs-all or China-vs-Quad nations scenario will invariably come up,” said Samrat Sengupta, programme director, climate change & renewable energy at the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment. “This will also have an impact on the environment or climate debate because energy – the source and security of energy – is inherent to all those politics. We can’t avert this.” Health or climate? The pandemic, the race to manufacture vaccines, and the attempts to ramp up healthcare systems to save lives, whether in advanced economies like the US or developing nations like India, presented policymakers with some uncomfortable questions – after all, no nation has an infinite budget. While it won’t be a stark choice between spending on renewable energy or on healthcare, policymakers around the world may have to choose what to prioritise in the short to medium term, a government official told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity. Some have argued that Indian policymakers will have a tougher time in trying to convince the electorate of the benefits of investing more money and effort in the environment than in healthcare in the post-Covid era. But experts dismiss these concerns, saying governments know they are way past these arguments. “One thing we cannot discuss is health vs energy or health vs environment because the present requirement on the primary health care systems is a reactive requirement,” Sengupta said. “You have to do it immediately. On the other hand, renewables are perfectly poised to be a politically perfect agenda to push for because it’s the cheapest and it is modular. As a result, it provides us with an opportunity to democratise the supply side. Renewables are also pushing for electrification and creates major employment.” Asian giants At the same time, India’s rivalry with China in the economic and political space has threatened to spill over into environmental diplomacy where the countries have long batted together against richer nations. “For many years, China and India had acted as part of a single bloc when it came to environmental issues. But in the last decade, China has risen rapidly and currently is responsible for 30 percent of global emissions. Its per capita emissions are currently at levels above the European Union and are expected to reach US levels in the next five years,” Sengupta said. Considering that India has an almost similar population, its per capita emissions are still less than one-third of average global emission levels. This disparity, among other issues, ensures that China and India will not be on similar grounds at international fora, let alone act as a bloc any more, he stressed. India’s agenda As reported earlier, the Indian delegation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to mount a major diplomatic campaign during COP26 aimed at pushing developed nations like the US, Australia and the European Union bloc to announce major cutbacks in their carbon emissions in the next five years. India plans to enter the summit on a high, having implemented ambitious goals towards increasing non-renewable sources of energy, said a senior official involved in the planning for India's participation at the event. At the historic Paris summit in 2015, all emitters, big and small, had agreed to bring forward new and more ambitious carbon-cutting plans every five years. The 2020 deadline has since passed without major commitments from any member of the developed bloc. India will also push for green financing from developed nations and seek to channel a part of this support to the International Solar Alliance, a network of 90-plus countries that it has established and championed. The government will continue to argue that the country’s per capita emissions show each Indian has a much smaller carbon footprint than the average American or European. In 2015, India was one of the major economies to announce drastic cuts in its carbon emissions. At the Paris climate summit, New Delhi pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. On the other hand, Modi has set a target of generating 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, which is five times the current capacity and two and half times the Paris pledge. India’s share of non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources in terms of installed electricity generation capacity has already reached 38 percent against a target of 40 percent by 2030.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Pollution, winter, and Delhi’s annual tryst with bad air

Every year, agencies along with the state and Union environment ministers suggest air quality may not deteriorate like the previous years because of several new measures. But invariably, the onset of winter brings a massive public health challenge New Delhi: In the middle of September, people in Delhi were sharing pictures of azure blue skies, while exclaiming how the clean air in the Capital made a difference to their lives. Gradually, air quality started declining, hitting “poor” levels (air quality index of 201 to 300) on October 16 when a grey sky hung over the Capital. After two episodes of unseasonal thunderstorms and rain came to Delhi’s rescue, air quality monitoring agencies have warned of a downward spiral this week onwards. Every year, agencies along with the state and Union environment ministers suggest air quality may not deteriorate like the previous years because of several new