Contents are write protected Northeast States show decreasing trend in monsoon rainfall in 30 years https://easternmirrornagaland.com/northeast-states-show-decreasing-trend-in-monsoon-rainfall-in-30-years/
The countries will announce a global green grid to connect 140 countries through a solar-powered electricity network at the upcoming COP26. But geopolitics and costs might trip the grid. India's most ambitious renewables venture so far, a global solar grid linking 140 countries, will be announced at the forthcoming Conference of Parties (COP26) climate meet in Glasgow. The venture will be partnered by the United Kingdom. The project, titled Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG or OSOWOG), aims to harness solar energy wherever the sun is shining as the earth completes its 24-hour rotation around its axis, and transporting the electricity generated to areas that need it. The grid is to be developed in three phases. With India facing an energy crisis due to coal shortage, the focus has returned to the increased need for renewable energy resources. Regional grids are not a new idea: There is the Australia-Singapore energy sharing project; China's GEIDCO that aims to link Asia, Europe and Africa through an intercontinental grid by 2035 and Nord Pool, already functional, which connects Scandinavian countries. But OSOWOG will be the first attempt at creating a global solar energy network. The details of how this international solar grid will be set up and managed are likely to emerge after reports of the International Solar Alliance (ISA)-commissioned studies are out. The ISA is an alliance made up of 98 solar resource-rich countries aiming to share solar power with each other and the rest of the world. While energy experts agree with the initiative's premise and appreciate its scale, they question its feasibility. How will the initiative ensure consensus and high-level diplomacy between 140 countries? How will it establish the necessary multilateral institutional framework? What about the costs of laying high-voltage direct cables over long distances? IndiaSpend reached out to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for comments on these issues. This story will be updated when they do respond. The launch of GGI-OSOWOG will be against the backdrop of the ongoing global energy crisis caused by high energy demand and prices and shortage of gas and electricity. Global grid, with India at the centre Fossil fuels have a 60% share in India's total energy mix; non-fossil fuels contribute 37.9% and nuclear 1.7% (as on September 30). Among non-fossil fuels, hydro makes for 12% of the load while wind, solar and other renewable energy sources make up for 25.9% of the mix. India's domestic solar power capacity has increased by more than 11 times in five years from 2.6 GW in March 2014 to 30 GW in July 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, at the first assembly of the ISA in 2018, envisaged the creation of a transnational solar energy grid. OSOWOG too is an initiative of the alliance. The OSOWOG project works on the idea that solar energy can be sent across high-voltage direct cables across continents, even from under the ocean, to needy countries. It envisages India at the centre of the solar spectrum, flanked by two broad zones: the "Far East", including Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, and the "Far West", covering the Middle East and Africa. In May 2021, the UK and India agreed to combine their green initiatives--the UK's green grid initiative or GGI that supports the agenda of a clean-powered future whose details will be announced at COP26, and OSOWOG, which has been pushing for global solar energy sharing at many international forums. The combined initiative is also a part of the India-UK 2030 roadmap for co-operation across various sectors and was discussed at the Energy for Growth Dialogue held virtually on October 8, 2021. The just-concluded fourth assembly of the ISA discussed the operationalisation of OSOWOG and held a technical session on it. Key subjects deliberated included a $1-trillion Solar Investment Roadmap for 2030, and approval of a 'Blended Financial Risk Mitigation Facility'. Bloomberg Philanthropies (BP), a New York-based charitable organisation, announced a partnership with ISA to mobilise the sum of $1 trillion. "Rigorous assessments and modelling have confirmed the initiative's technical and economic viability, building a strong business case," an ISA statement said, ahead of the assembly. "Its commercial feasibility has been further augmented by multilateral development banks such as [the] World Bank, which are helping create markets by driving down costs of solar power." Bloomberg also released a report titled 'Scaling up solar in ISA member countries'. It found that electricity demand is expected to triple in 75 less-developed ISA countries over the next three decades while the cost of utility-scale solar is expected to drop by almost 20% in the next five years. "These findings show that solar power is the most economically viable solution for adding new power generation capacity for more than half the world's population," BP said in a press release. Storage advantage The unique GGI-OSOWOG grid could address issues of storage, said R.K. Singh, the Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, while speaking at a two-day discussion on October 8 organised virtually by Wilton Park, the executive agency of the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. "Energy transition is hit by the roadblock of expensive storage. If there is one grid connecting the world, then that will reduce the requirement of storage… It does not look as far-fetched because we already have regional grids," said Singh. OSOWOG aims to link existing national and regional grids to each other in order to create multiple intra-continental grids and eventually a single inter-continental global grid connecting the world. Wilton Park underlined the advantages of the grid in a press release, especially on the issue of power storage, but pointed to the challenge of setting up transmission lines "crossing frontiers and time zones". At a two-day strategic discussion last week, Singh agreed that the task of setting up the mechanisms for global interconnection and grid management lies ahead. ISA's director general Ajay Mathur expressed hope that some of the first interconnection projects could be announced "in the coming months". Speaking at one of the sessions on October 18, Amit Jain, senior energy specialist at the World Bank, said a South Asia power pool would be one of the first pilot projects under the OSOWOG initiative. A draft cross-border trade of electricity should be finalised soon as it can become the blueprint for South Asia power pool, said Jain. Building consensus, tackling geopolitics Not all energy experts believe a global solar grid could work. It is a "super hypothetical, ideal scenario that may happen after 70 years", said Samrat Sengupta, programme director for climate change and energy at the Centre for Science and Environment. "This is the right approach but do we have land surface or earth surface (to set up solar panels) available to all countries, sufficient to meet their demand?" asked Sengupta. He pointed to the other issues that will need to be addressed--the variability of supply over the 24X7 cycle depending on time and season and the need for storage, even though it is reduced under the proposed model. Building political consensus between 140 countries could be a knotty affair, Sengupta pointed out, citing the example of southern Indian states. The southern grid, he pointed out, was the last to be connected to the national grid. "In a nation like India, it took us this long to connect all the regions of the country through a national grid and we are talking about 'one world, one grid' that involves international trade," said Sengupta. Some policy experts see OSOWOG as India's attempt at positioning itself as a world leader, a bid to outdo China's One Belt One Road initiative--the global infrastructure project involving 70 countries and international organisations--but emphasise the importance and difficulty of international institution building. Aditya Valiathan Pillai, associate fellow at Centre for Policy Research (CPR), is of the view that with renewables becoming the "new playground for geopolitics", OSOWOG will be positioned as an extension of India's foreign policy rather than its domestic energy policy. "They have a grand vision, which is good," said Pillai. "The question is, what sort of institutional framework underlies this massive vision? For any country to sign up for the global grid, they have to be comfortable in the institutional rules that are being proposed, they have to know that electricity will be supplied, that disputes will be resolved, that electricity would be sold at fair and transparent prices. If you are going to cede some authority or control to a supranational power, you have to be comfortable with it." Pillai pointed out that regional projects such Nord Pool are governed by sophisticated multilateral institutional systems whereas in South Asia, we have seen a regression of geopolitical institutions such as SAARC. "Institutions have sort of disappeared from view. That dimension of OSOWOG seems to be missing," Pillai said, suggesting that it would be a victory if we could just connect West, Southeast and South Asia. Pointing to the incomplete electrification of India even after seven decades of Independence, electricity policy expert at CPR, Ashwini Swain said, "We are talking about connecting so many countries globally but there have been many regional or intra-continental attempts in the past (not just for solar energy sharing but for a gas pipeline, for example) and nothing has worked out," he said. "For example, to connect to the West, India has to go through Pakistan or Afghanistan. How will India achieve that?" Cost of undersea cables may cancel out cheap solar advantage The operationalisation of OSOWOG was discussed at the ISA fourth Assembly, where US climate envoy Kerry called on countries to invest in grid infrastructure and storage. "Harnessing the full value of solar energy will require countries to invest in storage, in grid infrastructure and in flexibility in both demand and supply," Kerry said, "And to connect solar power with parts of the economy that don't currently use electricity, countries must invest in electric vehicles and clean fuels like hydrogen that can be produced using solar power." Swain of CPR estimated that it will take a few more years for solar energy to reach surplus levels anywhere in the world. "Also, transmission cost of electricity through cables under oceans or across continents is likely to be super expensive and the merit of cheap solar will be lost in that," he said.
