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In parliament today : CSE revealed adulteration in honey, government gave information

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government/ Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is aware of the recent reports of adulteration of honey produced by the reputed brands across the country, if so, the details thereof and the number of such cases reported, company and location-wise; (b) whether the Government has detected the presence of sugar syrup beyond the permissible level in these honey brands, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether cases of foreign honey brands selling adulterated honey have gone undetected by the Government if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; (d) whether FSSAI has any regulatory framework in place to check the adulteration of honey, if so, the details thereof and the action taken against these brands; (e) the other measures taken to curb such practices; and (f) whether the Government has introduced online food safety compliance system and if so, the details thereof?

Uttarakhand flash flood sparks questions on India's hydropower push

Environmentalists have urged the Indian government to review its policy of building dams in fast-warming mountain regions, after an apparent glacier collapse this week led to flooding that swept away one dam and left at least 26 people dead. The Sunday flash flood in northern Uttarakhand state, triggered by what scientists said they believed was a large avalanche of glacier ice and rock, left up to 200 people missing in the Himalaya region. Rescuers this week were racing to try to free dozens of dam construction workers trapped in a tunnel by debris carried by the wave of floodwater. Scientists said the disaster was difficult to directly link to climate change in a region where landslides are common - though temperatures are rising faster in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountains than in other parts of the region. But Anil Kulkarni, a glacier expert at the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science, said global warming and "local factors such as deforestation for developmental projects and large-scale construction activities could have contributed to the disaster". Continuing construction of hydropower dams in the region needs reconsideration, not just because of warming risks but because of broader environmental impacts, said Sunita Narain, head of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment. About 7,000 megawatts worth of hydroelectric projects are already operating or being constructed in the fragile mountains of Uttarakhand, she said. The projects are going ahead as India tries to move to cleaner renewable energy and provide more power for development, including in more remote regions. But such efforts need to be limited by "the carrying capacity of the fragile Himalayan region, which is even more at risk because of climate change", Narain told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. If dam building continues, more disasters like this week's are likely, she said. "There is no question that we are going to see more of this, not less, unless we change the way we do business with the environment," Narain said, urging "better-studied decisions on the projects". Jigmet Takpa, joint secretary at India's Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said that improving provision of energy in India was crucial for the population's welfare. "Whenever such disasters strike, people start questioning the government. Though it is their right to ask questions, it needs to be understood that natural disasters are beyond the government's control," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He said India's government and people needed to work together "to develop adaptive strategies to avoid damage", such as ensuring homes are not built near riverbeds. But Ravi Chopra, director of the Peoples Science Institute, which works on water, environment and disaster issues in India, said that with the cost of solar energy rapidly falling, building more mountain hydropower dams was unnecessary. Hydropower produced in Uttarakhand costs about three times as much as equivalent solar power, he said, arguing that "in this time and age, hydropower makes no economic sense". Big international funding institutions have largely moved away from supporting controversial big hydropower projects, though many smaller-scale dams are still being built globally. Chopra said that after heavy rains in 2013 spurred disastrous flooding and landslides that killed more than 5,000 people in Uttarakhand, a committee appointed by the Supreme Court had recommended no dams be built above an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,500 feet). But Chopa, who was a member of the committee, said dam building had continued - including construction of the dam destroyed in Sunday's flash flood. Centre for Environment and Developmentat the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, said the government needed to rethink its development strategy for the Himalayas. "Climate change is aggravating environmental risks of the already environmentally fragile Indian Himalayan region," he said. "Damming of rivers, tunneling for power generation, and indiscriminate road building are magnifying these risks and their impacts."

Warning system, environment study may have prevented Uttarakhand tragedy

Samrat Sengupta, an authority on climate change impact and renewables, says that conservation of natural resources should be seen as a part of any development project Highlights of the conversation: 1. The flash floods in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, can be attributed to two main anthropogenic or man-made aspects: Advertisement a. Unjust and very dense interference in the fragile Himalayan eco-system with so much of infrastructure being built like hydel power plants, roads etc. b. Rising temperature due to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change caused by human activities, resulting in glacial melting faster than what it should be resulting. In all, it causes imbalance in glacial mass which results in avalanche, temporary lake formation etc. 2. A report published by Dr Anil Agarwal, the founder of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in 1973 warned of calamities in the Himalayas that we are seeing today. 3. An early warning system should have been made available from the government side, especially when we have the technology to do so. Such a warning system could have given us 2-3 days to evacuate people and minimise loss of life and even property to some extent. 4. The approval documents of such big projects have provisions for setting up an early warning system. The question is why it has not been implemented as was committed? 5. Important questions: Is the Environmental Impact Assessment of a project, say a hydel power plant, done before implementing it? Even if the assessment is done, is it implemented? There is a certain breach at the implementation level, which hints at corruption in the system. 6. There was a time when environment protection was seen as anti-development. Time has changed and that perspective does not hold true anymore. 7. Today, conservation of natural resources should be seen as a part of any development project. 8. If a developmental project, like a hydel power plant, has short-term benefits but long-term loss, then what is the point of having such a project? 9. Unless we find the middle path between development and nature conservation, there won’t be a solution which is sustainable in the long run. 10. Since pre-industrialisation days, the world has believed in a development model which looks at a few economic indicators, mostly faulty ones, to conclude that more consumption means more development. 11. Earth’s resources are limited, and the idea of unlimited growth is a mirage. If we do not contain our consumption today, the human race will soon pay a heavy price for it. 12. When we talk about increasing consumption, we conveniently forget that millions of people, especially in India, are deprived of access to assured commercial energy. They do not even have the luxury of having a minimum standard of living. 13. Our per capita energy consumption is half of world average. Our development model is very city-centric or centralised. For example, a person living in Delhi has a much larger ecological footprint than someone living in a village on the outskirts of Delhi. There is no equity.

Indian flood is nature's payback: experts

Rampant construction, rock blasting, climate change. Sunday's (February 7) flash flood in Uttarakhand state was nature's payback, Indian environmental experts believe, for dam-building and other practices that have disturbed the fragile make-up of the Himalayas. Dozens of people were killed when an avalanche tore through this river valley. And as of Thursday (February 11) some 170 remain unaccounted for, most of them workers at a hydroelectric plant and a smaller dam that was swept away by the torrent. This is Samrat Sengupta of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. "This has happened due to unjust interference of the mankind with nature. This has happened in two ways: One, climate change that is also man-made climate change, and another is high density of infrastructure development without done (doing) any pure scientific modeling and study. So, nature is giving back." Kundan Singh is a resident of Raini village, part of which was washed away in the deluge. In 2019, Singh filed a public interest case arguing the hydropower project posed a risk to locals. He saw this coming. "The village was under threat. Landslides were occurring. The company was blasting and their laborers were cutting down trees. The company did not provide employment to the villagers, either." Environmentalists have long warned that climate change is triggering massive flooding in the region. In June 2013, record monsoon rains in Uttarakhand unleashed devastating floods dubbed the "Himalayan tsunami." Nearly 6,000 people lost their lives. Video Transcript - Rampant construction, rock blasting, climate change. Sunday's flash flood in Uttarakhand state was nature's payback, Indian environmentalists believe, for dam-building and other practices that have disturbed the fragile make-up of the Himalayas. Dozens of people were killed when an avalanche tore through this river valley. And as of Thursday, some 170 remain unaccounted for, most of them workers at a hydroelectric plant and a smaller dam that was swept away by the torrent. This is Samrat Sengupta of the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi. SAMRAT SENGUPTA: This has happened due to unjust interference of mankind with nature. This has happened in two ways. One, climate change that is also made climate change. And another, this high density of infrastructure development without done any pure scientific modeling and study. So nature is giving back. - Kundan Singh is a resident of Raini village, part of which was washed away in the deluge. In 2019, Singh filed a public interest case arguing the hydropower project posed a risk to locals. He saw this coming. KUNDAN SINGH: [SPEAKING HINDI] INTERPRETER: The village was under threat. Landslides were occurring. The company was blasting, and their laborers were cutting down trees. The company didn't provide employment to the villagers either. KUNDAN SINGH: [SPEAKING HINDI] - Environmentalists have long warned that climate change is triggering massive flooding in the region. In June 2013, record monsoon rains in Uttarakhand unleashed devastating floods, dubbed the "Himalayan tsunami." Nearly 6,000 people lost their lives.