measures that have been put in place. But invariably, the onset of winter brings a massive public health challenge, leading to increased hospitalisations with complications of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, strokes, asthma, cardiac issues and so on. “As doctors, we see the impacts of pollution on people first-hand, especially on the more vulnerable sections like senior citizens and children. In many health-related issues, you might not see an immediate impact of pollution exposure, but in more chronic cases, pollution does play a role in deteriorating a patient’s condition,” said Arvind Kumar, founder of Lung Care Foundation and chairperson of the Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco Surgery and Lung Transplantation. This is significant because the World Health Organization (WHO) tightened its air quality guidelines last month bringing down the annual PM 2.5 (respirable pollution particles) guideline from 10 micrograms per cubic metres to 5 micrograms per cubic metres, and the 24-hour PM 2.5 guideline from 25 micrograms per cubic metres (µg/m³) to 15 micrograms per cubic metres based on the latest evidence of health impacts from air pollution. In comparison, India’s thresholds are much higher. According to the 2009 National Ambient Air Quality Standards still in force, the acceptable PM2.5 exposure limit over 24 hours is 60µg/m³ (four times the new WHO limit), and for exposure over a year-long period, 40µg/m³ (eight times the revised WHO threshold). What happens in the winter? While various factors come together to deteriorate Delhi’s air quality in the winter — including a range of local and external factors — the weather plays a dominant role in keeping fine, respirable pollution particles (PM 2.) closer to the surface, not allowing them to disperse as easily as they would during any other time of the year. When the monsoon starts retreating from northwest India around October, wind direction changes from easterly to north-westerly. During monsoons, the winds, travelling from over the Bay of Bengal, carry moisture and bring rains to northwest India washing away accumulated pollutants frequently. But after monsoon withdrawal, wind speed is low and north-westerly winds are dry. October also coincides with the harvest season in agrarian states such as Haryana and Punjab, from where winds blow into Delhi. Following the harvest, farmers burn paddy stubble which leads to the release of severe particulate pollution over Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. This year, Punjab reported 4,006 and Haryana reported 1,835 stubble fires from September 21 to October 14, according to an analysis by the Central Pollution Control Board. On October 16 alone, there were 429 fire points in Punjab, and 176 over Haryana. “Along with the change in wind direction, the rise in pollution levels can also be attributed to a fall in temperatures. As temperature dips, the inversion height — a layer of the atmosphere beyond which pollutants cannot disperse — is lowered. Here is how to understand it: Visualise the pollution particles in the atmosphere as students in a classroom. While the same number of students can move around and play freely in a larger classroom, as the size of the classroom shrinks, they look more packed and have difficulty in moving freely,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD). The current interventions The Union environment ministry is trying a basket of measures to keep the number of stubble fires low this time. Environment minister, Bhupender Yadav, said in September, during a press briefing on his meeting with environment ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP, and Delhi, that a bioenzyme developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa which helps decompose stubble in around 30 to 35 days is being used widely. The decomposer capsules will also be used over a million ha in Uttar Pradesh; 100,000 ha in Haryana; 1680 ha in Delhi and 3000 ha in Punjab. The agriculture ministry had, under the Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the State of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, allotted ₹700 crore for five years until 2020. Around 156,000 machines have been distributed, there are over 12,000 machine hiring centres in Punjab alone which will also be utilised. Yadav said that one of the important interventions this year will be of using stubble as biofuel. The National Thermal Power Corporation has floated a tender for 20 million tonnes of stubble for 4 years, according to Yadav. There are also projects in Kutch and parts of Rajasthan to procure paddy stubble for fodder which will be added to other forms of fodder to make it suitable for cattle. A senior environment ministry official had said the area under Pusa 44 — which matures late and leaves a lot of stubble — has reduced this year. Punjab also ran a campaign called “Mera Pani Meri Virasat” in which area under paddy has reduced marginally. The overall area under Basmati has increased, which normally doesn’t cause trouble with stubble because it decomposes easily. A senior scientist of the Punjab Agricultural University said that while the number of stubble fires in Punjab this year has been considerably lower compared to the previous years, it will be difficult to assess if these are a result of government interventions or if these fires are merely delayed because of unique weather conditions that