Gurgaon: In less than 48 hours, the city’s air quality has nosedived to the “poor” category from “good” due to a combination of local emissions, meteorological factors and a high volume of particulate matter (PM). While fall in wind speed, from Tuesday’s 11 km/hour to 6 km/hour today, and dip in temperature slowed down dispersion, experts say lack of effective clampdown on industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust gasses has further led to an accumulation of pollutants. On Wednesday, the city’s Air Quality Index hovered at around 235 (poor) on a scale of 500, down from 81 (satisfactory) and 36 (good) recorded on October 19 and 18, respectively, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). An analysis of data obtained from the city’s five air monitoring stations revealed that apart from PM 2.5 and PM 10, which are the most prominent contributors of pollution, there was a high presence of toxic pollutants like ozone, carbon monoxide (C0), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur oxide (SOx). Between October 1 and 20, three of five stations had unsafe levels of ozone. On October 15 and 16, the concentration of ozone touched 124 ug/m3 and 224ug/m3, respectively, at Vikas Sadan -- the highest concentration recorded in the city this month so far, as per CPCB data. The Sector-51 station, meanwhile, recorded 160 ug/m3 and 203ug/m3 of ozone in the corresponding period, while at Manesar centre it touched 152ug/m3 and 170ug/m3 respectively on October 14 and 15. Experts have called the trend “alarming” as the prevalence of ground-level ozone indicates other pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and SOx, are also present in higher quantities. According to Aarti Khosla, director of Climate Trends, a climate research agency, a high presence of ozone in Gurgaon could be mainly linked with emissions from tailpipes. “A lot of ozone pollution is caused due to vehicular emissions. Breathing the gas has a documented impact on lung health causing short-term breathing problems as well as dangerous conditions, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to long term exposure,” Khosla told TOI. Devising a traffic plan that moves people and not vehicles, allowing space for public transportation to build up, she said, were some long-term measures that could be adopted to bring ozone level down in a city like Gurgaon. “But let us not forget that ozone also comes from industrial sources like factories, chemical plants, power plants. Unless industrial emissions are not checked, it’s hard to get rid of ozone. The gas can travel long distances as well so all ozone present in an area might not have been generated there, thereby compounding the effect of ozone,” Khosla added. Currently, 266 industrial units are operational in Gurgaon. The sprawling city has nearly 1.1 million vehicles while more than 50,000 vehicles enter the city every day, according to the Regional Transport Office. According to experts, the concentration of ozone is directly proportional to NOx. “The chemical reacts with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight to form ozone. So, the more the NOx, the more is the production of ozone. The major sources of CO2 and NOx are almost the same -- vehicular and industrial emissions,” Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at Amity Centre for Air Pollution Control, said. On October 12, the Vikas Sadan centre recorded NO2 at 110µg/m3, while it was at 125µg/m3 on October 17. The permissible standard for both NO2 and sulphur dioxide (SO2) is 80.00µg/m3. Garbage burning, experts said, was a dominant factor contributing to SO2, besides PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. Besides, rampant use of diesel generators across housing societies, hospitals, malls, hotels, offices and industrial units, also significantly add to PM and NOx emissions. Road dust and dust from construction sites, too, spike PM2.5 concentrations. “Existing estimates on sources affecting Gurgaon’s air quality indicate that vehicles, industries, dust and stubble burning are the leading sources of winter PM 2.5 levels in the city. With wind expected to predominantly blow from the northwest direction of NCR on October 20 and 21, stubble burning in neighbouring states, in addition to emissions from local sources, is likely to deteriorate air quality in the city. The state government should roll out pre-emptive measures to target deeper emission cuts,” Tanushree Ganguly, programme lead at Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), told TOI. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), meanwhile, recommended the government should take active steps to curb vehicular emissions, increase electric mobility, scale up public transport and pedestrian infrastructure, deploy citywide parking management to curb the use of private vehicles, and aggressively control industrial emissions. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), CSE, said, “Implementation of these norms can only reduce pollution levels in the air. Though there are several factors that contribute to the pollution of air quality, dust from construction sites in the region is a major contributor.” Meanwhile, CPCB has implemented Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) measures under the “moderate” to “poor” range with immediate effect in National Capital Region (NCR) from October 18. On Wednesday, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) officials said that they were taking all required action to mitigate air pollution. “Our staff is vigilant of local pollution such as road dust, dust from construction sites and garbage burning instances,” Sandeep Singh, HSPCB regional officer, said.