John F. Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to Address CERAWeek by IHS Markit 2021

John F. Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to Address CERAWeek by IHS Markit 2021 The world’s preeminent energy conference will convene virtually March 1-5, 2021. Learn more at www.ceraweek.com HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John F. Kerry will address delegates at CERAWeek by IHS Markit 2021, to be held virtually March 1-5. “We are pleased to welcome Secretary Kerry among the distinguished speakers at CERAWeek 2021” Tweet this The first-ever Principal to sit on the U.S. National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change, Mr. Kerry previously served as the 68th U.S. Secretary of State and as a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts. Sec. Kerry will join the world’s energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, as well as leaders from the technology, financial and industrial communities addressing this year’s conference. CERAWeek 2021: The New Map: Energy, Climate and Charting the Future will examine a new global map being shaped by dramatic shifts in energy and geopolitics—a map defined by changing policies, technology, alliances, geopolitics, and possibly collisions in global commerce and politics. Inspired by the new book, The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations by IHS Markit Vice Chairman and CERAWeek Chairman Daniel Yergin, the conference program will focus on key themes related to Energy Transition; Geopolitics, Economics and Markets; Investment and Financing; Technology and Innovation; Mobility and the Future Workforce. 2021 marks the 39th edition of the conference and is the first time that it will be an all-virtual event. The conference is produced by IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. “We are pleased to welcome Secretary Kerry among the distinguished speakers at CERAWeek 2021,” said Daniel Yergin, conference chair and vice chairman of IHS Markit. “Through his distinguished career in public service in the U.S. Senate, as U.S. Secretary of State and now as the Biden Administration’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, his unique knowledge and experience at the intersection of public policy, international diplomacy and energy is a very significant and most timely addition to the important dialogues taking place at this year’s conference.” CERAWeek 2021 and the related Innovation Agora will feature more than 245 speakers from 29 countries. Speakers will include (partial list): Bill Gates – co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and founder, Breakthrough Energy Amin Nasser – president and CEO, Saudi Aramco Bernard Looney – group chief executive, BP Ben van Beurden – CEO, Royal Dutch Shell Patrick Pouyanné – chairman and CEO, TOTAL SE Ryan Lance – chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips Vicki Hollub – president and CEO, Occidental Petroleum Mike Wirth – chairman of the board and CEO, Chevron H.E. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo – secretary general, OPEC Gina McCarthy – national climate advisor, The White House Hon. Joe Manchin – chairman, U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senator, State of West Virginia Hon. Daniel Sullivan – U.S. Senator, State of Alaska Lynn J. Good – chairman, president and CEO, Duke Energy Noubar Afeyan – co-founder and chairman, Moderna Pratima Rangarajan – CEO, OGCI Climate Investments Hon. Tina Bru, minister of petroleum and energy, Norway Hon. Sylvester Turner – mayor, City of Houston Susan Hockfield – president emerita and professor of neuroscience, MIT Walter Isaacson – author and professor of history, Tulane University Allison Herren Lee – acting chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Sunita Narain – director general, Centre for Science and Environment Ben Fowke – chairman of the board, president and CEO, Xcel Energy Nick Akins – chairman, president and CEO, AEP Ignacio S. Galán – chairman and CEO, Iberdrola S.A.

India flash flood sparks questions on nation's hydropower push

SRINAGAR, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Environmentalists have urged the Indian government to review its policy of building hydropower dams in fast-warming mountain regions, after an apparent glacier collapse this week led to flooding that swept away one dam and left at least 26 people dead. ADVERTISEMENT: Your content will begin in 29 seconds The Sunday flash flood in India’s northern Uttarakhand state, triggered by what scientists said they believed was a large avalanche of glacier ice and rock, left up to 200 people missing in the Himalaya region. Rescuers this week were racing to try to free dozens of dam construction workers trapped in a tunnel by debris carried by the wave of floodwater. Scientists said the disaster was difficult to directly link to climate change in a region where landslides are common - though temperatures are rising faster in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountains than in other parts of the region. But Anil Kulkarni, a glacier expert at the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science, said global warming and “local factors such as deforestation for developmental projects and large-scale construction activities could have contributed to the disaster”. Continuing construction of hydropower dams in the region needs reconsideration, not just because of warming risks but because of broader environmental impacts, said Sunita Narain, head of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment. About 7,000 megawatts worth of hydroelectric projects are already operating or being constructed in the fragile mountains of Uttarakhand, she said. The projects are going ahead as India tries to move to cleaner renewable energy and provide more power for development, including in more remote regions. But such efforts need to be limited by “the carrying capacity of the fragile Himalayan region, which is even more at risk because of climate change”, Narain told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. If dam building continues, more disasters like this week’s are likely, she said. “There is no question that we are going to see more of this, not less, unless we change the way we do business with the environment,” Narain said, urging “better-studied decisions on the projects”. BEST SOLUTION? Jigmet Takpa, joint secretary at India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said that improving provision of energy in India was crucial for the population’s welfare. “Whenever such disasters strike, people start questioning the government. Though it is their right to ask questions, it needs to be understood that natural disasters are beyond the government’s control,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He said India’s government and people needed to work together “to develop adaptive strategies to avoid damage”, such as ensuring homes are not built near riverbeds. Advertisement But Ravi Chopra, director of the Peoples Science Institute, which works on water, environment and disaster issues in India, said that with the cost of solar energy rapidly falling, building more mountain hydropower dams was unnecessary. Hydropower produced in Uttarakhand costs about three times as much as equivalent solar power, he said, arguing that “in this time and age, hydropower makes no economic sense”. Big international funding institutions have largely moved away from supporting controversial big hydropower projects, though many smaller-scale dams are still being built globally. Chopra said that after heavy rains in 2013 spurred disastrous flooding and landslides that killed more than 5,000 people in Uttarakhand, a committee appointed by the Supreme Court had recommended no dams be built above an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,500 feet). But Chopa, who was a member of the committee, said dam building had continued - including construction of the dam destroyed in Sunday’s flash flood. Sharachchandra Lele, of the Centre for Environment and Development at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, said the government needed to rethink its development strategy for the Himalayas. “Climate change is aggravating environmental risks of the already environmentally fragile Indian Himalayan region,” he said. “Damming of rivers, tunneling for power generation, and indiscriminate road building are magnifying these risks and their impacts.”