north India has witnessed this time. “The usual trend is that from mid-October fires start peaking and by end of October and the first week of November the numbers peak to 3,000-4,000 a day. But currently, we are only reporting 300-400 fires a day. However, it is still too early to establish any trend because this could be a temporary situation because we saw a late monsoon withdrawal in the region this time and even in October there were episodes of heavy rain and hail in the state,” the scientist explained. The emissions and the commission Hostile weather and stubble fires are added to the city’s local pollution sources, which include construction and road dust, vehicular pollution, and open burning of waste. Over the last few years, Delhi has seen the formation and dismantling of several pollution monitoring and overseeing bodies tasked with controlling this annual air emergency. Little has changed in terms of action on-ground. And this year might not be too different. The Commission for Air Quality in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act was notified in August. It replaced the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution Control Authority in overseeing air pollution-related issues in Delhi. The newly constituted commission has sweeping powers in controlling air pollution in Delhi-NCR. Any non-compliance or contravention of any provisions of the act, rules made thereunder, or any order or direction issued by the commission is a punishable offence with imprisonment of up to five years or with a fine which may extend up to ₹1 crore, or both. The commission has exclusive jurisdiction in matters covered by the act. No other body or authority or committee or individual will have any power or jurisdiction in that matter. In addition, the Delhi government this year has announced the formation of a dedicated winter action plan to tackle various aspects of winter pollution in the city, and also pin accountability on agencies. This plan promises to focus on 10 primary sources, which tend to flare up during the pollution season and tackle it. While submitting its individual action plan to the Delhi government, the three municipal agencies (north, south, and east corporations) plan to curb pollution from waste burning and dust, focusing on intensive patrolling, increased mechanical sweeping, targeted operation of GPS-monitored water sprinkling tankers, and a new portal being developed with the help of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to monitor large construction sites. This year, agencies will also have to focus largely on construction sites. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, several construction projects in the city are racing to meet their deadline, which means that many pockets are lying dug-up with dust flying around and construction material slipping out of tin sheets, which in most sites are merely a boundary for show. Currently, in Delhi, there are at least six major ongoing construction projects. This includes the Central Vista, the underpass at Pragati Maidan, the Ashram underpass, the Barapullah extension, the Delhi Metro Phase-IV corridors, and the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). “The idea behind formulating a dedicated winter action plan for Delhi is to identify the problem and fix responsibility on agencies. As we go into the season, we will constantly keep monitoring the pollution sources and identify agencies that need to act on them. This will lead to systematically handling all the sources,” said a senior official of the DPCC. Environment experts, however, said that Delhi has, over the last few years, seen several “action plans”, but results can only be seen when agencies act on those plans. Many also said that Delhi already has a holistic action plan in place — the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) —which details what each agency needs to do. “It is not like Delhi has been moving aimlessly in managing winter pollution in the last few years. There is a detailed GRAP in place, which tells each agency exactly what to do when pollution reaches a certain level. It is good that the government is taking the matter seriously and is forming an action plan, but the true test comes to how well these plans are implemented,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment. Karthik Ganesan, fellow and director (research coordination) at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, said that while there have been efforts year after year to manage the pollution crisis in the Capital, source-specific action is needed. “There is an increasing level of effort each year and the administrative machinery is on ‘high alert’ to the impending air quality deterioration. However, the efforts are required on a number of fronts ranging from addressing issues within Delhi waste burning, high load from private vehicle use, poor service levels of buses which are the most used mode of transport, unabated emissions from large construction sites and none of these have been addressed in a concerted manner,” Ganesan said. He added, “A well-functioning app to report transgressions helps fire-fighting, but the sources outside the boundary of Delhi and indeed entrenched sources within need to be addressed year-round and not just as we enter the autumn season.”

• Director General Office

COP26 : प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के लिए ग्लासगो दौरा क्यों अहम है?