The different agencies that are responsible for implementing measures to mitigate air pollution hardly work on it throughout the year. With the onset of the winter season, polluted days are back in Delhi and the areas surrounding NCR. Winter pollution has become an annual affair that is discussed only when air pollution worsens in October. The different agencies that are responsible for implementing measures to mitigate the problem hardly work on it throughout the year. In the process of understanding the magnitude of the problem and the likely solutions to the perennial hardships of residents, India Today spoke to environmentalists to find out the possible ways to fight pollution in a better way. Many environmentalists are of the view that there is no dearth of policies; the problem lies in the lack of their implementation. India Today spoke to two prominent personalities working on the possible solutions to air pollution in the capital. Anumita Roychowdhary, executive director of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), and Anil Kumar, former director of Delhi’s Department of Environment, explained the issues and factors responsible for the unchecked rise of pollution in the National Capital and nearby areas in winter. COMMON AIR SET FROM PUNJAB TO GANGETIC PLAIN Experts are of the view that winter pollution mainly depends on meteorological conditions. These conditions start with the onset of winter in mid-October and continue till February. Hence, the region from Punjab to the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should be taken as an air set and agencies have to find a holistic solution for the area. A piecemeal approach won’t work much. LACK OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ANTI-POLLUTION MEASURES There are many policies to control pollution in the capital. But most of the policies are either poorly implemented or are not implemented at all. The surveillance system is mostly non-existent. Hence, violations go unchecked. Small offences that largely contribute to spreading pollutants, like garbage burning, leaf burning, dust control, etc, can be seen all across the capital and surrounding areas. POOR DUST CONTROL AND CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT Dust pollution is one of the major problems due to which Delhi chokes every year. Although the government claims to be strict on dust-control measures, small streets are still full of dust and mechanical sweeping is limited only to the main roads. Even sewage is openly left on the streets, which mixes with the loose dust and turns into sludge. This sludge is never removed from the neighbourhood streets and narrow lanes. Similarly, the construction waste and the dust produced from it are major problems and the government must find a way to have control over such problems. INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION A BIG WORRY Although the government claims that dirty fuel and coal has been completely banned in Delhi, senior environmentalists differ. They claim that in Delhi, industries are not limited to industrial areas. The industries are spread in the municipal areas as well. In the municipal areas, dirty fuel and coal are still used. They suggested that a system should be put in place so that such fuels can’t enter Delhi through the borders. GARBAGE AND BIOMASS BURNING Garbage burning is a major cause of pollution. Pollutants, such as PM2.5, are spread rapidly as a result of the burning. Frequent burning is seen at the landfill sites of Delhi, such as Ghazipur and Bhalswa. Stubble burning also contributes nearly 15% to seasonal pollution. Experts suggest that more focus should be on the rural areas where biomass burning is a common exercise during the winter months. POOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND ABSENCE OF LAST-MILE CONNECTIVITY Vehicular pollution is the largest contributor to Delhi’s pollution. The DTC bus fleet is going down every year and an increasing number of people are using cars to commute. The parking policy has not been rationalized for many years either. Experts suggest that parking charges should be costlier to discourage the use of personal transport. But for that, a robust public transport system should be made available first. The experts also suggested that the work-from-home culture should be promoted during winter so that fewer vehicles ply. NO AUDIT OF WASTE SEGREGATION AND SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste segregation to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes is still a non-starter in Delhi. Composting biodegradable waste can be a viable alternative to burning it. Even dust pollution can be controlled by implementing composting. A regular audit of waste management is necessary, but this has not been done so far by any of the agencies. LACK OF SYSTEMIC CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR The experts said that most of the steps are taken when the pollution months arrive. And even those measures are very few in comparison to the magnitude of the problem. Hence, systemic changes are required so that the anti-pollution mechanisms work throughout the year. LACK OF FUNDING OF MUNICIPAL BODIES Many of the steps to check pollution come under the domain of the municipal bodies, but these organisations are devoid of funds. Thus, they cannot spend much on pollution-control measures. The experts suggested that the municipal bodies and sanitation workers be provided facilities and funds to fight the battle against pollution better. DEVELOPING QUICK-RESPONSE SYSTEM Delhi and its surrounding areas have several agencies working to control pollution. But the multiplicity of agencies and lack of coordination result in a delayed response. The response system to check pollution should be quick and urgent to improve the results.
Annual concentration of pollution in Delhi still needs to be reduced by 58 per cent to meet the cleanliness standard, Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director (Research and Advocacy) at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said on Wednesday. "Delhi still needs to reduce its annual particulate pollution by another 58 per cent to be able to meet the cleanliness standard. During winter, the pollution build up happens even more due to numerous factors, but you still need round-the-year action to bring down the overall pollution level in the city," Roychowdhury told IANS. "It is the scale of action and stringency of the enforcement which will be important during winter," she added. The pollution level in Delhi, which starts rising as the winter season approaches, is attributed to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while announcing a 10-point Winter Action Plan earlier this month, had said that before October 4, the levels of pollution in Delhi were under control. In the past few months, Delhi government has held several meetings and taken a slew of measures, mostly preventive, to tackle the pollution problem in the national capital. Some of these include installation of smog tower to clean the air in its 1 km radius, introducing 14-point anti-dust guidelines to control pollution from construction and demolition sites, launching the Green Delhi App and Green War Room to identify pollution hotspots and setting up teams for monitoring the pollution emitting activities in the capital. On the steps taken by Delhi government, Roychowdhury said, "Short-term measures need not to be more stringent and more comprehensive to be able to control the smog episode. Having said that, we still need much deeper action around the year to bring down the overall pollution level in the city, so that pollution trapping can be prevented during winter. While Delhi government has touched upon several issues, a key focus area has to be complete prevention of waste burning. It is not enough to say that we will penalise the violators. "Some of the critical areas of intervention are to see that all the municipalities in Delhi develop proper infrastructure for waste segregation and composting. Delhi government needs to ensure that there is no entry of dirty fuel in any industrial unit, along with a more robust strategy to reduce vehicle numbers on the road. And for all of this to happen, we require both systematic changes and many short-term enforcements."
Annual concentration of pollution in Delhi still needs to be reduced by 58 per cent to meet the cleanliness standard, Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director (Research and Advocacy) at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said on Wednesday. "Delhi still needs to reduce its annual particulate pollution by another 58 per cent to be able to meet the cleanliness standard. During winter, the pollution build up happens even more due to numerous factors, but you still need round-the-year action to bring down the overall pollution level in the city," Roychowdhury told IANS. "It is the scale of action and stringency of the enforcement which will be important during winter," she added. The pollution level in Delhi, which starts rising as the winter season approaches, is attributed to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while announcing a 10-point Winter Action Plan earlier this month, had said that before October 4, the levels of pollution in Delhi were under control. In the past few months, Delhi government has held several meetings and taken a slew of measures, mostly preventive, to tackle the pollution problem in the national capital. Some of these include installation of smog tower to clean the air in its 1 km radius, introducing 14-point anti-dust guidelines to control pollution from construction and demolition sites, launching the Green Delhi App and Green War Room to identify pollution hotspots and setting up teams for monitoring the pollution emitting activities in the capital. On the steps taken by Delhi government, Roychowdhury said, "Short-term measures need not to be more stringent and more comprehensive to be able to control the smog episode. Having said that, we still need much deeper action around the year to bring down the overall pollution level in the city, so that pollution trapping can be prevented during winter. While Delhi government has touched upon several issues, a key focus area has to be complete prevention of waste burning. It is not enough to say that we will penalise the violators. "Some of the critical areas of intervention are to see that all the municipalities in Delhi develop proper infrastructure for waste segregation and composting. Delhi government needs to ensure that there is no entry of dirty fuel in any industrial unit, along with a more robust strategy to reduce vehicle numbers on the road. And for all of this to happen, we require both systematic changes and many short-term enforcements."