Lockdown Reduced Heavy Metal Levels in Ganga by 50%: IIT Kanpur Study

Untreated sewage from a residential area flows into the Ganges river in Mirzapur, India. Photo: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui In India, a substantial increase in the number of grossly polluting industries (GPI) between 2011 and 2018 exceptionally stressed both surface and groundwater resources. A 2019 report titled ‘State of India’s Environment (SoE) In Figures‘, states that between GPIs, which discharge more than 1,00,000 litres of wastewater and hazardous chemicals into India’s rivers, have increased by 136% between 2011 and 2018. The 992 industries across the main stem of the river Ganga, specifically in the industrial pockets in the catchments of its tributaries – Ramaganga and Kali – contribute to undue duress on the river waters. However, a respite for the Ganga river came in the form of a mandated nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. This was opportune for a team of researchers from IIT Kanpur, who quantified the resilience of the river water of Ganga as an effect of such sudden human actions. On studying the geochemical records of Ganga between March – May 2020 , they found that lower industrial discharge over 51 days of the lockdown decreased the concentration of dissolved heavy metals in the river by atleast 50%. The study site chosen was Prayragraj, which is downstream of the most polluted stretch of the river owing to industrial hotspots. In contrast, the team found that nitrate and phosphate inputs, which come mostly from agricultural runoff and domestic sewage, remained unaffected as these sources were not impacted by the lockdown. Dissolved trace elements chemically evolve in the Ganga river, and also vary with seasons. The researchers observed that the concentration of major ions and trace elements were similar to the pre-monsoon levels (March – May) that persisted prior to the onset of COVID-19. While concentrations of elements like nickel and copper did not show any systematic changes in the study period, concentrations of elements like lithium and arsenic increased in the river water samples analysed. The researchers argued that high concentrations of dissolved heavy metals in rivers are mostly an effect of different human activities. Contaminants like lithium and arsenic are mostly leached from Li-ion batteries into the river water. However, human sources of lithium are absent in the catchment area studied by them. This confirmed their hypothesis that levels of elements like lithium and arsenic were more likely to be high in the tested water samples only due to weathering processes. The study highlights the high resilience of Ganga water, as the river returned to its pristine levels of dissolved heavy metals in a short span of time after reduction of industrial waste discharge. The research paper was published on January 22, 2021.

Supreme Court puts price tag on tree after PIL challenges West Bengal govt's decision of cutting 356 trees

The committee suggested that instead of cutting down trees for highway projects, the governments should first explore alternative options for these projects. Ever thought we will able to quantify and put a price tag on the oxygen we get from trees? Well, in a first, a Supreme Court panel has managed to put a price tag on a tree. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had set up a committee in February to evaluate the true value of a tree when a PIL had challenged the West Bengal government's decision to cut 356 trees to construct five railway overbridges costing Rs 500 crore. The committee comprised Soham Pandya, B K Maji, Niranjita Mitra, N K Mukarji and Sunita Narain. The committee, in its report, said that a heritage tree with a lifespan of well over 100 years could be valued at more than Rs 1 crore. It also said that the monetary worth of a project for which hundreds of trees are proposed to cut down is far less than the economic and environmental worth of these trees which are being cut down.

CSE warns against extended deadline for coal-based plants

BATHINDA: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has cautioned the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (Mo-EF&CC) against extending the deadline of meeting emission norms for coal-based thermal power plants in the country. The Union ministry of power has urged the MoEF&CC to extend the deadline from 2022 to 2024, the environment ministry might be working on a graded plan on it. “Extending the deadline once again will have grave repercussions for the fight against air pollution. It will also mean a complete mockery of the Supreme Court and Indian regulators’ efforts to control pollution from the coal-based thermal power sector over the last five years,” said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE. In January 2021, the power ministry had sent in its request to extend the deadlines allotted to 448 operational power generating units. The proposed extension is up to two years from their existing deadlines. The extension was sought on the account of uncertainties and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and other issues like import restrictions, lack of local availability of components, liquidity crunch in the power sector, credit refusals due to high stress in the sector and regulatory delays. The power ministry had argued for a dilution of the sulphur dioxide norms, citing an incomplete study by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). “The power ministry’s move seems to have been influenced by the industry’s consistent efforts to dilute and delay the norms. The industry is obviously not bothered about the health risks posed by pollution from these coal-based power plants,” said Narain.

CSE’s warning on emission leeway for thermal plants

New Delhi: Days after Uttarakhand glacier burst, which could be an indicator of climate change, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has written to the Union environment ministry, forest and climate change, cautioning them to not extend the deadline of meeting emission norms for coal-based thermal power plants in the country. While the deadline is 2022, the ministry was apparently mulling over a proposal to extend it to 2024. CSE stated coal-fired power plants were some of the most polluting industries in the country, accounting for over 60% of the total particulate matter emissions from all industries, as well as 45% of the SO2, 30% of oxides of nitrogen and over 80% of the mercury emissions. “Extending the deadline will have grave repercussions for the fight against air pollution. It will also mean a complete mockery of the Supreme Court and Indian regulators’ efforts to control pollution from the coal-based thermal power sector over the last five years,” said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE. In January 2021, the power ministry had sent a request to extend the deadlines allotted to 448 operational power generating units. The proposed extension is up to two years from their existing deadlines. The extension was sought on the account of uncertainties and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues. A week before this, the power ministry had argued for a dilution of the sulphur dioxide norms as well. “The power ministry’s move seems to have been influenced by the industry’s consistent efforts to dilute and delay the norms. The industry is obviously not bothered about the health risks posed by these coal-based power plants,” Narain adds. Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution unit, CSE, says the power ministry’s request is in a way rewarding all those plants, which have not yet acted on the 2015 notification of switching to cleaner technology. “We request the ministry to consider our first run policy and incentivise plants that are meeting the norms,” said Yadav.