भारत को पिछले एक साल में प्राकृतिक आपदाओं जैसे सूखा, बेमौसम बरसात, बाढ़ और तूफ़ान की वजह से 87 अरब डॉलर का नुक़सान हुआ है. ये आँकड़ा वर्ल्ड मीटियोरोलॉजिकल ऑर्गनाइज़ेशन ने जारी किया है. इस मामले में भारत से आगे केवल चीन है जिसका पिछले एक साल का नुक़सान 238 अरब डॉलर का है. जानकार इस नुक़सान को जलवायु परिवर्तन से जोड़ कर देखते हैं. यही वजह है कि भारत समेत दुनिया के तक़रीबन 120 देश ब्रिटेन के ग्लासगो शहर में जुट रहे हैं ताकि जलवायु परिवर्तन और उससे होने वाले ख़तरे से निपटने पर दुनिया एक साथ मिल-बैठकर क़दम उठा सके. दिल्ली, उत्तराखंड से लेकर केरल तक, गुजरात से लेकर पश्चिम बंगाल और असम तक के लोगों ने बदलते तापमान की वजह से होने वाले इन बदलावों को काफ़ी क़रीब से महसूस किया है. इन्हीं बदलावों के मद्देनज़र प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का ग्लासगो दौरा अहम हो जाता है जहाँ दुनिया के तमाम बड़े देश दुनिया के बदलते तापमान को लेकर चर्चा करने वाले हैं. ग्लासगो में क्या होगा? ग्लासगो में COP26 सम्मेलन 31 अक्टूबर से होने वाला है. 13 दिन तक चलने वाले इस सम्मेलन को COP सम्मेलन कहा जाता है, जिसका मतलब - 'कॉन्फ़्रेंस ऑफ़ पार्टीज़' है. इस बार इस सम्मेलन में अमेरिका के राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडन आने वाले हैं. भारत की तरफ़ से पर्यावरण मंत्री भूपेंद्र यादव तो रहेंगे ही, प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी भी इसमें हिस्सा लेने वाले हैं. इस वजह से भारत के संदर्भ में ये सम्मेलन और भी महत्वपूर्ण हो जाता है. ग्लासगो का एजेंडा वैसे तो बहुत बड़ा है, लेकिन उनमें से सबसे अहम और महत्वपूर्ण है पेरिस समझौते के नियमों को अंतिम रूप देना. साल 2015 में क्लामेट चेंज को लेकर पेरिस समझौते हुआ था. इसका मक़सद कार्बन गैसों का उत्सर्जन कम कर दुनियाभर में बढ़ रहे तापमान को रोकना था ताकि ये 1.5 से 2 डिग्री सेल्सियस से ज़्यादा ना बढ़ने पाए. इसके बाद दुनिया के देशों ने स्वेच्छा से अपने लिए लक्ष्य तय किए थे. नरेंद्र मोदी इमेज स्रोत, Getty Images संयुक्त राष्ट्र के ताज़ा अनुमान के मुताबिक, वर्तमान में अलग-अलग देशों ने जो लक्ष्य तय किए हैं, उससे दुनिया का तापमान इस सदी के अंत तक 2.7 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक बढ़ेगा. इसलिए जलवायु परिवर्तन के दुष्प्रभाव से निपटना और ज्यादा ज़रूरी हो जाता है. ग्लासगो में इसी बात पर चर्चा होगी कि इस बार 2 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक के तापमान पर वादा करने से बात नहीं बनेगी. दुनिया के सभी देशों को मिलकर इसे 1.5 डिग्री सेल्सियस से ज़्यादा ना बढ़ने देने का संकल्प करना होगा. ये भी पढ़ें : जलवायु परिवर्तन: भारत को दी गई डेडलाइन पर है दुनिया की नज़र COP26 नेट- ज़ीरो का मतलब इसके लिए ज़रूरी है कि सभी देश अपने नेट-ज़ीरो डेडलाइन बताएं. ग्रीनहाउस गैस के