Cse In News

Sustainable Mobility

India’s stricter emissions rules will hit car sales: Maruti

The emissions curbs are critical for India’s push to tackle some of the world’s worst air pollution, which costs the country 8.5% of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. By 2025, India will have up to 20 million old vehicles nearing the end of their lives, causing huge environmental damage, according to the Centre for Science and Environment. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/indias-stricter-emissions-rules-will-hit-car-sales-maruti/articleshow/85239583.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Sustainable Mobility

European-style strict emissions rules in India will force up car prices: Maruti Suzuki

Strict European-style emissions rules will force up car prices, warns Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki. This will give another blow to the automobile industry. Since the year 2000, India has been adopting European emission and fuel regulations for four-wheeled light-duty and for heavy-duty vehicles as well. RC Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Chairman, said the impact of the new rules will be felt as demand will fall further and there will be a noted decline in the industry. “The industry view is that it’s already suffering a decline because of COVID, and on top of that, we add further to the cost of vehicles because of new regulations.” Last week, the automakers urged the government to defer tougher emissions standards, which are due to be implemented in two stages in April 2022 and then in 2023. The new rules will require carmakers to cut emissions about 13% to 113 grams a kilometer. This is part of India’s push to tackle the world’s worst air pollution. According to the Centre for Science and Environment, by 2025, India will have up to 20 million old vehicles nearing the end of their lives, causing huge environmental damage. Analysts say the changes will not be easy as it comes at a tough time when the auto industry is trying to make a comeback from its worst-ever slowdown driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Latest figures from the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers show that passenger vehicle sales fell 2% and overall production declined 14% in the year ended March 2021. Bhargava said any increase in car prices could deter India’s price-sensitive drivers. “Just 5% of cars sold are priced above Rs 1.5 million. The nation’s per capita income of only Rs 2,000 per year puts cleaner, but more expensive, electric cars beyond the reach of most consumers,” he said. “It will be difficult for automakers to pour resources into the new technology considering the industry invested as much as Rs 900 billion to transition to current emission standards, which set out a 68% reduction in nitrous oxide gases.” Also Read: PMMY sanctioned 68% of loans to women entrepreneurs in 6 years The executive highlighted that Maruti doesn’t make any electric vehicles because of their cost and the country’s sparse charging infrastructure. “Hybrid models, improved technology for cars running on compressed natural gas and more efficient gasoline cars will be enough for Maruti to meet the new requirements.” Bhargava said a decline in the auto industry not only hurts carmakers, but the entire economy. “If growth doesn’t take place that it will be counterproductive to do this. What is the use of getting European standards into India if people aren’t able to buy the cars?” Bhargava said this is the reason the industry wants the new regulations to be deferred so that there is no counter price increase.

Climate Change and Green Economy

India will see more droughts, heatwaves and cyclones: IPCC

Sizzling temperatures, droughts and intense cyclones are likely to be commonplace in India because of climate change, a report by a UN body said, warning that the world is running out of time to prevent the worst of the climate crisis Flash floods such as the one that killed a dozen people in Himachal Pradesh last month, sizzling temperatures, droughts and intense cyclones are likely to be commonplace in India because of climate change, a report by a UN body said, warning that the world is running out of time to prevent the worst of the climate crisis. Melting of glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, the consequent rising of the sea level and regular and more intense tropical cyclones in South Asia may devastate parts of the region unless drastic measures to cut carbon emissions are put in place, the report released by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday said. TRENDING STORIES Gold prices crash today, plunge to 4-month low, silver rates slump Gold prices crash today, plunge to 4-month low, silver ... SBI account holders need to do this by September-end to avail banking service SBI account holders need to do this by September-end to... Watch for these firms coming out with their IPOs in the US Watch for these firms coming out with their IPOs in the... ICICI Securities bullish on these two specialty chemical stocks ICICI Securities bullish on these two specialty chemica... The extreme weather events will impact lives, livelihoods and businesses in India and South Asia, experts and climate scientists said, calling for immediate steps to mitigate climate change. The Indian Ocean and the western equatorial Pacific Ocean have “warmed faster than the global average", the report said. “Heat extremes have increased while cold extremes have decreased, and these trends will continue over the coming decades." The threat of more droughts and cyclones is real, said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. “The report indicates that these are irreversible changes, and we all must take it seriously in devising mitigating measures. The Indian Ocean is warming faster, and it surrounds three sides of India; and on the north, we have the Himalayas where the impact of climate change is visible, too. So our geographic location makes us prone to extreme weather conditions," said Koll. The South Asian monsoon has weakened in the second half of the 20th century, mainly on account of human activity, the IPCC report said. Koll said the recent tropical cyclones arising from the Arabian Sea on India’s western coast and glacier bursts are giving enough hint of the crisis at hand. TRENDING STORIES See All Future group has been battling a severe liquidity squeeze for the past two yearsPremium Amazon draws up blueprint to bail out Future group Commuters wade through a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall Extremely heavy rainfall likely in these two states fro .... A market area deserted during Covid-19 restrictions Uttarakhand govt to impose stricter Covid curfew for a .... Passengers from international flights Canada extends ban on direct flights from India. Check .... “In India, we have a double burden now. We have to build resilience in our economy, infrastructure and social systems to deal with the increasing impact of extreme weather events. At the same time, we have to act on mitigation measures. The IPCC report is a warning for us," said Chandra Bhushan, president and chief executive of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology. “Things that were predicted to happen far ahead in the future are now expected to happen much sooner, including intense heatwave, monsoon disruptions, cloudbursts, extreme rain, etc. The situation will only worsen if we do not act fast and decisively," said Bhushan, a former deputy director at the non-profit Centre for Science and Environment. Climate change may lead to compound weather events in India; for example, heatwave and drought may come together; similarly, sea-level rise, cyclones and coastal flooding may happen at the same time, Koll said. Some regions are already seeing the effects of climate change, such as the drop in property prices in coastal areas because of frequent flooding. “While IPCC has given us a broad picture, India must devise its own mitigation strategy in a more regional and sub-regional level, beyond the effort to evacuate and save lives," Koll said. The report is the first in seven years and was prepared by more than 230 authors from 65 countries, taking into account more than 1,400 scientific studies.