क्लाइमेट एक्टिविस्ट दिशा रवि की गिरफ्तारी पर उठे बड़े सवाल

बंगलुरु की एक 22 साल की लड़की दिशा ए रवि गिरफ्तार हुई है जिस पर राजद्रोह, दो समुदायों के बीच नफरत और साज़िश करने के आरोप हैं. भारत की छवि ख़राब करने के आरोप हैं. अच्छी बात है कि 98 से 100 रुपये लीटर पेट्रोल बिकने से देश परेशान नहीं है. दिल्ली में एक रात में गैस के सिलेंडर के दाम 50 रुपये बढ़ गए, दिल्ली परेशान नहीं है. जो देश इन बातों से परेशान नहीं है उस देश को इस बात से परेशान किया जा रहा है कि बंगलुरु की एक 22 साल की लड़की दिशा ए रवि गिरफ्तार हुई है जिस पर राजद्रोह, दो समुदायों के बीच नफरत और साज़िश करने के आरोप हैं. भारत की छवि ख़राब करने के आरोप हैं. भारत की छवि ख़राब करना एक नया आरोप है, इसे कानूनी रूप से कहां परिभाषित किया गया है यह बताना मेरे बस की बात नहीं है. लेकिन दिशा ए रवि की गिरफ्तारी के सिलसिले में कुछ शब्द चल पड़े हैं. हैं पुराने लेकिन इस बार पुलिस की निगाह से संदिग्ध हो गए हैं. टूल किट. डिजिटल स्टार्म. यानी ट्वीटर फेसबुक या व्हाट्सएप के ज़रिए किसी चीज़ को वायरल कर देना. आए दिन होता रहता है और आप इसके आदी हो चुके हैं. याद कीजिए पिछले साल 17 सितंबर को सरकारी भर्ती परीक्षाओं के सताए नौजवानों ने ऐसे बहुत सारे पोस्टर बनाए और ट्रेंड कराया जिसे आज आप टूल किट कह रहे हैं. इस अभियान को भी डिजिटल स्टार्म कहा जा सकता है. उस समय ऐसे पोस्टर खूब आते थे कि कितने बजे थाली बजानी है, किस किस मंत्री को टैग करना है और कौन सा हैशटैग ट्रेंड कराना है. इसे आराम से टूल किट कहा जा सकता है. बस तब ये पोस्टर बनाकर इनबाक्स में वायरल हो रहा था और इसे ट्वीटर पर भी शेयर किया जा रहा था. उस दिन प्रधानमंत्री का जन्मदिन था. उस मौके पर विरोध जता कर सरकारी भर्ती परीक्षाओं के सताए नौजवान अपना विरोध जताना चाहते थे और सरकार को झकझोरना चाहते थे. गनीमत है कि तब इस तरह की योजना को साज़िश नहीं माना गया लेकिन कहा नहीं जा सकता कि अब आगे ऐसा नहीं होगा. कोई कह सकता है कि बेरोज़गारों के ऐसे अभियान से लोकप्रिय प्रधानमंत्री और भारत की छवि ख़राब हो रही है. 17 सितंबर 2020 को बेरोज़गारों ने तीस लाख से अधिक ट्वीट किए थे और ट्विटर पर यह नंबर वन ट्रेंड करने लगा था. यही डिजिटल स्टार्म है. यानी डिजिटल दुनिया का तूफान. सरकार के विरोध में भी होता है और सरकार के समर्थन में भी होता है. इस दौरान जो रणनीति बनती है कि किसे टैग करना है किसे क्या लिखना है उसे टूल किट कह सकते हैं. 22 साल की दिशा ए रवि को इसी प्रकार के टूल किट बनाने के मामले में गिरफ्तार किया गया है. पहले मामला समझें. यह ध्यान रखें कि टूल किट शब्द का प्रयोग पहली बार पुलिस ने नहीं, ग्रेटा थनबर्ग ने किया. क्लाइमेट एक्टिविस्ट ग्रेटा थनबर्ग ने 3 फरवरी को अपने ट्विटर हैंडल से ट्वीट किया और एक टूल किट भी जारी किया. इस टूल किट में लिखा है कि कृषि कानूनों को हटाने के लिए सरकार पर दबाव बनाने के लिए देश के भीतर और देश के बाहर से क्या क्या करना है. इसमें कहीं भी हिंसक गतिविधि की बात नहीं है. बेशक लिखा है कि वीडियो बनाना है. अपलोड करना है. किसी खास समय पर हैशटैग Askindiawhy नाम से ट्विटर पर ट्रेंड कराना है. तस्वीरें साझा करनी है. ऐसा करने के लिए 23 जनवरी, 26 जनवरी और 13-14 फरवरी का दिन तय किया गया है. अगर मार्च में हिस्सा नहीं ले सकते तो डिजिटली हिस्सा लें. फोटो वीडियो को किसी खास ईमेल पर भेजने की बात कही गई है. साथ ही वही फोटो वीडियो प्रधानमंत्री के कार्यालय से लेकर अपने राज्य के प्रमुखों को टैग करने की भी बात है. भारतीय दूतावासों, सरकारी दफ्तरों, मीडिया के दफ्तरों और अंबानी अडानी के दफ्तर के बाहर दुनिया भर में प्रदर्शन करना है. तो आपने देखा कि जिस तरह 17 सितंबर 2020 के अभियान के लिए बेरोज़गार नौजवान टूल किट वायरल करा रहे थे कि कब थाली बजानी है और कब तक ट्वीट करना है, वही भाषा और उसी तरह की योजना ग्रेटा थनबर्ग के ट्वीट में बताई गई है जिसे टूल किट कहा जा रहा है. इंटरनेट पर क्रैंबिज डिक्शनरी में टूल किट की एक परिभाषा इस तरह से दी गई है. टूल किट का इस्तमाल सरकार भी अपनी कई योजनाओं के प्रचार प्रसार में करती है. ट्विटर पर जो लोग इस शब्द को आतंकवादी साज़िश का हिस्सा बनाने में लगे हैं उनकी मदद के लिए बता दूं कि 16 फरवरी 2020 को प्रधानमंत्री मोदी का एक बयान बीजेपी ने अपने ट्विटर हैंडल से ट्वीट किया था कि पिछले दो साल में 3500 से अधिक शिल्पकारों, बुनकरों को डिज़ाइन में सहायता दी गई. एक हज़ार कलाकारों को Tool Kit भी दिए गए हैं: पीएम मोदी #PMInKashi. प्रधानमंत्री ने टूल किट देने की बात की थी. केंद्र सरकार की स्मार्ट सिटी की वेबसाइट पर भी टूल किट है. स्मार्ट सिटी का टूल किट. उसमें भी इसी तरह की बातें हैं कि क्या क्या करना है. ऐसे ही आर्थिक मामलों के विभाग ने public private partnerships in india की वेबसाइट पर भी PPP मॉडल के बारे में एक टूल किट डाला है. भाषा में आ रहे बदलाव को समझना चाहिए. अब पहले भाषा में बदलाव किया जाता है फिर उसकी आड़ में सिस्टम काम करने लगता है. समाज में पहले भाषा की स्थापना की जाती है ताकि सिस्टम को कुछ भी करने की मान्यता मिल जाए. जैसे राष्ट्रपति के अभिभाषण पर धन्यवाद भाषण देते हुए प्रधानमंत्री ने अपने ही बजट के चमकदार पन्ने के एक शब्द FDI का मतलब foreign distructive ideology कर दिया. वही हाल टूल किट का है. अगर यह बुरा होता तो फिर सरकार के मंत्री इसका नाम ही नहीं लेते. अब जो आगे आप सुनने जा रहे हैं ज़रा ध्यान से सुनिए. इसी तरह की योजना के बारे में गृह मंत्री अमित शाह अपनी पार्टी के सोशल मीडिया के कार्यकर्ताओं को समझा रहे हैं. गुप्त रूप से नहीं बल्कि सबके सामने. यह भाषण यूटयूब पर भी है और 11 फरवरी का यानी उससे दिल्ली पुलिस टूल किट के मामले में ऐसी योजनाओं को लेकर केस दर्ज कर चुकी थी. गृह मंत्री जिस तरह से बता रहे हैं वह एक तरह का मौखिक टूल किट है. बता रहे हैं कि कैसे हंसाने वाली और डराने वाली चीज़ें वायरल करानी है. उन्हीं के शब्द हैं हंसाने वाली और डराने वाली. अब यह अलग सवाल है कि गृह मंत्री को अपने कार्यकर्ताओं को हंसाने वाली और डराने वाली चीज़ों की ट्रेनिंग देनी चाहिए या नहीं. यह इस पर निर्भर करेगा कि इस प्रश्न का सामना करने वालों की सोचने समझने की ट्रेनिग किस तरह से व्हाट्सएप यूनिवर्सिटी ने की है. टूल किट का इस्तमाल इस तरह से किया जा रहा है जैसे किसी ने सीट के नीचे लावारिस वस्तु रख दी हो. मगर यहां तो ग्रेटा के ट्विटर अकाउंट में यह टूल किट अभी तक रखी हुई है. ज़ाहिर है यह कोई लावारिस वस्तु नहीं है. फिलहाल ग्रेटा इसकी वारिस हैं और 49 लाख फॉलोअर इसे देख सकते हैं. आप भी देख सकते हैं. पढ़ सकते हैं. 