उत्सर्जन और वातावरण से ग्रीनहाउस गैस कम करने के बीच के संतुलन को नेट ज़ीरो इमिशन कहते हैं. इसका मतलब ये है कि हर देश को एक वर्ष, डेडलाइन के तौर पर देना है, जब उस देश का कुल कार्बन-उत्सर्जन शून्य हो जाये. चीन, दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा कार्बन उत्सर्जक देश है. चीन पहले ही घोषणा कर चुका है कि वह 2060 तक कार्बन न्यूट्रल हो जाएगा. चीन ने यह भी कहा है कि उसका उत्सर्जन 2030 से पहले अपने चरम पर पहुंच जाएगा. दूसरे सबसे बड़े कार्बन उत्सर्जक देश अमेरिका ने नेट-ज़ीरो तक पहुंचने के लिए 2050 तक का लक्ष्य रखा है. अमेरिका का कहना है कि वह 2035 तक अपने पावर सेक्टर को डी-कार्बनाइज़ कर देगा. लेकिन भारत ने अभी तक इसके लिए अपनी डेडलाइन नहीं बताई है. वीडियो कैप्शन, जलवायु परिवर्तन से इंसानों को ख़तरा: यूएन कोयले पर निर्भरता ख़त्म करना ग्लासगो सम्मेलन में इस बात पर भी चर्चा होगी कि अब तक दुनिया में जहाँ-जहाँ कोयले से बिजली उत्पादन हो रहा है, उस पर निर्भरता कैसे ख़त्म की जाए. कोयले के इस्तेमाल से कार्बन उत्सर्जन सबसे ज़्यादा होता है. लेकिन आर्थिक विकास के लिए उसकी ज़रूरत को नज़रअंदाज भी नहीं की किया जा सकता. चीन, भारत और अमेरिका इसके लिए सबसे ज़्यादा ज़िम्मेदार हैं. इन तीनों देशों ने कोयले पर निर्भरता ख़त्म करने की कोई डेडलाइन नहीं दी है. जलवायु परिवर्तन पर बनी संयुक्त राष्ट्र की अंतर सरकारी समिति (आईपीसीसी) का कहना है कि दुनिया का तापमान 1.5 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक रोकने के लिए ज़रूरी है कि 2050 तक दुनिया की कोयले पर निर्भरता पूरी तरह ख़त्म हो जाए. कुछ जानकार मानते हैं कि इस पर चर्चा के दौरान विकसित देश बनाम विकासशील देश की लड़ाई आगे भी बढ़ सकती है. अमेरिका और ब्रिटेन जैसे प्राकृतिक गैस पर निर्भर देश विकासशील देशों पर कोयले पर निर्भरता ख़त्म करने के लिए दबाव बढ़ा रहे हैं जिसके लिए विकासशील देशों को आर्थिक मदद की ज़रूरत होगी. ये भी पढ़ें : भारत का प्रदूषण से डर, लेकिन कोयले से मोहब्बत COP26 पैसा कहाँ से आएगा? इसी आर्थिक मदद की ज़रूरत को ध्यान में रखते हुए पेरिस समझौते के अंतर्गत विकासशील देशों के लिए, विकसित देशों को जलवायु वित्तीय सहायता के तहत 100 अरब डॉलर प्रति वर्ष देना भी तय किया गया था. इस वादे को विकसित देश पूरा नहीं कर पाए हैं. विकासशील देश चाहते हैं कि जलवायु कोष के लिए 100 अरब डॉलर का जो वादा पेरिस में किया था, उसे वो ना सिर्फ़ पूरा करें, बल्कि आगे के लिए इस रक़म में इज़ाफ़ा भी करें. इस पर भी COP26 में चर्चा होगी. भारत के जाने-माने पर्यावरणविद् और आईफ़ॉरेस्ट के सीईओ चंद्र भूषण का कहना है, "ग्लासगो का एजेंडा बहुत बड़ा है. मेरे हिसाब से कोर एजेंडा यही होना चाहिए कि पेरिस समझौते के रूल बुक को पूरा किया जाए. इसके साथ ही विकसित और विकासशील देशों के बीच जो भरोसा टूटा है वो एक बार फिर से बहाल हो सके." ये भी पढ़ें : भारत कोयले के बिना क्यों नहीं रह सकता है? COP26 इमेज स्रोत, STRDEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES हानि और क्षति सेंटर फ़ॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की निदेशक सुनीता नारायण के मुताबिक़, "ग्लासगो में एक अहम एजेंडा भारत के लिहाज़ से हानि और क्षति का भी है. पेरिस समझौते में इस पर बहुत ठोस कुछ नहीं कहा गया था. 