Climate Change and Green Economy

Climate crisis: Not acting now will destroy lives, livelihoods, natural habitats, warn experts

The impact of climate crisis can be seen around the world and not acting now will destroy lives, livelihoods and natural habitats, warned environmental experts on Monday and reiterated that climate change is happening now and "no one is safe". The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said India''s contribution to emissions has been minuscule, but that does not mean the country need not act. The reactions came after the launch of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change''s (IPCC) latest report -- Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis -- that warned of increased extreme weather events across the globe in the coming years. At a virtual press meet, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Anderson sounded a cautionary note. "Climate change is here and now. No one is safe. Despite warnings for so many years, the world did not listen. We need to act now. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will not only limit climate change but also reduce air pollution." She also said that recently, only 110 countries of the 191 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have submitted new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of the next climate conference (COP 26). "Governments need to make the net-zero plan an integral part of their Paris Agreement. They must finance and support the developing countries to adapt to climate change as promised under the agreement. Every business, citizen and investor must play their part. "We cannot undo the mistakes of the past but this generation of political and business leaders and conscious citizens can make things right," Anderson said. Reacting to the report, the president-designate of the upcoming COP26 Alok Sharma said the "lights are flashing red on the climate dashboard". "We must come together at COP 26 and agree on ambitious emission reduction targets that lead us to net-zero by 2050." "The impacts of the climate crisis can be seen around the world and if we don''t act now we will continue to see the worst effects impact lives, livelihoods and natural habitats," he said. The next decade is decisive, Sharma said and urged the world to follow science and embrace their responsibility to "keep the goal of 1.5 degree Celsius alive". "We can do this by coming forward with ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets, long-term strategies with a pathway to net-zero by the middle of the century and taking action now to end coal power, accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicles, tackle deforestation and reduce methane emissions." Listing the key takeaways from the report, CSE Director General Sunita Narain said the world might be hurtling towards a 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise by 2040 with human activities undoubtedly being the main trigger for climate change while the efficiency of sinks to absorb emissions is going down. The world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50 per cent below the 2010 level by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. It needs transformational action... it needs hard and drastic action, she said. "The Indian government is sanguine about doing more than other countries in terms of comparable action to reduce CO2 emissions. But we have no measurable targets to reduce emissions. This is why we are doing well -- our NDC is to reduce not absolute emissions but the emission intensity of our economy." Narain said. Senior Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace India Avinash Chanchal said unless there are immediate rapid and large scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming 1.5 degrees Celsius will be beyond reach. Ulka Kelkar, Director of Climate Programme at World Resources Institute India said the report comes amid consternation over extreme weather, despite 30 years of warnings from the IPCC. "For India, the predictions in this report mean people labouring in longer and more frequent heatwaves, warmer nights for winter crops, erratic monsoon rains for summer crops, destructive floods and storms that disrupt power supply for drinking water or medical oxygen production. "We need to plan for climate risks while building cities. We need technology that revolutionises the way we manufacture -- with green hydrogen and recycling. We need to use our land and natural resources responsibly to support livelihoods." Roxy Mathew Koll, Senior Scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said The most important point from the IPCC AR6 report is that mitigation and adaptation strategies submitted by nations through the Paris Agreement are insufficient to keep global surface temperature increase within 1.5 degrees Celsius or even 2 degrees Celsius. "With the global mean temperature rise now going above 1 degree Celsius, India is at a crucial juncture where we are already facing increasingly extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, droughts and heatwaves." Koll added that India needs to urgently map the risks based on these projected changes "but we do not even have a country-wide risk assessment based on observed changes." Ajay Mathur the Director-General of International Solar Alliance said the global energy sector accounts for around 73 per cent of total emissions while reiterating that solar energy offers an ideal solution to all countries. "Solar energy offers an ideal solution to all countries. The technology is ready and it is cost-effective. We need global collaboration to scale it up exponentially and expeditiously," he said. PTI AG/GVS NSD NSD