3 फरवरी ने जो ट्वीट किया था उसे डिलिट कर दिया और यह भी लिखा कि उसे इसलिए डिलिट किया क्योंकि वह पुराना हो चुका था. यानी ग्रेटा ने छिपा कर डिलिट नहीं किया. कारण बता कर डिलिट किया. नए टूल किट में 13-14 फरवरी की योजना शामिल थी. पुलिस के अनुसार दिशा ने ग्रेटा को व्हाट्सएप चैट में लिखा है कि इसके ट्वीट करने से हमारे खिलाफ UAPA लग सकता है. यह भी एक सवाल है कि क्या सरकार ने ट्विटर से ग्रेटा थनबर्ग के खाते पर मौजूद इस टूल किट को हटाने का कोई आग्रह किया है और ट्विटर का क्या जवाब है. क्या पुलिस ग्रेटा से पूछने स्वीडन जाएगी? अगर जाए तो कम से कम पता कर ले कि ग्रेटा कहीं अटलांटिक की यात्रा पर तो नहीं निकल गई है. क्या पुलिस जानबूझ कर इस वक्त ग्रेटा से दूरी बना रही है या जांच के बाद तय करेगी कि ग्रेटा का पीछा किया जाएगा या नहीं. दिल्ली पुलिस का कहना है कि इस टूल किट को बनाने वाले एक व्हाट्सएप गुप से जुड़े थे और दिशा ने टूल किट ग्रेटा को टेलीग्राम से भेजा था. तो क्या पुलिस ग्रेटा को इस साज़िश का हिस्सा मानती है? इसका ठोस उत्तर नहीं मिला. दिशा ए रवि की गिरफ्तारी के मामले में दिल्ली पुलिस के साइबर सेल के ज्वाइंट कमिश्नर प्रेमनाथ ने प्रेस कांफ्रेंस की. बताया कि 4 फरवरी को जिस टूलकिट की जानकारी मिली उसे खालिस्तानी संगठन की मदद से बनाया गया था. 11 फरवरी को निकिता के यहां सर्च हुआ जिसमें काफी सारे संवेदनशील सबूत मिले हैं. ट्विटर पर हैशटैग अभियान का हिंसा से क्या संबंध है इस बारे में पुलिस को कुछ चीज़ें और साफ़ करना बाक़ी है. इसी संदर्भ में मेरे कुछ सवाल हैं. पहला ये कि जिस टूल किट की बात की जा रही है उसके लिखित स्वरूप में कहीं भी हिंसा फैलाने की बात नहीं है. जैसा कि हमने आपको अभी बताया. दूसरा ये कि क्या किसान आंदोलन में हिंसा की योजना बाहर के लोग कर रहे थे जिसकी जानकारी किसानों को नहीं थी? हिंसा होने से अगर किसी का नुक़सान होता तो वो किसान आंदोलन ही था इसीलिए किसान संगठन शुरू से शांतिपूर्ण आंदोलन की बात कर रहे थे. तो क्या दिल्ली पुलिस ये बात मानती है किसान संगठनों का दिल्ली की हिंसा में कोई हाथ नहीं था. और क्या इस हिंसा का मक़सद किसान आंदोलन को बदनाम करना था? जैसा प्लान था वैसा किया गया. प्लान exactly क्या था ये अभी साफ़ होना बाक़ी है. दिल्ली पुलिस ने दिशा और शांतनु पर भी बयान दिया है. अभी तक पुलिस इनकी बैठक में मो धालीवाल के होने का हवाला दे रही है जो पोएटिक जस्टिस नाम की संस्था से जुड़ा है. धालीवाल को खालिस्तान से जोड़ रही है. इस नौजवान ने 26 जनवरी की हिंसा के बाद एक बयान जारी किया है. कनाडा में भी अन्याय होता है तो हम बोलते हैं. दुनिया में कहीं अन्याय होता है तो बोलेंगे. इसमें तो यही लिखा है कि नफरत के खिलाफ है. हम प्यार के लिए काम करते हैं. हम किसानं के साथ हैं. हम लोकतंत्र में नियमों में यकीन करते हैं. क्यों भारत में किसानों की हत्या हो रही है, क्या भारत अल्पसंख्यकों की हत्या कर रहा है, क्यों भारत अपने लोकतंत्र की हत्या कर रहा है. इसमें यह भी लिखा है कि पोएटिक जस्टिस फाउंडेशन ने रिहाना, ग्रेटा थनबर्ग या किसी सेलिब्रेटी के साथ तालमेल नहीं किया है. किसी को टवीट करने के लिए पैसे नहीं दिए हैं. हमने जरूर ये अपील की है कि दुनिया इसे साझा करे. इंडियन एक्सप्रेस ने पोएटिक जस्टिस फाउंडेशन के बारे में लिखा है कि यह संस्था मार्च 2020 में बनी थी. मकसद दक्षिण एशियाई समुदाय के बीच मानवाधिकार और सामाजिक न्याय को लेकर जागरुकता लाना है. इंडियन एक्सप्रेस से धालीवाल ने कहा है कि हमारा कोई खालिस्तान समर्थक एजेंडा नहीं है. हम असली लोकतंत्र में संविधान द्वारा दिए गए संवाद और मुक्त अभिव्यक्ति को बढ़ावा देते हैं. 26 जनवरी की घटना के जवाब में इस संस्था ने एक बयान में यह भी कहा है कि हम किसानों के आंदोलन में सक्रिय रूप से शामिल हैं. भारत में प्रेस की आज़ादी नहीं है क्योंकि प्रेस की स्वतंत्रता के मामले में भारत का स्थान 142वां हैं. इंडियन एक्सप्रेस की अंजु अग्निहोत्री चाबा ने धालीवाल से बात की है. अंजू की रिपोर्ट में लिखा है कि पुलिस के पास 17 सितंबर 2019 का धालीवाल का एक मैसेज है जो सोशल मीडिया पर है जिसमें धालीवाल कहता है कि मैं खालीस्तानी हूं. आप मेरे बारे में नहीं जानते होंगे. क्यों? क्योंकि खालिस्तान एक विचार है. खालिस्तान का आंदोलन ज़िंदा है, सांसे ले रहा है. इस पर अंजु ने सवाल किया तो धालीवाल का जवाब है कि सिखों के प्रति हमदर्दी जताने के लिए कहा था क्योंकि समय समय पर कनाडा में सिखों को आतंकवादी कह कर किनारे किया जाता है. उसका कहना है कि फेसबुक पर उसके पूरे पोस्ट को पढ़ा जाए. अगर कनाडा में किसी को आतंकवादी कहे और कोई उसके साथ में खड़ा हो जाए तो क्या वह खालिस्तानी कहा जाएगा. ये आपको समझना है. ट्विटर पर अगर ग्लोबल ट्रेंड कराना छवि खराब करना और साज़िश का हिस्सा है तब तो फिर पूरा ट्विटर ही किसी साज़िश का हिस्सा है. बात यह है कि जहां आप पहले दबदबा बनाते हैं और वहां पोल खुल जाती है तब फिर वह माध्यम दुश्मन लगने लगता है. फिर आप नए माध्यम की तलाश करने लगते हैं. खैर ये अलग विषय है. पंजाब में यह एक सच्चाई है कि कुछ लोग खालिस्तान की बात करते हैं लेकिन उसका विरोध भी पंजाब के लोग दिन रात करते हैं. खालिस्तान को किसानों से जोड़ने की जल्दी में इस बात का ध्यान ज़रूर रखिए कि यह हाशिये की सच्चाई है. पंजाब के ही कई किसान संगठन इस धारा के खिलाफ हैं और लड़ते हैं. हमने आपको बताया था कि किसान आंदोलन में हरिंदर बिन्दु आई हैं. वे भारतीय किसान यूनियन उग्राहां की सदस्य हैं. हरिंदर बिन्दु के पिता को खालिस्तानी आतंकवादी ने हत्या कर दी थी. इस किसान मोर्चे में ऐसे कई लोग आए हैं जिनके किसी प्रिय को खालिस्तानियों ने हत्या कर दी थी. वे आतंकवाद का विरोध करते हैं. विरोध करने वाले किसान हैं और इस तरह के पोस्टर किसान मोर्चे में दिखे थे कि हम आतंकवादी नहीं हैं. लेकिन जो ट्विटर पर हैशटैग चलाने, फोटो वीडियो अपलोड करने की योजना है उसमें कहीं से भी ऐसा कुछ नहीं है जो लगे कि आतंकवादी योजना है. पुलिस