नई दिल्ली [सुनीता नारायण]। बीते 21 महीने से कोरोना विषाणु हमारे जीवन का सबसे बड़ा मानवीय संकट बना हुआ है। एक अत्यंत सूक्ष्म विषाणु से पैदा हुए इस संकट की घड़ी में हमें सत्ता से सच कहने में सक्षम होने की जरूरत है। हमें यह नहीं भूलना चाहिए कि यह विषाणु एक जगह से दूसरी जगह उछाल लगाने वाली प्रजाति है। हमें नहीं भूलना चाहिए कि यह विषाणु एक वन्य जीव से निकलकर आया, संभवत: एक चमगादड़ से मनुष्यों में यह पहुंचा हो। आज मानव और प्रकृति के बीच का रिश्ता एक खतरनाक मोड़ पर खड़ा है। जंगल में बसावट से लेकर खाद्य उद्योगों के निर्माण तक प्रकृति के साथ हमारा रिश्ता त्रासदी को बढ़ाने वाला है। यह जोखिम भरा रिश्ता उन सभी दीवारों को गिरा रहा है, जिसमें मानव और विषाणुओं के बीच एक उचित दूरी कायम थी। हमें ध्यान रखना चाहिए कि जीवों से मनुष्यों में पहुंचने वाली बीमारियां यहीं ठहरने वाली हैं और हमें इसके कारणोंं को बेहतर तरीके से समझना होगा। कोरोना विषाणु के कारण उपजी व्यक्तिगत त्रासदियों और दर्द को हमें नहीं भूलना चाहिए। यह भारी मानवीय पीड़ा का दौर रहा है। हम सभी ऐसे लोगों को जानते हैं, जिन्होंने अपने किसी करीबी और प्रिय को महामारी में हमेशा के लिए खो दिया है या फिर वह मृत्यु के द्वार को छूकर वापस लौटे हैं। उस बदहवास वक्त में डराने वाली स्मृतियों ने स्पष्ट संकेत दिया है कि सरकार को सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं में मजबूती के लिए निवेश करना चाहिए। बीमारी का प्रबंधन करने के लिए हमारे निगरानी की प्रणाली को बेहतर करने पर जोर देना चाहिए। बीमारियों से बचाव के लिए यह स्पष्ट है कि सेहत के लिए जरूरी स्वच्छ पानी, स्वच्छता, वायु प्रदूषण नियंत्रण पर काम करना होगा। कुपोषण और मोटापे की समस्या के लिए पौष्टिक भोजन पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना होगा। हमें उन श्रमिकों के चेहरों को नहीं भूलना चाहिए जो चले गए क्योंकि हमने उनसे मुंह फेर लिया था। उनकी आजीविका ढह गई, उनके पास अपना कहने के लिए कोई घर नहीं था। वे मीलों तक चले और यहां तक कि रेल की पटरियों पर थक-हार कर लेट गए और अंतत: मर भी गए। इन अदृश्य लोगों की दुर्दशा हमारी संयुक्त स्मृति में जरूर दहकनी चाहिए-ताकि उनकी स्थिति मंए सुधार हो। यह सच है कि सिंगापुर से लेकर दिल्ली तक हमारे शहरों में श्रम सस्ता है और हमें काम और उत्पादन की मरम्मत करने की जरूरत है ताकि लागत का भुगतान किया जा सके। इसके लिए आवास और बुनियादी ढांचे और सभी के लिए पर्यावरण सुरक्षा उपायों में निवेश की जरूरत है। इससे कारोबार करने की लागत बढ़ेगी हालांकि यह भविष्य के लिए काफी अहम है। उन क्षेत्रों में आजीविका और मजबूती के लिए भी निवेश की आवश्यकता है जहां से प्रवास शुरू होता है। हम जलवायु परिवर्तन के जोखिम भरे समय में रहते हैं जब चरम मौसम की घटनाएं जीवन को पंगु बना रही हैं। इसका मतलब यह होगा कि विकास योजनाओं की सामान्य गति और पैमाने को जारी रखने के अलावा और भी कुछ करना होगा। इसका मतलब होगा प्रकृति और पारिस्थितिकी सुरक्षा में भारी निवेश करना जो कि नौकरियों का निर्माण करेगी और जिससे आर्थिक सुरक्षा भी होगी। हमें दुनिया के सबसे गरीब लोगों पर महामारी के असमान प्रभाव को नहीं भूलना चाहिए। इस बीमारी से उनकी जान चली गई है और उनकी आजीविका चली गई है। इस विषाणु वर्ष ने देशों को कई बरस पीछे ढकेल दिया है। इसने जीवन को बेहतर बनाने के लिए किए गए वर्षों के विकास कार्यों को मिटा दिया है। इसने हमारी दुनिया में गरीबी को इस कदर बढ़ाया है जैसा पहले कभी नहीं हुआ था। हमें एक बंद अर्थव्यवस्था में प्रदूषण कम होने के कारण महसूस की गई स्वच्छ हवा की गंध और साफ नीले आसमान के नजारे को नहीं भूलना चाहिए। उसी दौरान ट्रैफिक का शोर कम होने पर पक्षियों की चहचहाहट को भी नजरअंदाज नहीं करना चाहिए। प्रकृति ने हमारी दुनिया में अपने स्थान को दोबारा हासिल करने और खुद को नवीन करने के लिए मौन का एक क्षण लिया। इसने हमें संकट के क्षणों में भी खुशी दी। हमें उस मानव विज्ञानी उद्यम को नहीं भूलना चाहिए जिसने हमें एक वर्ष के भीतर टीके उपलब्ध कराए, लेकिन जब हम इस उपलब्धि का जश्न मनाते हैं, तब भी हमें त्रासदियों की निरंतर उस प्रहसन को नहीं भूलना चाहिए जहां विषाणु और उसके स्वरूप दुनिया में टीकाकरण की दर से आगे निकल रहे हैं, जो हमें एक असुरक्षा के ख्याल में छोड़ते हैं। ह कोविड-19 की घात लगाए हुए दुनिया में एक सिर्फ नारा भर नहीं है। सभी को सुरक्षित बनाने के नारे में हमारा स्पष्ट स्वार्थ निहित है कि टीके जितनी जल्दी हो सके दुनिया के सबसे गरीब और दूरदराज हिस्सों में पहुंच जाएं। इसके बावजूद हम ऐसा नहीं कर रहे हैं। इससे हमें अपनी मूलभूत और घातक कमजोरी के बारे में कुछ सबक सीखना चाहिए कि हमारी आर्थिक व्यवस्था अमीरों द्वारा संचालित है और अमीरों के लिए है। कोविड-19 विकास के हमारे दोषपूर्ण माडल से बदला ले रहा है। अंत में, हमें यह नहीं भूलना चाहिए कि कोविड-19 ने हमारी दुनिया को आईना दिखाया है। इसने हमें दुख, आशा और प्रार्थना में भी साथ खड़ा किया है। हमें वापस बेहतर, हरित और अधिक समावेशी विश्व के निर्माण के लिए इसका उपयोग करना चाहिए। हम पहले कभी न देखे गए व्यवधान के इस समय में जी रहे हैं। यह नवीनीकरण और नव-अभियांत्रिकी के लिए वह समय है जैसा पहले कभी नहीं था, हमें यह भी नहीं भूलना चाहिए। (लेखिका प्रख्यात पर्यावरणविद् हैं)
This post is based on the article “By 2030, early warnings on floods and droughts to be available for all: WMO” published in “Down to Earth” on 20th October 2021. What is the news? At the ongoing World Meteorological Congress, World Meteorological Congress has endorsed the ‘Water Declaration’, wherein early warnings about floods and droughts will be available for people everywhere on the planet by 2030. The Congress also endorsed the Water and Climate Coalition for promoting sharing and access to integrated hydrological, cryosphere, meteorological and climate information. What is the significance of such a declaration? The formation of the Coalition is significant at a time when just 40% of countries globally have operational early flood and drought warning systems. The endorsements at the Congress are significant as more than half of the world’s population will be living under water-stressed conditions by 2030, according to the WMO, and will be more vulnerable to water-related disasters especially cyclones, floods. Also, some 60% of WMO member countries lack hydrological monitoring capabilities, according to the organisation. Globally, more than three billion people have no quality management system for their water-related data in place. This means close to half of the world’s population is at risk due to a lack of information on the state of their water resources including rivers, lakes, groundwater, according to the most recent UN estimates. What are the expected benefits? Some 107 countries are not on track to have sustainably managed water resources. Water and Climate Coalition aimed at accelerating the progress of water-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG-6 (water and sanitation for all). The coalition is thus, aims to boost resilient water adaptation to climate change as well as demographic and socio-economic development for the future. Also, it will contribute to the new Sustainability Strategy for strengthening the Flash Flood Guidance System with Global Coverage (FFGS/WGC) approved at the World Meteorological Congress.