Climate Change and Green Economy

Indian Ocean warming rapidly, expect more extreme weather

IPCC report on climate change warns of more cyclonic activity, rainfall The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change today confirmed fears that the Indian Ocean was warming at a rate higher than other oceans. According to the authors of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis”, the warming of the ocean will lead to a rise in sea levels, resulting in more frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-level areas. Impact irreversible Scientists caution that impacts of climate change-triggered glacial retreat, sea-level rise, and intense tropical cyclones, erratic monsoon and intense heat stress are irreversible Hot extremes projected to increase, cold extremes to decrease in the 21st century Sea surface temperatures over Indian Ocean are likely to increase by 1 to 2°C Heatwaves and humid heat stress will also be more intense and frequent in the 21st century over South Asia, states the report, sounding a dire warning for the entire world. “Even if we limit temperatures to 1.5° Celsius from pre-industrial levels, we will continue to see extreme weather events,” said Dr Friederike Otto, one of the authors. “We will also see an increase in heatwaves, heavy rainfall events, and the further melting of glaciers, which will impact a country like India,” said Otto. Warning for developed nations Report a clarion call for developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarbonisation of their economies. — Bhupender Yadav, Environment Minister It’s a wake-up call The latest IPCC report confirms we can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act. — Sunita Narain, Centre for Science and Environment Director General

Climate Change and Green Economy

Climate report unlikely to lead to extra efforts

A senior environment ministry official, who has been part of the climate negotiating team for long, said the IPCC report will not alter India’s climate negotiating strategy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Monday, which said that extreme weather events have increased due to the rise in carbon emissions and the planet will reach 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold much earlier than anticipated, may not result in higher ambition at the Glasgow climate conference in November, said experts on climate change negotiations. IPCC’s Physical Science Basis report, the first of its three sixth assessment report, tells the world that oceans could rise by 1-2 feet even in one of the better scenarios (it considered five) by turn of this century, and heat waves occur 14 times as often if warming touches 2 degrees C. “The report tells us, we have a small window to act,” said Govindasamy Bala, professor at the Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, and one of the lead authors of the report. The report clearly mentioned that limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by turn of the century is becoming beyond reach. “Earlier, we had given 20 years for 1.5 degree temperature rise, now it is 10 years,” he said, adding that carbon emissions have already increased the temperature by 1.1 degree Celsius in the last 100 years. So, the world has window for only 0.4 degree C. To ensure that window remains open, Bala said the five scenarios presented by the report clearly show that there is no longer an option of a peaking year (when a country’s carbon emissions would peak) available with the planet to save it from dramatic danger of climate change. “We have to go for emission reduction and that is net zero,” he said. In the net zero concept, the world, as a whole, theoretically, will stop emitting carbon dioxide by 2050. A country will be able to emit carbon equal to the carbon sinks it has and the amount of carbon credits it can buy. Several European countries such as France, United Kingdom and Sweden have brought law to achieve net zero by 2050 and many others are on way to have similar laws. However, India and China, the world’s two biggest emitters have opposed net zero, saying it would go against the United Nations Climate Framework that provides for differentiated responsibility among developed and developing world and equity to carbon space. Net zero, they said, would impose binding restrictions on the developing world, which is historically not responsible for the problem of climate change. Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said net zero was zero gain for developing countries as it would benefit the rich world, which has already exhausted its carbon space, and the developing world would continue to suffer in the absence of free technology transfer. “This report from global scientists must be a wake-up call. We can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act—including empty promises of net zero by 2050,” she said. Bala, however, said climate science supports net zero as the world cannot look at 2 or higher degree C climate scenarios anymore. “We have to aim for 1.5 degree temperature rise. Time to first allow emissions to rise and then reduce is not there.” A senior environment ministry official, who has been part of the climate negotiating team for long, said the IPCC report will not alter India’s climate negotiating strategy. “It is clear to us and several other developing countries that the Glasgow conference is to make Paris agreement operational. That will happen,” the official said. He added that the review of the target under the Paris climate deal would happen in 2023-24 and anything before that would depend on enhanced climate finance by the developed world. Climate talks have got more impetus in 2021 with appointment of John Kerry as US President Joe Biden’s special climate envoy. Kerry, since taking over in March, has visited several important countries for climate talks including biggest carbon emitters after United States, China and India. The US is keen to have higher ambition for Paris agreement, which becomes operational from January 2022. Kerry was in New Delhi in April 2021 for three days, but environment ministry officials said former environment minister Prakash Javadekar was very clear that the net zero concept was alien to the Paris agreement. Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water, said, “Given that India is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, we must recognise that even geographically faraway climatic changes can have consequences for our monsoons and intensity of extreme events. India should nudge the international community to capitalise a Global Resilience Reserve Fund to help lower the peaks of climate risks for the most vulnerable countries and create an insurance cushion against severe climate shocks.”