इस हिस्से को कैसे साबित करेगी देखना होगा. लेकिन ग्रेटा ने जो ट्वीट किया है उसमें वही सारी बातें हैं जो आए दिन ट्विटर पर हैशटैग चलाने वाले करते रहते हैं. पुलिस की दलील है कि 26 जनवरी के बाद अंतर्राष्ट्रीय सेलिब्रिटी और एक्टिविस्ट से संपर्क किया गया. क्या पुलिस का मतलब अमरीकी पॉप स्टार रिहाना के ट्वीट से है, दो फरवरी को रिहाना ने सीएनन की खबर ट्वीट की थी, क्या सीएनन ने खबर साज़िश के तहत छापी? कमाल है न. क्या उस सैलिब्रेटी में अमरीका की उप राष्ट्रपति कमला हैरिस की भांजी मीना हैरिस का ट्वीट भी शामिल होगा? अगर आप घटनाओं को देखें तो अमरीका कनाडा और ब्रिटेन की संसद में किसान आंदोलन की कब से चर्चा हो रही है. हाल ही में ब्रिटेन की संसद में ये मुद्दा उठा था. क्या ब्रिटेन के सांसद किसी साज़िश का हिस्सा हैं? किसान आंदोलन को लेकर कई देश से बयान आए हैं. हम क्या कर रहे हैं? हैशटैग चलाने की योजना को आतंकी साज़िश और भारत के खिलाफ साज़िश से जोड़ रहे हैं. पुलिस की धाराओं में जितनी बातें हैं उससे अधिक और आगे जाकर बातें सोशल मीडिया में कही जा रही हैं. क्या इसलिए कि लड़कियों को डराया जा सके? 22 साल की एक लड़की आज सबके सामने साज़िश रचने वाली गिरोह के मुखिया के तौर पर पेश कर दी गई है. फ्राइडे फॉर फ्यूचर. FFF से जुड़ी है. यह वो प्रयास है जिसे ग्रेटा थनबर्ग ने शुरू किया था. स्कूलों में पढ़ने वाले बच्चे हर शुक्रवार जलवायु प्रदर्शन को लेकर प्रदर्शन करते हैं. दिशा ए रवि भारत में इस प्रयास की संस्थापकों में से एक है. 2019 में जब वे माउंट कार्मेल कालेज बंगलुरु में पढ़ती थी तब फ्राइडे फॉर फ्यूचर की स्थापनी की थी. कृषि परिवार से आने वाली दिशा का जलवायु और पर्यावरण के सवालों को लेकर चिन्तित होना स्वाभाविक था. जब केंद्र सरकार ने पर्यावरण के असर के मूल्याकंन के लिए नया कानून बनाने का मसौदा तैयार किया तब इसे लेकर दिशा जागरुकता फैलाने में व्यस्त हो गई. हिन्दू अखबार में लिखा है कि इस कैंपेन को लेकर भी दिल्ली पुलिस को दिक्कत हो गई. इन्होंने पर्यावरण क़ानूनों में संशोधन को लेकर इन्होंने प्रदर्शन किया था जिसके बाद UAPA और इंफोर्मेशन टेक्नालजी एक्ट के तहत नोटिस जारी कर दिया. बाद में वापस ले लिया गया. इस संस्था के लिए काम करते हुए दिशा की अंतर्राष्ट्रीय पहचान बन गई. ब्रिटेन के मशहूर अखबार द गार्डियन में उसके बारे में लेख छपा. दिशा ए रवि मांसाहारी से शाकाहारी हो गई क्योंकि उसे लगा कि जानवरों के प्रति क्रूरता नहीं होनी चाहिए. इसके बाद शहर में एक स्टार्ट अप के साथ काम करने लगी जो शाकाहारी दुग्ध उत्पादन के क्षेत्र में काम करता है. बंगलुरु में जहां भी पेड़ कटते हैं उसे रोकने में दिशा ए रवि की सक्रिय भूमिका रहती है. शाकाहारी होने के बाद भी आज की राजनीति में दिशा को शत्रु की तरह देखा जा रहा है. do you get my point. 22 साल की दिशा रवि के किसी ख़्याल से या गतिविधि से देश इतना डर गया है कि हरियाणा के गृहमंत्री अनिल विज को ट्वीट करना पड़ा कि देश विरोध का बीज जिसके भी दिमाग़ में हो, उसका समूल नाश कर देना चाहिए फिर चाहे वह दिशा रवि हो या कोई और. हरियाणा के गृहमंत्री का यह बयान काफी सीरीयस हैं. वे समूल नाश का इस्तमाल करते हैं. संविधान में किसी भी गंभीर अपराध की सज़ा के तौर पर समूल नाश का प्रावधान नहीं है और न ही इस तरह के शब्द इस्तमाल होते हैं. अनिल विज को कम से कम से भारत के गृह मंत्री से सीखना चाहिए. वे कितने प्यार से और चटखारे लेते हैं हंसाने वाली और डराने वाली ट्रेनिंग दे रहे हैं. लेकिन समूल नाश के लिए नहीं. सिर्फ एकाध चुनाव जीतने के लिए. आप फिर से सुनें कि किस अंदाज़ में 11 फरवरी को गृह मंत्री अपने कार्यकर्ताओं को बता रहे हैं कि चुनाव के समय सोशल मीडिया का इस्तमाल कैसे होता है. दिल्ली पुलिस कम से कम इस बयान को सीरीयसली न ले. दोबारा इसलिए सुनाया क्योंकि ये वाकई सीरीयस है. हंसाने की बात तो ठीक है लेकिन डराने वाली चीज़ों से किसी की प्रतिष्ठा मिट्टी में मिल जाती है. ऐसे अभियानों के बाद केस मुकदमे भी हो जाते हैं. AIPWA की सदस्य कविता कृष्णन का कहना है कि FIR भी वापस ली जाए. 78 पर्यावरणविदों ने बयान जारी किया है कि 22 साल की दिशा रवि को तुरंत रिहा किया जाए. दिशा रवि कोई टेररिस्ट नहीं है, वह एक पढ़ी-लिखी Environmentalist है. अगर किसी नागरिक ने गलत किया है तो उसके खिलाफ कानूनी कार्रवाई हो लेकिन गैर कानूनी तरीके से एक युवा लड़की को जेल भेजना गलत है. सरकार डराने की कोशिश कर रही है युवाओं को. इसके जरिए यूनिवर्सिटीज को यह मैसेज दिया जा रहा है स्टूडेंट सरकार के खिलाफ कुछ नहीं बोल सकते.. यह गलत तरीका है. गिरफ्तार दिशा रवि को कोर्ट में अपने आप को डिफेंड करने के लिए कानूनन वकील रखने का अधिकार मिलना चाहिए. कानून के विशेषज्ञों और वकीलों की मदद से सुप्रीम कोर्ट जाना हमारे सामने एक विकल्प है. इस गिरफ्तारी ने फिर से किसानों के आंदोलन का अंतर्राष्ट्रीयकरण कर दिया है. जब किसान अपने स्तर पर करते हैं तो सरकार को बुरा लगता है और जब सरकार के कदम से मामला ग्लोबल हो जाता है तो किसे बुरा लगना चाहिए मैं इसमें पड़ना ही नहीं चाहता. लोकल लेवल पर कांग्रेस महासचिव प्रियंका गांधी ने दिशा रवि के पक्ष में ट्वीट किया है कि डरते हैं बंदूकों वाले एक निहत्थी लड़की से. फैले हैं हिम्मत के उजाले एक निहत्थी लड़की से. #ReleaseDishaRavi, #DishaRavi, #IndiaBeingSilenced प्रियंका के साथ साथ कांग्रेस नेता जयराम रमेश, पी चिदंबरम, आनंद शर्मा, शिवसेना की राज्य सभा सासंद प्रियंका चतुर्वेदी, दिल्ली के मुख्यमंत्री अरविंद केजरीवाल, सीपीएम नेता सीताराम येचुरी, अभिनेता सिद्धार्थ, अमरीकी की उपराष्ट्रपति की भांजी मीना हैरिस, कनाडा की कवयित्री, रुपी कौर, सुनीता नारायण, बिल मक्किबेन से लेकर तमाम लोगों ने दिशा रवि की रिहाई की मांग की है. संयुक्त किसान मोर्चा ने भी कहा है कि किसानों के समर्थन में आने वाली दिशा ए रवि के साथ खड़े हैं. तुरंत रिहाई की मांग करते हैं. वही हाल नौदीप का है. मज़दूरों के अधिकारों के लिए लड़ने वाली 24 साल की एक लड़की नौदीप कौर जेल में है. क्या यह भी गलत काम है कि कोई लड़की मज़दूरों के अधिकारों के लिए लड़े? इससे तो भारत की छवि और शानदार होती है कि भारत में दिशा और नौदीप जैसी लड़कियां हैं. क्या आप दिशा और नौदीप से घबरा रहे हैं तो खुल कर कहिए. डरिए नहीं. राजद्रोह का सहारा मत लीजिए.