नई दिल्ली। सालों की मेहनत के बाद भी दिल्ली-एनसीआर में वायु प्रदूषण का अपेक्षित स्तर पर कम नहीं होना चिंताजनक है। अभी भी दिल्ली में कमोबेश हर नागरिक प्रदूषित हवा में ही सांस लेने को मजबूर है। हालांकि इससे निपटने के लिए योजनाएं बहुत बनाई गई हैं, लेकिन गंभीरता से उन पर अमल बहुत कम हो पाता है। यह अलग बात है कि बीते कुछ सालों में विभिन्न वजहों से दिल्ली के आवरआल प्रदूषण में कुछ कमी अवश्य आई है। दरअसल, प्रदूषण से जंग में ईमानदारी और गंभीरता दोनों अनिवार्य हैं। सरकारी सक्रियता भी बहुत मायने रखती है। केद्र सरकार कार्ययोजनाएं तैयार करती है जबकि उन पर अमल करने की जिम्मेदारी राज्य सरकारों की होती है। प्रदूषण पर राजनीति ही नहीं, अमीर और गरीब का भेद खत्म करना भी जरूरी है। दीर्घकालिक उपायों को गति देनी होगी। निगरानी बढ़ानी होगी। जन जागरूकता के साथ-साथ सख्त रवैया भी अपनाना होगा। ऐसा नहीं होने के कारण ही पहले केवल सर्दियों के मौसम में समस्या का सबब बनने वाला वायु प्रदूषण अब नासूर बनकर दिल्ली एनसीआर में वर्ष भर दर्द देता है। ग्रेडेड रिस्पांस एक्शन प्लान (ग्रेप) अधिसूचित होने के बावजूद दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण बढ़ने की वजह इसके पालन में हीलाहवाली भी है। नियम-कायदे तो बन गए, लेकिन उन पर क्रियान्वयन करने वाली एजेंसियां अभी भी बहुत सक्रिय नहीं हैं। मसलन, डीजल जेनरेटर पर प्रतिबंध सुनिश्चित करने के लिए हरियाणा, उत्तर प्रदेश और राजस्थान हर साल हाथ खड़े कर देते हैं। ग्रेप के प्रावधान लागू करने के लिए राज्य सरकार से लेकर स्थानीय निकाय तक सभी जिम्मेदार हैं। लेकिन हकीकत में इनमें आपस में ही कोई तालमेल नहीं है। ग्रेप के प्रावधानों का पालन न होने की स्थिति में कार्रवाई आवश्यक है। लेकिन वह किसी भी स्तर पर ठीक से नहीं हो रही है। सीपीसीबी और दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण समिति (डीपीसीसी) के अलावा किसी राज्य प्रदूषण बोर्ड ने ठीक से पेट्रोलिंग टीमों का गठन तक नहीं किया है। विडंबना यह कि सीपीसीबी की टीमें भी विभिन्न इलाकों का दौरा कर जो रिपोर्ट तैयार करती हैं, सीपीसीबी की ओर से कार्रवाई के लिए प्रदूषण बोर्डो को भेज दी जाती है। उदाहरण के लिए दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड इस रिपोर्ट को नगर निगमों के पास अग्रसारित कर देता है जबकि नगर निगम की ओर से न उस पर कार्रवाई होती है, न ही वापस जवाब भेजा जाता है। ग्रेप के पालन में राज्य सरकारें जहां राजनीतिक राग द्वेष भी साथ लेकर चल रही हैं वहीं प्रदूषण बोर्ड स्वयं को अधिकार विहीन बताते हुए लाचार महसूस कर रहे हैं। यही वजह है कि किसी को कोई भय नहीं है। पंजाब और हरियाणा में पराली जलाने की घटनाएं अभी भी सामने आ रही हैं। यहां भी राज्य सरकारों की भूमिका काफी मासने रखती है। सरकारों को चाहिए कि वोट बैंक की ही नहीं बल्कि अपने मतदाताओं के स्वास्थ्य की भी फिक्र करें। जन सहयोग भी बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। जनजागरूकता अभियान चलाया जाना चाहिए। जितनी जन जागरूकता बढ़ेगी, उतना ही सभी का सहयोग मिलेगा। अगर दिल्ली एनसीआर के प्रदूषण को और कम करना है तो इसके लिए केवल प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड ही नहीं, दिल्ली विकास प्राधिकरण (डीडीए), केंद्रीय लोक निर्माण विभाग (सीपीडब्ल्यूडी), लोक निर्माण विभाग (पीडब्ल्यूडी), नगर निगम (एमसीडी) और नई दिल्ली नगर पालिका परिषद (एनडीएमसी), दिल्ली कैंट सभी को मिलकर काम करना होगा। राज्य और केंद्र सरकार को भी निगरानी व जवाबदेही दोनों तय करनी होगी। सार्वजनिक परिवहन व्यवस्था को मजबूत करना होगा। इलेक्टि्रक वाहनों और साइकिल को भी बढ़ावा देना चाहिए।हालांकि अब इस समस्या से निपटने के लिए 18 सदस्यीय एक आयोग बना दिया गया है तो उम्मीद है कि उक्त समस्याओं का समाधान भी निकल आएगा। ग्रेप का दायरा भी बढ़ जाएगा, क्योंकि आयोग का अधिकार क्षेत्र सिर्फ राष्ट्रीय राजधानी क्षेत्र ही नहीं बल्कि समीवर्ती वे सभी इलाके हैं जो दिल्ली की हवा को प्रभावित करते हैं। आयोग को शक्तियां भी काफी दी गई हैं। ग्रेप के प्रावधानों का पालन नहीं होने की स्थिति में सख्त कार्रवाई करना भी अत्यंत आवश्यक है। (सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरमेंट (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण की संवाददाता संजीव गुप्ता से बातचीत पर आधारित)
नई दिल्ली [संजीव गुप्ता]। सालों की मेहनत के बाद भी दिल्ली-एनसीआर में वायु प्रदूषण का अपेक्षित स्तर पर कम नहीं होना चिंताजनक है। दिल्ली में अभी भी हर नागरिक प्रदूषित हवा में ही सांस लेने को मजबूर है। हालांकि, इससे निपटने के लिए योजनाएं तो बहुत बनाई गई हैं, लेकिन उन पर गंभीरता से अमल बहुत कम हो पाता है। यह अलग बात है कि बीते कुछ सालों में विभिन्न वजहों से समग्रता में दिल्ली के प्रदूषण में कुछ कमी अवश्य आई है। दरअसल, प्रदूषण से जंग में ईमानदारी व गंभीरता दोनों अनिवार्य हैं। सरकारी सक्रियता भी बहुत मायने रखती है। केंद्र सरकार कार्ययोजनाएं तैयार करती है, जबकि उन पर अमल करने की जिम्मेदारी राज्य सरकारों की होती है। प्रदूषण पर राजनीति ही नहीं, अमीर और गरीब का भेद खत्म करना भी जरूरी है। दीर्घकालिक उपायों को गति देनी होगी। निगरानी बढ़ानी होगी। जन जागरूकता के साथ-साथ सख्त रवैया भी अपनाना होगा। ऐसा नहीं होने के कारण ही पहले केवल सर्दियों के मौसम में समस्या का सबब बनने वाला वायु प्रदूषण अब नासूर बनकर दिल्ली एनसीआर में वर्ष भर दर्द देता है। विभागों में तालमेल ही नहीं ग्रेडेड रिस्पांस एक्शन प्लान (ग्रेप) अधिसूचित होने के बावजूद दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण बढ़ने की वजह इसके पालन में हीलाहवाली है। नियम-कायदे तो बन गए, लेकिन उन पर क्रियान्वयन करने वाली एजेंसियां अभी भी बहुत सक्रिय नहीं हैं। डीजल जेनरेटर पर प्रतिबंध सुनिश्चित करने के लिए राज्य सरकारें हर साल हाथ खड़े कर देती है। ग्रेप के प्रविधान लागू करने के लिए राज्य सरकार से लेकर स्थानीय निकाय तक सभी जिम्मेदार हैं। लेकिन हकीकत में इनमें आपस में ही कोई तालमेल नहीं है। कार्रवाई का अभाव ग्रेप के प्रविधानों का पालन न होने की स्थिति में कार्रवाई आवश्यक है। लेकिन वह किसी भी स्तर