Climate Change and Green Economy

UN sounds alarm bells over 'irreversible' climate impacts by humans in latest IPCC report

Accepted by 195 countries, the report projects that in the coming decades climate changes will increase in every region The Earth could warm by 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial temperatures within the next two decades, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in its latest report on Monday, advancing the threat of such a dangerous tipping point in ... “The report is a wake-up call. We can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act— including empty promises of net zero by 2050,” said environmentalist Sunita Narain from the Centre for Science and Environment. Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/un-sounds-alarm-bells-over-irreversible-climate-impacts-by-humans-in-latest-ipcc-report-1017822.html

Director General Office

No time to lose – CSE Director-General on new IPCC report

Director-General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Sunita Narain says there is no time to lose on the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. “We can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act-including empty promises of net zero by 2050,” says Narain. The Director-General was reacting to the latest IPCC report that confirms that the world can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act, including empty promises of net zero by 2050. The report on Climate Change is the first part of its sixth assessment report that sounds like a grave warning. Narain listed a couple of key points from the report. The first is that the world might be hurtling towards a 1.5°C temperature rise by 2040. The second is the main trigger for climate change is, undoubtedly, human activities; and the last point has to do with the efficiency of sinks to absorb emissions going down. No time to lose - CSE Director-General on new IPCC report Director-General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Sunita Narain The IPCC report indicates, “There are no “maybes” anymore. The threat of climate change is real; dangers are imminent and the future is catastrophic.” Narain is therefore calling on the world to demands effective global leadership adding that, the report coming from the normal conventional and conformist world of buttoned-up scientists, should scare the world into action—real and meaningful. “The question is if we are listening. If action is being taken at the scale and pace needed. This is still not happening.” According to her, the relative efficiency of sinks—the earth’s natural cleaning system, the oceans, forests and soils, will go down in the coming years as emissions continue to rise. “Currently, oceans, land and forests together absorb some 50 per cent of the emissions released into the atmosphere each year. In other words, without these sinks, we would have already breached the 1.5°C warming by now.” Narain also observes that the “net zero” plans of countries will have to be revisited. Under the net-zero plan, countries such as the US and China have declared that their emissions will remain below what their terrestrial sinks or carbon capture technologies will be able to clean up by 2050 and by 2060 respectively. “But what this report also tells us is that we cannot “bank” on the sinks to clean up the emissions in the future at this same rate,” Narain stated. The Director-General of the Indian-based organization indicates countries will have to work harder to plant more trees to sequester carbon dioxide, per IPCC release, it means the sinks have reached their tipping points. “Therefore, this report from global scientists must be a wake-up call. It is time we got serious and started meaningful action on the ground—today.” For Nurain, the good news, however, is that technologies are available to disrupt the current fossil fuel-driven industrial system. “We do not have to wait for disruptive technologies. Instead, we have to be disruptive in action. The problem is that even today the action on the ground is too little and too late.” Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise as countries, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, rush to return to normal. Nurain says the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50 per cent below the 2010 level by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2050. “We need hard and drastic action. This is where the scientists, being scientists, cannot call out the most inconvenient of inconvenient truths. There is no doubt that top contributors to climate change are a handful of countries – the US and China, put together, add up to roughly half the world’s annual emissions.” According to her, from 1870 to 2019, the US, EU-27, Russia, UK, Japan and China are responsible for 60 per cent of the global carbon dioxide budget emissions. “If you take even the Paris targets, the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of these countries, then in 2030, they will increase their share of the budget to 68 per cent, not decrease it as needed and provide space for the rest of the world to grow. “This is because their targets are abysmally low and disproportionate to the contribution to the problem and that China will increase its share of CO2 emissions – going from 10 Gt/CO2 to 12 Gt/CO2 annually in the coming decade,” she said.