How to design an energy transition that includes everyone— including the most vulnerable

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an “interdependent” world with “huge issues of inequity,” said Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Without addressing these realities, “we cannot deal with the virus, and it’s the same with climate change.” Narain issued the warning at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum during a panel moderated by Robert Hayward, chief operating officer at Chem-Energy and a Veterans Advanced Energy fellow with the Council’s Global Energy Center. Narain was joined by Bonnie Norman, president of E3 International and Jacqueline Patterson, senior director of the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to talk about ensuring justice in the energy transition. “Health, clean energy, equity, and economic recovery all go together. To create the better future we’re all striving for, to ignore one is to weaken the others. So we must move forward… intentionally including everyone, especially the most vulnerable,” said Norman. Patterson added that in her work, ensuring justice in energy isn’t only about efficacy; it’s also a matter of establishing “a world that transitions us away from an extractive economy to one that actually uplifts the civil and human rights of all, in harmony with earth rights.” Below are highlights from a discussion that touched on everything from the interplay between energy and marginalized groups to how exactly the government and private sector can design a just energy transition and sector. Energy impacts everyone—but some more than others The root of the problem: The energy transition means shifting from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy. But “sustainability is not possible unless we can have affordable and inclusive growth for all,” Narain said. Her organization CSE, based in New Delhi, advocates for development that is sustainable and equitable. As an example, she noted that large numbers of people today “use very dirty biomass fuel” for cooking because “the poor are too poor to buy monetized fuel.” This reliance on dirty fuels leads to health problems, Narain added. “The [lack of] access to clean energy is about as dehumanizing as anything can be and it is unacceptable.” Women face “wicked” impacts: Of all marginalized and vulnerable groups, Narain said “the face of the poor woman is what you need to consider when it comes to” everything from “climate justice, to the issues of development rights, to the issue of poverty, [and] to the issue of food.” Women use biomass fuels to cook because it is expensive to purchase liquid petroleum gas cylinders, she explained. “This impacts the lives of women; it is a wicked, wicked problem because women’s health is always seen as the last priority.” But women also offer hope: “If we can keep the face of that last woman in mind, we will get our policies right,” Narain said, noting how developing miniature electricity grids in villages could help support women with cleaner energy. “When women get extra money, it goes into the health and well-being of their families,” Norman said, but “so very often, they don’t have the capacity-building and training,” which E3 International focuses on in an effort to develop sustainable energy strategies that promote energy security. The top indicator of vulnerability: “There are so many ways that we see a disproportionate impact of climate change and energy and justice on women,” Patterson noted. Smokestacks, for example, release emissions with endocrine disruptors that have an effect on birth outcomes, while extreme heat has been tied to high maternal mortality rates in African American communities. Race, she added, is the number-one indicator of likelihood to be exposed to disproportionate impacts from polluted air and water associated with fossil fuelbased energy use. “An African American family making $50,000 dollars a year is more likely to live next to a toxic facility than a white American only making $10,000 a year,” she said, and “an African American child is three to five times more likely to enter the hospital from an asthma attack than a white American child.” Such outcomes “are directly tied to the environment of these communities,” she added. Hand over the steering wheel: These marginalized groups are “also the most likely to be impacted by this transition to a new energy economy,” Patterson continued. So “we have to… not only just [consider] folks who are most vulnerable, but [put] folks who are traditionally marginalized in the front lines of decisionmaking and leadership and really [stand] behind their leadership.” Through the Black Labor Initiative on Just Transition project, led by the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, “we’re making sure that they’re in the driver’s seat in terms of determining what kind of policies we need to put in place in the context of this transition.” Watch the full event How policy can jumpstart a just energy transition Community first: To ensure justice in the energy transition, Patterson argued that elected officials should “start with the visions of the communities in terms of what they want to see and then… implement the community’s vision” of a just energy transition. A market-based approach: Norman, also a board member of the Montgomery County Green Bank, which provides residents and businesses competitive loan rates and credit access for clean-energy projects, highlighted the role of green banks. “Green banks are policy tools” that use money from public-purpose bonds to attract private investment in clean energy, she explained. A green bank’s “mission is to make financing affordable and accessible to those who need it most.” Solutions, too, must be just: For Narain, the biggest challenge is figuring out how to put “money back into the hands of the communities.” As land-based solutions—like carbon sequestration through trees—become more prevalent, Narain noted, the land and rights of the poor become more endangered. Just policies can help ensure “their lands are not used as another way to clean up the dirt of the rich, but that the poor communities actually benefit, and they have rights, and they get the real value for their land and their labor.” | February 8, 2021