1970 से 2019 के बीच जलवायु परिवर्तन से जुड़ी 11 हज़ार प्राकृतिक आपदाएं दर्ज की गई थीं जिसमें 20 लाख से अधिक जानें गईं. इसलिए ग्लासगो में किसी समझौते पर पहुँचने के लिए 'हानि और क्षति' को मुआवज़े से जोड़ने की ज़रूरत है." उन्होंने आगे कहा कि इसलिए जो देश ज़्यादा ज़िम्मेदार हैं उनके बारे में खुल कर बोलने की ज़रूरत है. इस संदर्भ में उन्होंने खुल कर चीन का नाम भी लिया. ये भी पढ़ें : चीन और भारत कोयले से बिजली बनाएं या दुनिया की आबोहवा बचाएं? COP26 इमेज स्रोत, Getty Images पेरिस समझौते में भारत का वादा, कितना हुआ पूरा पेरिस समझौते के बाद भारत ने भी अपनी तरफ़ से जलवायु परिवर्तन से निपटने के लिए कई वादे किए थे जिसमें तीन प्रमुख बातें थीं. पहला - 2005 के मुकाबले 2030 तक कार्बन उत्सर्जन में 33 से 35 प्रतिशत की कमी का लक्ष्य सबसे अहम था. भारत सरकार का दावा है कि पहले लक्ष्य में 28 फ़ीसदी का टारगेट भारत 2021 में पूरा कर चुका है. लेकिन भारत दुनिया में चीन और अमेरिका के बाद कार्बन उत्सर्जन करने वाला तीसरा सबसे बड़ा देश है. भारत अभी भी दुनिया में कोयले का दूसरा सबसे बड़ा उपभोक्ता है और देश की कुल बिजली का 70% से ज़्यादा हिस्सा कोयले से ही उत्पादित होता है. विकासशील देश होने की वजह से इस बात की संभावना है कि देश के सतत आर्थिक विकास के लिए अगले कुछ दशकों तक ऊर्जा के उत्पादन का मुख्य स्रोत कोयला ही रहेगा. माना जा रहा है कि ये एक महत्वपूर्ण तथ्य है जिस वजह से भारत ने अभी तक नेट ज़ीरो लक्ष्य की घोषणा नहीं की है. COP26 इमेज स्रोत, STRDEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES पेरिस समझौते के बाद भारत का दूसरा बड़ा वादा था- 2030 तक अपनी बिजली आपूर्ति का 40 फ़ीसदी हिस्सा रिन्यूएबल (अक्षय) और परमाणु ऊर्जा से हासिल करना. भारत सरकार का दावा है कि 2030 तक वो टारगेट से ज़्यादा (तक़रीबन 48 फ़ीसदी) हासिल कर लेगी. पेरिस समझौते में तीसरा बड़ा वादा भारत सरकार ने पेड़ लगाने का किया था. भारत सरकार का लक्ष्य था कि 2030 तक इतने पेड़ लगाए जाएं ताकि वातावरण से अतिरिक्त 2.5 से 3 बिलियन टन कार्बन डाईऑक्साइड गैस सोखी जा सके. केंद्र सरकार के आँकड़ों के मुताबिक़ 2001 से 2019 के बीच भारत का फ़ॉरेस्ट कवर 5.2 प्रतिशत बढ़ा है. लेकिन अंतरराष्ट्रीय संस्था ग्लोबल फ़ॉरेस्ट वॉच से ये आँकड़े मेल नहीं खाते. ग्लोबल फ़ॉरेस्ट वॉच के मुताबिक़ भारत में फ़ॉरेस्ट कवर घटा है. दोनों के आँकड़े अलग-अलग होने की एक बड़ी वजह 'फ़ॉरेस्ट कवर' की परिभाषा में