Director General Office

Le monde frappé par les nouvelles prévisions climatiques

Des dirigeants de la planète aux militants climat, le nouveau rapport «terrifiant» des experts climat de l'ONU provoquait lundi une avalanche de réactions, entre espoirs de ralentir le désastre par des actions immédiates et appels à la mobilisation citoyenne pour maintenir la pression. «Vous nous parlez depuis plus de 30 ans des dangers de laisser la planète se réchauffer. Le monde a écouté, mais n'a pas entendu. Le monde a écouté, mais n'a pas agi assez vigoureusement. Résultat: le problème que représente le changement climatique est là, maintenant. Personne n'est en sécurité. Et c'est de pire en pire de plus en plus vite», a déclaré Inger Andersen, patronne de l'ONU-Environnement. «Ce rapport est dévastateur pour les pays les plus vulnérables au changement climatique comme les Maldives parce qu'il confirme que nous sommes au bord de l'«extinction», a déclaré de son côté l'ancien président des Maldives Mohamed Nasheed au nom du Climate Vulnerable Forum qui représente un milliard de personnes de 48 pays. «Ce n'est pas trop tard pour endiguer la tendance et empêcher un dérèglement incontrôlable du changement climatique, à condition d'agir résolument maintenant et tous ensemble», a insisté sur Twitter le vice-président de la Commission européenne Frans Timmermans. «Nous savons ce qu'il faut faire pour limiter le réchauffement de la planète: reléguer aux oubliettes le charbon et passer à des sources d'énergie renouvelables, protéger la nature et financer le climat», a réagi le premier ministre britannique Boris Johnson, dont le pays accueillera en novembre la cruciale conférence climat de l'ONU COP26. «Nous ne pouvons pas attendre», a assuré de son côté l'envoyé spécial américain pour le climat John Kerry, appelant les gouvernements à prendre des «décisions courageuses». Un accord urgent Le président français Emmanuel Macron a appelé à «un accord à la hauteur de l'urgence» lors de la COP26, constatant que «le temps de l'indignation est derrière nous». «Nous sommes la dernière génération de politiciens qui peuvent protéger notre mode de vie. C'est maintenant ou jamais», a insisté la ministre démissionnaire des Affaires étrangères aux Pays-Bas, Sigrid Kaag, alors que le pays est menacé par la montée des eaux. Mais pour Saleemul Huq, directeur du Centre international du changement climatique et du développement basé au Bangladesh, la «bulle de promesses vides est sur le point d'exploser». «C'est à nous d'être courageux et de prendre des décisions basées sur les preuves scientifiques», a plaidé quant à elle la jeune militante Greta Thunberg. «Nous pouvons encore éviter les pires conséquences, mais pas si nous continuons comme aujourd'hui et pas sans traiter la crise comme une crise». Le rapport «doit sonner le glas du charbon et des énergies fossiles, avant qu'ils ne détruisent la planète», a déclaré le secrétaire général des Nations unies Antonio Guterres, qualifiant les mises en garde du Giec d'«alerte rouge pour l'humanité». «Les sonnettes d'alarme sont assourdissantes: les émissions de gaz à effet de serre créé par les énergies fossiles et la déforestation sont en train d'étouffer notre planète». Ce rapport est «un appel aux pays développés à réduire immédiatement et fortement leurs émissions et à décarboner leurs économies», a réagi le ministère indien de l'Environnement, pointant du doigt la responsabilité des pays développés dans le cumul de CO2 dans l'atmosphère. «Mais cela ne signifie pas que l'Inde ne doit pas agir», réplique Sunita Narain, du Centre pour la science et l'environnement basé en Inde. «Les mêmes gouvernements qui ont ignoré l'Accord de Paris ne nous sauveront pas», a répondu le mouvement Extinction Rebellion. «Seule la résistance civile le peut», ont ajouté ces militants en appelant sur Twitter à les rejoindre. Tout comme les jeunes de Fridays for Future prêts à «se battre plus fort que jamais». Quant à Greenpeace, c'est à la justice que l'ONG prévoit d'apporter le rapport du Giec. «Chère industrie des énergies fossiles, nous vous retrouverons au tribunal». Et si «vous êtes désespérés à la lecture du rapport», ce n'est pas surprenant et «vous n'êtes pas tout seul», note la climatologue Katharine Hayhoe. «Reconnaitre ce que l'on ressent est essentiel. Et ensuite, transformez cette peur en action».

Director General Office

Key Takeaways From The U.N. Panel’s Report That Raises Alarm, Says Time Running Out To Limit The Global Warming

According to the United Nations panel on climate change, the world is likely to hit 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit within 20 years. Here are some of the major highlights from the report New Delhi: The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned the world on Monday (August 9) that global warming is dangerously close to being out of control and humans are to be blamed for it. In its report titled ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis’, IPCC, of which India is one of the 195 members, said that scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system. It flagged that some of the changes such as continued sea-level rise are irreversible over thousands of years. Here are 10 key takeaways from the IPCC’s Climate Change 2021 report: The report says that human activities are the main drivers of unprecedented changes happening to the climate. “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land,” it said. The Earth is becoming warmer sooner and the global rise in temperature is about to hit 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040, a decade earlier than projected previously, the report flagged. If emissions aren’t slashed in the next few years, this will happen even earlier, it added. The report further said that the past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850. The average rate of sea-level rise has nearly tripled in the past century. It has increased from 1.3 millimeters per year in 1901-1971 to 3.7 millimeters per year between 2006-2018, the report stated. It added that this rise will affect both ocean ecosystems and the people that rely on them. Hot extremes (including heatwaves) have become more frequent and more intense across most land regions since the 1950s, while cold extremes (including cold waves) have become less frequent and less severe, the report has highlighted. It added that once-in-10-year and once-in-50-year events of extreme heat, heavy rain and droughts will become more frequent and intense. The report said that as a consequence of the temperature rise going past 1.5 degrees Celsius, extreme weather events are likely to be of larger magnitude, increased frequency, new locations, different timing, new combinations i.e. two or more extreme events occurring together, heatwave and drought for example. Cities are hotspots of global warming because these trap heat and there’s a lack of cooling areas like water and vegetation. The report has also flagged that India may face damaging impacts of climate crisis including a glacial retreat in the Himalayas, compounding effects of sea-level rise and intense tropical cyclones leading to flooding, an erratic monsoon, and intense heat stress. The Indian Ocean, which includes the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, has warmed faster than the global average, according to the IPCC. The oceans factsheet of the panel released on Monday indicates that sea surface temperature over the Indian ocean is likely to increase by about 1 degrees Celsius when there is 1.5 degrees Celsius to 2 degrees Celsius global warming. At 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming, heavy precipitation and associated flooding are projected to intensify and be more frequent in most regions in Africa and Asia, the report said. Drastic and rapid cuts in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases only can limit climate change, the IPCC report has said. It added, “Nations have to agree to do this. Even if by some miracle nations agree, when they meet in Glasgow later this year, on immediate, and drastic cuts it could take 20-30 years to see global temperatures stabilize although benefits for air quality would come quickly.” Commenting on the findings of the IPCC report, Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based non-governmental think thank working on environmental issues said, There are no ‘maybes’ anymore – the threat is real; dangers are imminent, and the future is catastrophic. This message from the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms what we already know and can see in the world around us – from wildfires because of extreme heat and moisture loss; to devastating floods because of extreme rain events; and tropical cyclones because of the changing temperatures between the sea and land surface. The future is here, and it should worry us enormously. Indeed, this report, coming as it is from the normally conventional and conformist world of buttoned-up scientists, should scare us into action—real and meaningful. We can no longer lose time in prevarication or in finding new excuses not to act—including empty promises of net zero by 2050.