Vaccine leadership, not chauvinism

The WHO's initiative to provide equitable access to vaccines - COVAX - is devoid of the funds needed to procure and supply the shots to poorer countries. Sunita Narain Exactly one year later, the world is moving towards the next decisive phase in the fight against Covid-19. Vaccines are now available and people are being inoculated — many rich countries have set targets for full immunisation by mid-year. With this done, they say, it can be back to business. But for this to happen, we need a hard introspection by our scientific and political leadership during this critical phase of recovery. Today, on the one hand, the virus is mutating and becoming more unpredictable and there is still too much that we do not know. For instance, it is not clear if antibodies, which provide protection against the virus, will last beyond a few months. If this is the case, then herd immunity — serological surveys in Delhi, for instance, are showing that over 50 per cent of the population could have antibodies — may not be the magic bullet. On the other hand, the mutating virus is learning faster to find weak spots in our immune system to spread faster as well. The UK, South Africa and Brazil variants of the virus are found to be more infectious because antibodies cannot detect them. So, it is a war — the virus or us. Amidst all these, the global community — our leadership — is not learning from the mistakes of the past year. First, it is important that we understand the principle of inter-dependence. This means that we need to ensure that vaccines are available, affordable, and accessible, to all in the world. Inequity in the distribution of vaccines means that the virus will remain with us; and, it means it will mutate and will find its way into our bodies — perhaps in a variant that we are not protected against. It is also clear economic costs will be devastating in a situation where large proportions of the global population remain vulnerable. But as yet, it is a dog-eat-dog world and it is every country for its own. In mid-January this year, when the World Health Organization (WHO) gathered some 2,800 scientists across the world virtually, they pointed out just how vast and glaring this vaccine divide was. As of now, some 30 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, mostly in advanced economies. The WHO’s initiative to provide equitable access to vaccines — COVAX — is devoid of the funds needed to procure and supply the shots to poorer countries. It is not just lack of money that is at the core of the problem. It is also the complete lack of scientific cooperation. This is the second lesson that the world needs to learn. In this “war”, both the speed and scale of the intervention are pre-requisites. There is no doubt that scientific ingenuity, innovation, and enterprise have been extraordinary in the past year. There are already three-four vaccines that have been deployed and many more are in the works. Success will now depend on how fast these can be put to work; and for this, we need to know that the vaccine is both efficacious and, more importantly, safe. Currently, all drug regulators in the world are examining the vaccines as they become available. Pharma companies are conducting the trials, but it would take months, if not years, for new vaccines, to go through the existing process. But with the world running out of time, there is a need to speed up. How can this be done without compromising on safety? This is where we need new learning and global cooperation. We need drug regulators of the world to come together to scrutinise the data of the trials — not take decisions one after another. For instance, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been cleared for use in the UK and India, but it is still awaiting the green signal from the EU, the US, and the WHO’s internal process. In the waiting are some 50-odd candidates. Why then can’t national scientific resources be pooled at global level? This is also important because there is a need to re-think the drug clearance process. Clinical drug trials are rigorous and rightly so. But the fact is that many more Covid-19 vaccine candidates will be closer to deployment. How quickly will the vaccines get clearance? For instance, phase 3 clinical trials require extensive protocols for giving people the real drug and the placebo. Will this be possible when people are putting their arms forward desperately for the real thing? All this is only possible if there is global cooperation and if there is credibility in the institutions of decision-making. Governments will have to ensure that there is full disclosure by the pharma companies of clinical trial data. This must be transparent and available to the public. At present, we have none of this. When the Indian government announced emergency use of a vaccine that had not yet cleared phase 3 clinical trials, it may not have been wrong. But what it completely messed up was its communication. It seemed that the vaccine was untested; that it had been released to us; and, that this was being done to prove our domestic scientific might. What is clear is that winning this “war” will need more information, strong institutions with credibility and more democracy, not less. What will make us lose forever is vaccine chauvinism. The writer is at the Centre for Science and Environment | sunita@cseindia.org | Twitter: @sunitanar

Air quality deteriorates in state during winter; Kollam, Kannur districts severely polluted

The study was done using the air quality monitoring stations that are set up in different cities. Kochi: A study report has pointed out decrease in the amount of pure air that the state received during lockdown times. The study also suggested that Kollam and Kannur districts are moving towards severe air pollution. The study was conducted by Centre for Science and Environment with the help of Pollution Control Department and Indian Meteorological Department. The study that was conducted until January 26 showed that pollution levels are increasing during winter season. The study focused on the pollution level in cities of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Lighting of crackers in connection with Deepawali festival is the main reason for the dip in air quality level in Kannur and Kozhikode. The air quality in places like Kozhikode, Kochi, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram came down in the week after Christmas. Compared to other regions, Thiruvananthapuram is not severely affected by air pollution in the winter season. The study revealed that Kochi’s air quality level deteriorated by 5 times in December as compared to April- May months. The study was done using the air quality monitoring stations that are set up in different cities.

How to design an energy transition that includes everyone—including the most vulnerable

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an “interdependent” world with “huge issues of inequity,” said Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Without addressing these realities, “we cannot deal with the virus, and it’s the same with climate change.” Narain issued the warning at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum during a panel moderated by Robert Hayward, chief operating officer at Chem-Energy and a Veterans Advanced Energy fellow with the Council’s Global Energy Center. Narain was joined by Bonnie Norman, president of E3 International and Jacqueline Patterson, senior director of the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to talk about ensuring justice in the energy transition. “Health, clean energy, equity, and economic recovery all go together. To create the better future we’re all striving for, to ignore one is to weaken the others. So we must move forward… intentionally including everyone, especially the most vulnerable,” said Norman. Patterson added that in her work, ensuring justice in energy isn’t only about efficacy; it’s also a matter of establishing “a world that transitions us away from an extractive economy to one that actually uplifts the civil and human rights of all, in harmony with earth rights.” Below are highlights from a discussion that touched on everything from the interplay between energy and marginalized groups to how exactly the government and private sector can design a just energy transition and sector. Energy impacts everyone—but some more than others The root of the problem: The energy transition means shifting from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy. But “sustainability is not possible unless we can have affordable and inclusive growth for all,” Narain said. Her organization CSE, based in New Delhi, advocates for development that is sustainable and equitable. As an example, she noted that large numbers of people today “use very dirty biomass fuel” for cooking because “the poor are too poor to buy monetized fuel.” This reliance on dirty fuels leads to health problems, Narain added. “The [lack of] access to clean energy is about as dehumanizing as anything can be and it is unacceptable.” Women face “wicked” impacts: Of all marginalized and vulnerable groups, Narain said “the face of the poor woman is what you need to consider when it comes to” everything from “climate justice, to the issues of development rights, to the issue of poverty, [and] to the issue of food.” Women use biomass fuels to cook because it is expensive to purchase liquid petroleum gas cylinders, she explained. “This impacts the lives of women; it is a wicked, wicked problem because women’s health is always seen as the last priority.” But women also offer hope: “If we can keep the face of that last woman in mind, we will get our policies right,” Narain said, noting how developing miniature electricity grids in villages could help support women with cleaner energy. “When women get extra money, it goes into the health and well-being of their families,” Norman said, but “so very often, they don’t have the capacity-building and training,” which E3 International focuses on in an effort to develop sustainable energy strategies that promote energy security. The top indicator of vulnerability: “There are so many ways that we see a disproportionate impact of climate change and energy and justice on women,” Patterson noted. Smokestacks, for example, release emissions with endocrine disruptors that have an effect on birth outcomes, while extreme heat has been tied to high maternal mortality rates in African American communities. Race, she added, is the number-one indicator of likelihood to be exposed to disproportionate impacts from polluted air and water associated with fossil fuel-based energy use. “An African American family making $50,000 dollars a year is more likely to live next to a toxic facility than a white American only making $10,000 a year,” she said, and “an African American child is three to five times more likely to enter the hospital from an asthma attack than a white American child.” Such outcomes “are directly tied to the environment of these communities,” she added. Hand over the steering wheel: These marginalized groups are “also the most likely to be impacted by this transition to a new energy economy,” Patterson continued. So “we have to… not only just [consider] folks who are most vulnerable, but [put] folks who are traditionally marginalized in the front lines of decision-making and leadership and really [stand] behind their leadership.” Through the Black Labor Initiative on Just Transition project, led by the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, “we’re making sure that they’re in the driver’s seat in terms of determining what kind of policies we need to put in place in the context of this transition.” Watch the full event How policy can jumpstart a just energy transition Community first: To ensure justice in the energy transition, Patterson argued that elected officials should “start with the visions of the communities in terms of what they want to see and then… implement the community’s vision” of a just energy transition. A market-based approach: Norman, also a board member of the Montgomery County Green Bank, which provides residents and businesses competitive loan rates and credit access for clean-energy projects, highlighted the role of green banks. “Green banks are policy tools” that use money from public-purpose bonds to attract private investment in clean energy, she explained. A green bank’s “mission is to make financing affordable and accessible to those who need it most.” Solutions, too, must be just: For Narain, the biggest challenge is figuring out how to put “money back into the hands of the communities.” As land-based solutions—like carbon sequestration through trees—become more prevalent, Narain noted, the land and rights of the poor become more endangered. Just policies can help ensure “their lands are not used as another way to clean up the dirt of the rich, but that the poor communities actually benefit, and they have rights, and they get the real value for their land and their labor.”