पर ठीक से नहीं हो रही है। सीपीसीबी और दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण समिति (डीपीसीसी) के अलावा किसी राज्य प्रदूषण बोर्ड ने ठीक से पेट्रोलिंग टीमों का गठन तक नहीं किया है। विडंबना यह है कि सीपीसीबी की टीमें जो रिपोर्ट तैयार करती हैं, सीपीसीबी की ओर से कार्रवाई के लिए प्रदूषण बोर्ड को भेज दी जाती है। उदाहरण के लिए दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड इस रिपोर्ट को नगर निगमों के पास अग्रसारित कर देता है जबकि नगर निगम की ओर से न उस पर कार्रवाई होती है, न ही वापस ज-वाब भेजा जाता है। (सुनीता नारायण, महानिदेशक, सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरमेंट (सीएसई) समन्वय जरूरी अगर दिल्ली-एनसीआर के प्रदूषण को और कम करना है तो केवल प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड ही नहीं, दिल्ली विकास प्राधिकरण (डीडीए), केंद्रीय लोक निर्माण विभाग (सीपीडब्ल्यूडी), लोक निर्माण विभाग (पीडब्ल्यूडी), नगर निगम (एमसीडी) और नई दिल्ली नगर पालिका परिषद (एनडीएमसी), दिल्ली कैंट सभी को मिलकर काम करना होगा। राज्य और केंद्र सरकार को भी निगरानी व जवाबदेही दोनों तय करनी होगी। सार्वजनिक परिवहन व्यवस्था को मजबूत करना होगा। इलेक्टिक वाहनों और साइकिल को भी बढ़ावा देना चाहिए।
Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that garbage mountains would soon be replaced with waste treatment plants. It remains to be seen how skyscraping garbage mountains of India's two most important cities fare in the times to come. Delhi and Mumbai are some of the busiest cities in India. Both these cities housed a population of 1.9 crores and 1.25 crores according to the last census, and the rise in the number of people residing in the two cities is inevitable. The increasing urbanization takes a toll on the available built-up area. It poses a severe challenge to the Municipal Corporations to manage the amount of waste produced every day. The decomposing waste in the massive garbage dumps releases toxic gases like methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide. PM Pledged $13 Billion Towards National Cleanliness A study published by a Delhi-based think tank, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), found that more than 3000 garbage mountains in the country contained 800 million tonnes of rubbish. A case has been going on for 26 years in the Bombay High Court demanding the closedown of Deonar grounds, but the constant dumping of waste continues. The unabashed garbage dumping has long bothered Indian politicians. On October 1, 2021, PM Modi pledged $13 billion towards national cleanliness and promised to install sewage treatment plants in the dumping grounds. However, the BBC reported that experts are sceptical that the move is feasible on such a large scale. The International Media organization quoted Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, deputy program manager at CSE, "While it has been done in smaller cities, it is hard to provide a remedy for waste mountains at this scale". In 2000, India passed laws to municipalities to process the waste; however, only partial compliance is reported. Waste pickers burn the trash in some garbage dumps because the fire burns the lighter trash, and the metal waste comes up. The metal waste can fetch more money for them. After the garbage fires of Deonar in 2016, the municipality has increased the security of the dumping sites. If the waste pickers manage to sneak into the dumps, and if they are caught, they are often beaten, detained and sent back. The condition is not exclusive to Mumbai only. The Ghazipur Garbage dump has also found mentioned in headlines several times. Unfortunately, the dump is so massive that it has earned the distinction of being as tall as the Qutub Minar. The 'mountain of garbage' receives tonnes of waste every single day. The residents of the national capital have found their way of letting their frustration out. The residents have rated the landfill site with five stars on Google Maps to garner more attention. The Ghazipur landfill site is one of the three oldest garbage dumping sites of Delhi and came up in 1984. A Waste Mountain Taller Than Taj Mahal The matter has long been a bone of contention amongst politicians. BJP MLA and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that action needs to be taken to reduce the height of Ghazipur's waste mountain, to which AAP, the ruling party in Delhi, replied that he was 'lying' as there was a significant increase in the width of the heap. Experts had predicted that the dump in East Delhi would become taller than the Taj Mahal in 2020, substantiating the United Nation's claim that New Delhi is the most polluted of all capitals in the country. It remains to be seen how the government tackles the issue of reducing the sky-high reach of the mountains of waste and installing better waste treatment systems across the country. Since metropolitan cities have better employment opportunities, the population influx is likely to continue in the years to come. As more people come into the city borders, the waste generation is bound to increase. Getting rid of the enormous mountains of waste might be the first step that municipalities should look into while simultaneously developing waste processing units. The onus also lies on us citizens to segregate waste since we are the ultimate bearers of the menace of uncontrolled waste dumping.