अंतर भी है. COP 26 इमेज स्रोत, Hindustan Times ग्लासगो में भारत क्या कर सकता है? ग्लासगो में जानकारों को उम्मीद है कि भारत अपने लक्ष्यों को संशोधित करने का एलान कर सकता है. इससे पहले भारत सरकार ने 'नेट-ज़ीरो' पर बहुत भरोसा नहीं जताया है. चंद्र भूषण का कहना है, "भारत को इस सम्मेलन में एक लीडर के तौर पर जाना चाहिए, फ़ॉलोअर की तरह नहीं." "नेट ज़ीरो इमिशन का टारगेट भारत के फ़ायदे में है. भारत 2050 से 2060 के बीच यह हासिल कर सकता है. अगर दुनिया का तापमान 1.5 डिग्री सेल्सियस से ज़्यादा नहीं बढ़ेगा तो सबसे ज़्यादा फ़ायदे में भारत ही होगा. जल्द ही भारत की जनसंख्या 150 करोड़ होने वाली है. उसी अनुपात में ग़रीबों की संख्या भी बढ़ेगी, जो पहले से ही यहाँ ज़्यादा हैं. ग़रीबी का सीधा संबंध जलवायु परिवर्तन से है. ग़रीबों के पास रहने को पक्के मकान नहीं होते तो जलवायु परिवर्तन उन्हीं को सबसे ज़्यादा प्रभावित करता है. इससे देश की जीडीपी भी फिर प्रभावित होती है. भारत में मॉनसून पर निर्भरता भी बहुत ज़्यादा है." सीएसई की निदेशक सुनीता नारायण कहती हैं, "नेट ज़ीरो पर भारत सरकार क्या कहती है, इसके लिए हमें कुछ और वक़्त इंतज़ार करना होगा. लेकिन मेरा मानना है कि भारत सरकार कहेगी कि हमें 'नेट ज़ीरो' के पहले साल 2030 की तरफ़ ध्यान देने की ज़रूरत है."

• Director General Office

COP26 पर भारत: 2030 तक 450GW अक्षय ऊर्जा लक्ष्य NDC हाइलाइट होने की संभावना है

2030 तक 450GW अक्षय ऊर्जा प्राप्त करने का भारत का लक्ष्य रविवार को ग्लासगो में शुरू होने वाले संयुक्त राष्ट्र के नेतृत्व वाले COP26 शिखर सम्मेलन में जलवायु परिवर्तन शमन में देश के योगदान का मुख्य आकर्षण होने की संभावना है। COP26 में भारत के रुख पर प्रधान मंत्री कार्यालय (PMO) में एक अंतर-मंत्रालयी बैठक के बाद एक ट्वीट में, केंद्रीय पर्यावरण मंत्री भूपेंद्र यादव ने बुधवार को कहा कि भारत लक्ष्य हासिल करने की राह पर है। “पीएम श्री @narendramodi जी के दूरदर्शी नेतृत्व में भारत जलवायु परिवर्तन के खिलाफ लड़ाई का नेतृत्व कर रहा है। जैसा कि देश जलवायु परिवर्तन प्रदर्शन सूचकांक में एक ‘उच्च प्रदर्शन’ बना हुआ है, भारत भी 2030 तक 450 GW के नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा लक्ष्य को प्राप्त करने की राह पर है, ”भूपेंद्र यादव ने ट्वीट किया। प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने 15 अगस्त को घोषणा की कि भारत ने 100GW अक्षय ऊर्जा स्थापित की है। उन्होंने कहा कि जी20 देशों में भारत अकेला ऐसा देश है जो अपने जलवायु लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के लिए तेजी से प्रगति कर रहा है। भारत ने पेरिस समझौते के तहत अपने राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर निर्धारित योगदान (एनडीसी) में 2030 तक गैर-जीवाश्म ईंधन स्रोतों से बिजली स्थापित क्षमता का 40% हासिल करने का लक्ष्य रखा