Director General Office

UN sounds ‘code red’ warning on climate change

he impact of climate change is currently visible across many parts of the world – flooding in Europe, widespread fires in the Americas and unseasonal rain in many regions. Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, released yesterday. Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years. But there is still time to limit climate change, IPCC experts say. Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases could quickly make air quality better, and in 20 to 30 years global temperatures could stabilise. ‘Code red for humanity’ The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the Working Group's report was nothing less than "a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable". He noted that the internationally-agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels of global heating was "perilously close. We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold, is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and persuing the most ambitious path. The UN chief in a detailed reaction to the report, said that solutions were clear. "Inclusive and green economies, prosperity, cleaner air and better health are possible for all, if we respond to this crisis with solidarity and courage", he said. He added that ahead of the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November, all nations – especially the advanced G20 economies – needed to join the net zero emissions coaltion, and reinforce their promises on slowing down and reversing global heating, "with credible, concrete, and enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)" that lay out detailed steps. Human handiwork The report, prepared by 234 scientists from 66 countries, highlights that human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years. In 2019, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than at any time in at least 2 million years, and concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide were higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years. Global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over a least the last 2,000 years. For example, temperatures during the most recent decade (2011–2020) exceed those of the most recent multi-century warm period, around 6,500 years ago, the report indicates. Meanwhile, global mean sea level has risen faster since 1900, than over any preceding century in at least the last 3,000 years. The document shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1 deg C of warming between 1850-1900, and finds that averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5deg C of heating. Time is running out The IPCC scientists warn global warming of 2deg C will be exceeded during the 21st century. Unless rapid and deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades, achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement “will be beyond reach”. The assessment is based on improved data on historical warming, as well as progress in scientific understanding of the response of the climate system to human-caused emissions. “It has been clear for decades that the Earth’s climate is changing, and the role of human influence on the climate system is undisputed,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair, Valérie Masson-Delmotte. “Yet the new report also reflects major advances in the science of attribution – understanding the role of climate change in intensifying specific weather and climate events”. Extreme changes The experts reveal that human activities affect all major climate system components, with some responding over decades and others over centuries. Scientists also point out that evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and their attribution to human influence, has strengthened. They add that many changes in the climate system become larger in direct relation to increasing global warming. This includes increases in the frequency and intensity of heat extremes, marine heatwaves, and heavy precipitation; agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions; the proportion of intense tropical cyclones; as well as reductions in Arctic sea ice, snow cover and permafrost. Where does India stand? According to CSE director general Sunita Narain, “Technically, India is the third highest annual polluter of CO2 in the world (fourth if you take EU-27 as a group). But the scale of our contribution is so insignificant that it cannot be compared. Between 1870 and 2019, India’s share of the global CO2 budget was just 3 per cent. While China emits some 10 Gt/CO2 and the US 5 Gt/CO2, India emits some 2.6 Gt/CO2 annually. And even if you take India’s business-as-usual scenario, we will still emit less than what the US emits today, or one-third of China at 2030. But this is not to say that India must not act. In fact, it is in our best interest to take steps to combat climate change – at speed and at scale. Firstly, we are already seeing the worst impacts of climate change hit our people – from extreme rain, cloud bursts, floods and temperature rise. Secondly, we can act because we have tremendous opportunity to reinvent the way we do things – from the way we practice mobility in our cities and the way we build houses with thermal comfort to the way we provide access to affordable energy to the poor in the country. For us, action on climate change comes out of self-interest and co-benefits – reducing local air pollution and in this way also cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions. And, I have to say this clearly, we are not walking the talk on this. The Indian government is sanguine about doing more than other countries in terms of comparable action to reduce CO2 emissions. But the fact is we have no measurable targets to reduce emissions, and this is why we are doing well – our NDC is to reduce not absolute emissions but the emission intensity of our economy. In this way, we cannot and must not boast of our climate change action. We can only say we are doing as little as we need in terms of our responsibility or contribution to CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, which demands very little from us. In these climate-risked times, when science has a tough and uncompromised message, this is just not good enough. The fact is that climate change demands effective global leadership. And one thing that we also know from our pathetic track-record in delivering vaccines to all in the world is that global leadership is at its lowest point in human history—at least in our lifetime. Climate change is yet one more global crisis that needs a global response – we cannot win this without cooperation of all and this needs climate justice for all. But as with the war we are losing to the virus and the variants, climate change is also a great leveler – today not only the poor are hit by extreme weather events but also the rich. So, we need to act. And act fast and together. Science has spoken. Now action must follow.”