India is one of the world’s largest two-wheeler markets but this landscape is dynamic and changing at a fast and furious pace. On the one hand, the conventional ICE vehicles are jostling in a tight race to revival in terms of sales, on the other hand, electric two-wheelers are gradually carving out a place of their own. Autocar Professional strives to address the various facets, challenges and opportunities across the two-wheeler ecosystem to bring you a comprehensive understanding of the future trends in its mega Two-wheeler Week between October 25-29, 2021, starting 10 am every day. Given the new normal of social distancing in a Covid-scarred world, this edition of the Two-wheeler week will be ‘digital only’ as well. The discussions every day will span across various issues of the two-wheeler eco-system and we will address it in the form of a one-on-one conversation with the Captains of Auto Inc followed by a panel of speakers representing every sub-segment of the two-wheeler industry from manufacturers to component makers and government representatives too. Register now to ensure your participation everyday of this power-packed last week of October. Participants can hear and share their views and also pose questions. At Autocar Professional we try to take up all our viewer questions and maximise the value of every minute that all of you share with us. Remember to join us at 10 am every morning between October 25-29, 2021. Here is a day-wise split of the topics that the Two-wheeler week strives to tackle in this virtual edition of the digital conclave. October 25 – Industry regains momentum 10-10:30 am- Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director, Bajaj Auto 10:35-11:35 am -YS Guleria, Director - Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India -Vinkesh Gulati, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) October 26- The race to go electric 10-10:30 am- Sudarshan Venu, Joint MD, TVS Motor Company 10:35- 11:35 am -Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy -Srinivas Kantheti, Co-founder & MD, Wheels EMI -Wicher Kist, CEO, Saietta Group -Shivalik Prasad, VP (Sales & Alliances), Sibros -Arjun Jain, Business Head - Electrical/Electronics at Varroc Group October 27- Road to greener mobility 10- 10:30 am - Diego Graffi, CEO & MD, Piaggio Vehicles 10:35- 11:35 am -Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, Convergence Energy Services (CESL) -Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director, Research & Advocacy Centre for Science and Enviornment (CSE) -Pankaj Dubey, Co-founder & CEO, Power Global India October 28- Emerging safety trends and challenges 10- 10:30 am -Krishan Kohli, Head India Market — BU HBS & VED and MD, Continental Automotive Brake Systems India 10:35- 11:35 am Piyush Tewari, Founder & CEO, SaveLife Foundation Uri Lavi, CEO & Co-founder, Ride Vision Renuka Srinivasan, Sales Director, Dassault Systemes October 29- Premium biking and the way forward 10- 10:30 am - Exclusive conversation with top premium biking manufacturers across India 10:35- 11:35 am Bipul Chandra, MD, Ducati India Ravi Avalur, Head - New Business Unit, Harley-Davidson India
NEW DELHI: Monday’s heavy overnight rain achieved what this year’s monsoon couldn’t — produce a “good air” day for Delhiites, the first in 2021, and the first in October since the air quality index began in 2015. The city’s average AQI on Monday was 46, entering the “good” zone (below 50) for the first time in 14 months. The improvement in air quality in a span of 24 hours couldn’t have been more dramatic. On Sunday, Delhi’s AQI had hovered close to the “very poor” category (above 300) at 298, with a toxic haze enveloping the city the day before. As air quality usually starts falling from mid-October, experts said a clean air day during this time was highly “unusual”. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board, which started measuring AQI from 2015, shows good air days are rare in Delhi. Not a single such day was reported in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Rarer still are good air days outside the monsoon season, with just one recorded since 2015, prior to Monday. In 2017, there were two “good air” days, on July 30 and 31. Two days were reported in 2019 as well — August 18 and 19. Last year, Delhi saw five good air quality days — one in March following the total Covid lockdown and four in August. V K Soni, head, environment and research centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD), said, “Good rainfall recorded in Delhi and neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand, helped wash out pollutants, pushing the city’s AQI in the ‘good’ category.” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, said, “A good air day in October is unusual due to the onset of winter conditions that trap pollution. A good air day (based on AQI) is elusive in the capital and a few that occur happen largely during monsoon period.” She added, “This October, however, delayed and intense rains in the region have washed out pollutants. But pollution will bounce back soon. We need to be prepared.” System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences, said, “Delhi’s AQI is in the good category with PM2.5 as the main pollutant. Local land surfaces are wet and so dust re-suspension is minimum which led to low PM10. Presence of western disturbance has led to scattered rainfall over north India, leading to low biomass burning. This condition improved AQI with low PM2.5. Fire counts have reduced to 170 and its share is only 1% to PM2.5.” Experts warned that the air quality is likely to deteriorate in the next two days. SAFAR said, “Moist surfaces inhibit re-suspension of dust which will keep AQI in ‘good’ category for the next 24 hours. After that, AQI will degrade to ‘satisfactory’ for Delhi.” L S Kurinji, programme associate, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said, “In the coming weeks, with changes in meteorological conditions, emissions from local and regional sources would only cause deterioration in air quality. The Delhi government should roll out pre-emptive measures in advance to keep the capital's air quality levels under check.”
The Like-Minded Developing Countries — a group of developing countries which have a similar stand in the United Nations climate negotiations — have said that a net zero goal for all countries by mid-century is “anti-equity” and against “climate justice” The Like-Minded Developing Countries — a group of developing countries which have a similar stand in the United Nations climate negotiations — have said that a net zero goal for all countries by mid-century is “anti-equity” and against “climate justice”. In a strongly worded statement, the countries said, “Despite their lack of ambition shown in the pre-2020 period, as well as in their Paris Agreement NDCs (nationally determined contributions) major developed countries are now pushing to shift the goal posts of the Paris Agreement from what have already been agreed by calling for all countries to adopt net zero emissions targets by 2050.” Net zero emissions for all countries by 2050 will exacerbate existing inequities between developed and developing countries, the statement added. The Paris Agreement refers to achieving a balance between emissions and removal by sinks in the second half of this century as a global aspiration rather than as national targets for all countries. “Achieving this global aspiration is on the basis of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, in the context of ensuring sustainable development and poverty eradication in developing countries and taking into consideration equity,” the statement endorsed by all LMDC ministers said. During their own industrialisation phase, the developed countries have overused their domestic carbon space and used those of developing countries as well, the countries said. “Developed countries should, in acknowledgement of such historical cumulative and per capita cumulative carbon emissions, leave the remaining atmospheric space for the developmental rights of the developing world and aim for their full decarbonisation within this decade. If they continue to emit and occupy more atmospheric space for the next 30 years, the Paris Agreement’s global goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s objective will not be met,” the statement concluded. In 2012 in Doha, developed countries agreed to revisit their emission reduction targets by the end of 2014 and to raise their ambition level. Developed countries have, in fact, increased their emissions between 1990 and 2020, the statement highlighted. On the issue of delivery of climate finance, developed countries agreed in 2010 to mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020. “Regrettably, here too they have fallen short of their agreement. In Paris, the 2020 timeline to deliver on the USD100 billion was shifted to 2025, with no assurance that it would be reached or with higher ambition, while at the same time developing countries are requested to raise their ambition on climate actions. These failures to deliver on the commitments agreed to by developed countries undermines trust and confidence in the multilateral system,” the statement said. Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, who represented India at the LMDC ministerial meeting chaired by Bolivia on Monday, said the world needs rapid and transformative actions. “I stated that delayed climate action and lack of leadership from developed countries has increased the cost of mitigation and adaptation in developing countries… LMDC countries should closely work together to protect their interests and ensure that global efforts for net-zero should be guided by the principles of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, and also by national circumstances and priorities,” Yadav tweeted after his address. LMDC countries include Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mali, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka, among others. “2050 as a global goal for net zero is too little, too late. It buys wealthy countries time to continue to emit more, while resource-poor countries face the consequences in the short and medium term. Delayed mitigation also presents the risk of uncontrollable warming later this century. So, from both a scientific view, as well as the perspective of historical cumulative emissions, developed nations must bring emissions to zero or as close as possible, within this decade,” said Avantika Goswami of the climate change programme at the Centre for Science and Environment.