है। लक्ष्य को प्राप्त करने का एक साधन 2022 तक 175GW नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा स्थापित करना है। पेरिस समझौते के तहत, भारत में वर्तमान में तीन मात्रात्मक एनडीसी हैं। इनमें 2030 तक 2005 के स्तर की तुलना में अपने सकल घरेलू उत्पाद की उत्सर्जन तीव्रता को 33-35% तक कम करना, जीवाश्म-मुक्त ऊर्जा स्रोतों से कुल संचयी बिजली उत्पादन को 2030 तक 40% तक बढ़ाना और 2.5-3 बिलियन टन का अतिरिक्त कार्बन सिंक बनाना शामिल है। अतिरिक्त वन और वृक्ष आच्छादन के माध्यम से। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने 450GW लक्ष्य को पर्याप्त बताया। “इसे हासिल करना मुश्किल होगा, लेकिन हमें यह देखना होगा कि क्या उपाय किए जाते हैं। ऐसे अनुमान हैं कि सौर कीमतें बढ़ेंगी क्योंकि पूंजीगत लागत का समर्थन करने के लिए पर्याप्त ऋण या वित्त नहीं है क्योंकि मुख्य रूप से जोखिम अधिक है, ”नारायण ने कहा। यह भी पढ़ें: इस सदी में तापमान 2.7 डिग्री सेल्सियस बढ़ने की राह पर दुनिया, यूएन की चेतावनी एक अधिकारी, जो पीएमओ में बैठक में शामिल हुए, ने कहा कि दूर के शुद्ध शून्य लक्ष्य की घोषणा करना वर्तमान जलवायु परिवर्तन संकट का समाधान नहीं हो सकता है। “इसलिए, हम तत्काल लक्ष्यों पर ध्यान केंद्रित कर सकते हैं। लेकिन विकल्प अभी भी खुले हैं। शुद्ध शून्य विकल्प बंद नहीं किया गया है, ”अधिकारी ने कहा। नाम न छापने की शर्त पर बात करने वाले अधिकारी ने कहा कि चूंकि नरेंद्र मोदी ग्लासगो की यात्रा करेंगे, इसलिए कैबिनेट की मंजूरी की जरूरत नहीं थी। “यह तय किया गया था कि भारत COP26 में अलग नहीं होगा।” COP26 से पहले, शिखर सम्मेलन के अध्यक्ष आलोक शर्मा ने मंगलवार को कहा कि उन्हें उम्मीद है कि भारत एनडीसी में 2030 तक 450GW अक्षय ऊर्जा लक्ष्य को शामिल करेगा जिसे वह प्रस्तुत करेगा। शर्मा ने कहा कि हर देश एक अलग ऊर्जा मिश्रण से शुरू होता है, लेकिन भारत के 450GW के अनौपचारिक लक्ष्य को ग्लासगो वार्ता से पहले अपने एनडीसी में औपचारिक रूप दिया जाना चाहिए। 2019 में भारत द्वारा शुरू की गई 27 देशों की वैश्विक साझेदारी, द डिजास्टर रेजिलिएंट इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर (CDRI) का गठबंधन, छोटे द्वीप राज्यों को COP26 में जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रति लचीलापन विकसित करने में मदद करने के लिए एक पहल शुरू करेगा। कैरिबियन, प्रशांत और अटलांटिक, हिंद महासागर, भूमध्यसागरीय और दक्षिण चीन सागर के 58 देशों में 2022 और 2030 के बीच “इन्फ्रास्ट्रक्चर फॉर द रेजिलिएंट आइलैंड स्टेट्स” शीर्षक वाली पहल को लागू किया जाएगा। भारत, ऑस्ट्रेलिया और यूके द्वारा परियोजना और अन्य सीडीआरआई पहलों के लिए प्रत्येक को 10 मिलियन डॉलर देने की संभावना है। अन्य देशों के भी योगदान देने की संभावना है। जापान और अमेरिका ने मुख्य रूप से तकनीकी विशेषज्ञता के क्षेत्र में समर्थन की पेशकश की है।