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Covid effect on Kolkata roads: Two-wheeler sales may be highest in 5 years

KOLKATA: Two-wheeler sales in Kolkata this year are likely to be the highest in the last five years. By July-end, it had already crossed the 10,000 mark. And, if the current rate of registration continues, it will surpass 20,000 by the end of this year, said transport department officers. The average annual sale of two-wheelers is 15,000+. However, in the last three years, the sale has crossed 17,000 in the city. Car sales in the city are also poised to overtake last year’s figure. The Public Vehicles Department, which is the regional transport authority (RTA) for the city, had 10,634 two-wheelers registered by July-end. In 2020, 17,459 were registered. Since the real sale of personalised vehicles picks up from August-end and continues till January, they are hopeful that two-wheeler registrations will cross 20,000. The highest registration of two-wheelers had been 19,409 in 2019. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote image - 2021-08-09T065256.936 The car registration figure in Kolkata is poised to surpass that of 2020. By July-end, 7,219 cars were registered compared to 8,843 in 2020. “This spurt in registration of new two-wheelers and cars, however, defies logic. The economy is in doldrums and petrol price is hovering around Rs 103-Rs 104 a litre,” said a transport department official. “This is largely the effect of pandemic-related restrictions. The pandemic fears are pushing people towards using personal vehicles more,” said transport expert Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The decline in registration of passenger vehicles is also significant. Only 153 light passenger vehicles (16-seater) were registered compared to the average 3,000 in pre-pandemic times. Similarly, just 17 medium passenger vehicles (mini-buses) were registered against 80 in pre-pandemic years, and only one omni-bus was registered. In the luxury cab sector, which includes app cabs, the decline is sharp as well. Only 87 of them were registered compared to an average of 3,000 in a pre-pandemic year. “This spate of personal vehicle purchases can aggravate congestion and toxic air pollution further. Steps need to be taken to scale up deployment of well-integrated and safe modern bus systems, and reformed Metro and tram services with improved last-mile connectivity. This needs to be supported by targeted and time-bound implementation of electrification of vehicle fleets. In fact, two-wheelers can be mandated for targeted electrification for a quicker makeover to zero emission,” Roychowdhury said.

Director General Office

Making trade work for climate

The world cannot dodge the question of global trade and consumption anymore Should India oppose the European Union’s (EU’s) plan for a carbon border tax — duty on imported goods like aluminium, steel, cement, and electricity from countries with less stringent greenhouse gas standards? The answer is both “yes” and “no”. Let me explain the complexity, as global trade is critically linked to GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. The EU’s move is purported to pressure other countries to impose similar taxation and thereby reduce emissions. But the question is if this plan, which reeks of protectionism in an increasingly inequitable world, will take us towards a more cooperative world required to combat climate change. In the early 1990s, when world leaders came together to discuss and then sign the Framework Convention on Climate Change, they recognised ecological globalisation. It was understood that the emissions would add to the warming of the planet and inevitably lead to catastrophic weather changes that knew no borders. It was understood that carbon dioxide was a long-lived gas — it lasts over centuries in the atmosphere. And therefore, what was emitted, say, in the 1780s — at the start of the industrial revolution — was still in the atmosphere and would “force” the temperatures to rise. I am repeating this well-known fact to reiterate that ecological globalisation require countries to act together and to act differentially — equity was understood to be at the core of the climate change conundrum. It was not a moral question but an imperative. If rich countries emitted in the past, poor countries for their development would emit in the future. But this was also the time when the world was busy signing free-trade agreements — stitching the economies together so that global trade would be unfettered and flourish. The reason for this furious activity — expressly opposed by many in the developing world, including India — was that the already rich world was finding the cost of production too high there. It would be cheaper for its industries to set up shop in parts of the world, like in China, where labour was cheap, labour conditions were weak, and environmental safeguards could be ignored. It worked. Reduced the cost of production enabled consumption and economic growth in the rich countries. In the three decades since then, the world has changed dramatically. Today, China is the biggest exporter; it has overtaken all other countries, including the US. With economic meltdown in several countries as a result of the pandemic, its share in global trade is only increasing. It is then no surprise that China is also the world’s biggest GHG emitter — it emitted 10.35 giga-tonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide in 2020 as compared to 5 Gt by the next top polluter, the US. In this way the rich parts of the world also “exported” their emissions to the balance sheet of “other” countries — called embedded emissions — and continued to consume goods at cheaper rates. In 2015, an individual in the US consumed 50 per cent more goods and services than in 1990. The real tragedy is that rich countries did not reduce their emissions. So even as manufacturing moved to “other” countries, their emissions, driven by the consumption of goods and electricity, continued to rise. At the same time, the emerging world — China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and all the “other” world exporters — saw their emissions rise. This is why we are on the edge of the climate precipice today. The EU wants to fix this through its carbon border tax. But it is ham-handed at best — deeply divisive and flawed. The fact is that the erstwhile proponents of free trade have changed colours; protectionism is on the rise as they want to manufacture domestically, and the EU is no different. But today, it’s a different world. The former naysayers are vested in this system. They believe growth happens when they manufacture cheap and export to the world. So, how can this system be reformed through this one clumsy action? It will only add to the distrust between the old and the new producers of goods, and emissions. Then, it is also a fact that the border tax will add to the revenue of the EU — the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that at $44 per tonne, the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) income, as it is called, will rise by $2.5 billion in the EU and fall by $5.9 billion for the exporting countries. It will further the inequity; and it won’t go far enough to change the production-consumption pattern and reduce emissions. The world cannot dodge the question of global trade and consumption anymore. It needs a carbon tax — enough to disincentivise consumption and to make production systems climate-friendly. But the monies collected from this tax, including the EU carbon border tax, should be spent in countries worst impacted by climate change. If climate change is a global problem, so must be its resolution. The EU carbon border tax is neither here nor there in the way ahead.