Na primeira edição foi distinguida a ativista sueca Greta Thunberg, que em julho de 2020 foi escolhida pelo júri do prémio como a personalidade que mais se destacou na defesa do ambiente e de forma inovadora combateu as alterações climáticas. A jovem ativista reagiu rapidamente ao confirmar que ia doar metade do valor do prémio, 500 mil euros a dez organizações ambientais em vários continentes. A Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, que apoia vítimas de catástrofes em África e a Oil Change International, que apoia projetos de energias renováveis a Solar Sister, que dá formação empresarial a mulheres empreendedoras da Tanzânia e Nigéria, foram algumas das organizações apoiadas com a verba da primeira edição do Prémio Gulbenkian para a Humanidade, que anuncia esta terça-feira o vencedor da edição de 2021. O júri deste ano é composto por Miguel Bastos Araújo, Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber, Johan Rockström, Mariana Mazzucato, Miguel Aries Cañete, o príncipe Constantijn van Oranje, Runa Khan, Sandra Díaz, Sunita Narain e Rik Leemans, o líder do grupo de Análise de Sistemas Ambientais da Universidade de Wageningen, Países Baixos. Rik Leemans diz ao DInheiro Vivo que este "é um prémio dedicado a personalidades académicas e da sociedade que criaram substanciais acções no âmbito das alterações climáticas e apesar de só ter sido atribuído uma vez já tem uma visibilidade internacional muito alargada. Temos nomeações muito diversas, na área de engenharia, finanças ou ciências, mas também de organizações com soluções locais, regionais ou globais ou que estimularam pessoas e governos a fazer transições sustentáveis e a envolverem-se nas questões ambientais". Rik Leemans sublinha que "a prosperidade não é incompatível com a sustentabilidade. Prosperidade é uma combinação de pessoas lucros, planeta e prazer, todos são importantes e não são independentes. Os lucros não são possíveis sem pessoas que têm prazer e sem o planeta, a humanidade depende muito do ambiente, dos seus recursos e do seu ecossistema para sobreviver" e são esses os princípios que este prémio procura incentivar. Subscrever newsletter Subscreva a nossa newsletter e tenha as notícias no seu e-mail todos os dias O jurado dos Países Baixos refere ainda que "têm de ser todos os atores da nossa sociedade a contribuir, mas há alguns setores ainda muito dependentes dos combustíveis fósseis: a metalomecânica, os cimentos e os fertilizantes emitem muito CO2. As alternativas a estes produtos têm que ser desenvolvidas em breve e o hidrogénio pode ser uma solução". Quanto às novas tecnologias, Rik Leemans admite que a nova fase de digitalização "pode ajudar a acelerar alguns processos e a reduzir o trânsito, mas esta é uma indústria que depende muito de eletricidade para os seus servidores e para os arrefecer. A digitalização consome muita energia e muita dela verde, terá que ser uma indústria mais eficiente também", porque "os impactos sociais e ambientais continuam a ser muitas vezes ignorados, se forem incluídos nos preços finais, certamente que os produtos amigos do ambiente acabarão por ser mais baratos". "Uma sociedade sustentável é provavelmente como um Jardim do Eden biodiverso, com pessoas felizes, empreendedores responsáveis e com todas as necessidades satisfeitas em equidade. Talvez com uma macieira e uma cobra com compaixão", acrescenta.
The "mountains of garbage" dotting India's cities will soon be replaced with waste treatment plants, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised earlier this month. Author Saumya Roy reports from the country's oldest and tallest mountain of rubbish - some 18 storeys high - in the western coastal city of Mumbai. Every morning, Farha Shaikh stands on top of a more-than-a-century-old rubbish mountain in Mumbai, waiting for garbage trucks to make their way up. The 19-year-old waste picker has been scavenging through these heaps in the Deonar suburb for as long as she can remember. From the gloopy trash, she usually picks up plastic bottles, glass and wire to sell in the city's thriving waste markets. But most of all she looks out for broken mobile phones. Every few weeks, Farha finds a "dead" mobile phone in the trash. She digs into her meagre savings and gets it repaired. Once it flickers to life, she spends her evenings watching films, playing video games, texting and calling friends. When the phone stops working again days or weeks later, Farha's connection with the world outside snaps again. She is back to working long days, collecting the remains of the city to resell - and looking for another phone to restore. More than 16 million tonnes of trash make up Deonar's rubbish mountains - eight of them spread over a 300-acre sprawl - that are said to be India's largest and oldest. Waste is piled as high as 120ft (36.5m). The sea forms the outer edge of the mountains and slums have been built into the sturdy heaps of rubbish. The decomposing waste releases noxious gases such as methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide. In 2016, it erupted in fires that burned for months and caused smoke in much of Mumbai. Rubbish fires at landfills contributed 11% of particulate matter, a major cause of air pollution in the city, according to a 2011 study by India's pollution regulator. The men who make money selling your trash The activist tackling Mumbai's rubbish mountain A 2020 study by a Delhi-based think tank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), found 3,159 such mountains containing 800 million tonnes of rubbish across India. In Mumbai, a court case has been going on for 26 years to close down the Deonar grounds but the dumping of waste continues. India's waste mountains have long vexed officials and politicians. On 1 October, Mr Modi announced nearly $13bn (£9.54bn) for a national cleanliness programme that would include setting up a number of sewage treatment plants to gradually replace open air rubbish dumps such as the one in Deonar. But experts are sceptical. "While it has been done in smaller cities, it is hard to provide a remedy for waste mountains at this scale," says Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, deputy program manager at CSE. "There is an acknowledgement that this is a problem but we have accepted that if we are to live in big cities like Mumbai or Delhi, these garbage mountains come with it," says Dharmesh Shah, country co-ordinator for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a coalition of groups that advocate for reduced waste. Since 2000, India has passed rules asking municipalities to process waste. But most states report only partial compliance, and there are not enough waste treatment plants. Mumbai, India's commercial and entertainment capital and home to some 20 million people, has just one such plant. There are now plans for a waste-to-energy plant at Deonar. Mr Modi said he expects the plan to create new, green jobs. But that worries waste pickers like Farha who have been doing this job all their lives. It has become much harder for them to access the waste mountains after the fires in 2016. The municipality has increased security to prevent waste pickers from going in and lighting fires - the flames melt the lighter trash, bringing up metal that fetches high prices. The waste pickers who manage to sneak in are often beaten, detained and sent back. But some bribe the guards or enter before the security patrols begin at daylight. So, little segregation happens at the grounds in Denoar now - instead, a lot of the waste is segregated in the city itself, and what arrives at Deonar has reduced over time. Farha hasn't had a phone for months. She has to bribe guards at least 50 rupees ($0.67; £0.49) every day to get in and work at the Deonar grounds. To recover this, she even thought of picking through the rubbish that began arriving from the city's Covid hospital wards last year. But her family asked her not to pick up the "harmful" Covid waste. So, she hangs close, watching pickers wear protective gear in the rain to keep collecting plastic to resell. The city was sending new trash, and as they had for years, the mountains had to accommodate it and pickers had to collect and resell it. "Hunger will kill us if not illness," Farha says.