Director General Office

Making trade work for climate

Down To Earth

UP-दिल्ली और हरियाणा समेत कई राज्यों में घट रहा है वन घनत्व

नई दिल्ली [संजीव गुप्ता]। सरकारी स्तर पर हरित क्षेत्र बढ़ाने के दावे भले कितने किए जाते रहे हों, लेकिन बहुत बार पौधारोपण कागजों में ही कर दिया जाता है। शायद इसीलिए झारखंड, पंजाब, हरियाणा, मध्य प्रदेश, उत्तर प्रदेश और छत्तीसगढ़ समेत 14 राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों में वन घनत्व घट रहा है। इसी वजह से इन राज्यों के वन क्षेत्र में कार्बन अवशोषण क्षमता भी घट रही है। हालांकि, दिल्ली, बिहार, उत्तराखंड, जम्मू-कश्मीर एवं हिमाचल में कार्बन सोखने की क्षमता में पहले के मुकाबले इजाफा दर्ज किया गया है।यह जानकारी सामने आई है सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरमेंट (सीएसई) की हालिया रिपोर्ट 'स्टेट आफ इंडियाज एन्वायरमेंट 2021 : इन फिगर' से। यह रिपोर्ट बताती है कि भारतीय वन लकड़ी एवं गैर लकड़ी वन उत्पाद के रूप में पारिस्थितिक सेवाएं देते हैं। कई बड़े राज्यों में ये सेवाएं घट रही हैं जो इस बात का प्रमाण है कि संसाधनों का अत्यधिक दोहन हो रहा है। वर्ष 2015-16 के मुकाबले वर्ष 2016-17 और वर्ष 2017-18 में खासतौर पर यह कमी स्पष्ट रूप से देखने को मिली है।

Sustainable Food Systems

Maharashtra FDA finds Dabur, Patanjali, Zandu, Saffola, Himalaya and others have substandard honey

DA found out that there was adulteration of sugars like mannose, maltose, maltotriose in honey of many reputed brands. It was also found that the natural components of honey have been artificially altered. Mumbai: Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration on Monday said that the department had launched a statewide campaign to check the quality of honey. Maharashtra FDA claims that the department took 86 samples from producers, sellers and distributors of various honey producing companies for analysis. FDA seized 3480.25 kg stock of honey worth Rs 36.19 lakh because of the adulteration found by FDA. As per FDA, analysis of sugar based on NMR test of honey samples revealed adulteration of sugars like mannose, maltose, maltotriose in honey of many reputed brands. At the end of the analysis, it was also found that the natural components of honey have been artificially altered. The possibility of adverse effects on human health by consuming this type of honey cannot be ruled out. Out of these 86 samples, reports of 52 honey samples are out. In these reports it is shown that the sample of brands like Zandu, Dabur, Patanjali, Saffola, Uttarakhand Honey, Baidyanath, Dilive, Apis Himalaya, Hamdard Natural blossom, Shri Shri Tatva Baidyanath, Twigs, Twenty Four Mantra Organic, Madhupushp, Madhuban, Loose, Phondaghat, Reliance Healthy Life, Under the Mango Tree, Rasana, Organic Certified Honey, Himalaya, were found of substandard quality. FDA further added that further legal action is being taken against sellers, distributors and producers/manufacturers under the Food Safety and Standards Act in cases of substandard food articles. Before this, in December last year, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted NMR test and found that brands like Dabur, Patanjali, Zandu, Apis Himalaya failed the test.