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Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly newsletter by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change programme and Down to Earth.
The United Nations global carbon market came one step closer to operationalization this month. The 15th meeting of the ‘Article 6.4 Supervisory Body’ held in Bhutan made headway on remaining guidance required. This followed the last meeting which was held in Baku at the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29). Trishant Dev from CSE Climate tracked and summarized the Bhutan talks. Key discussions focused on setting standards for the baseline for mechanism methodologies, ensuring projects provide real emission reductions (additionality), and revising the rules for transitioning Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects to the new system, i.e., under Article 6.4.
The meeting also launched the interim carbon credit registry and elected new leadership. A major milestone was accrediting the first Designated Operational Entity, Carbon Check (India) Pvt Ltd, to validate projects. The next meeting in May at the routine mid-year climate talks in Bonn, Germany will continue refining standards and procedures to support the global carbon market.
Closer home, Binit Das from CSE’s Renewable Energy team analysed recent responses by the Union Power Ministry in the 267th Rajya Sabha session. The piece reveals that despite India’s power surplus, structural inefficiencies persist. Transmission bottlenecks cause regional shortages, while integrating renewable energy remains a challenge. Some states, like Gujarat, meet demand consistently, but others face deficits. Thermal and hydropower expansion continue, yet fuel shortages and delays remain a problem. Strengthening the country’s transmission and distribution networks, infrastructure, and ensuring proper policy execution are crucial for sustainable, reliable, and affordable power for all – which at present remains distant, while power demand continues to rise.
Meanwhile, the impacts of climate change on financial actors are increasingly being acknowledged, and insurance is no exception. Probability is the foundation of the insurance industry, but climate change is disrupting it, Shagun and Akshit Sangomla from Down to Earth report. Extreme weather events—once rare—are now frequent and severe, making disasters an annual occurrence. As claim costs rise, insurers increase their premiums, making coverage too expensive. In California, worsening wildfires – increasingly liked to climate change – have led major insurers to exit. Insurers accounting for about 80% of the market have now dropped out or restricted the issuance of new policies. Without urgent action, climate change threatens the stability of the global insurance industry, impacting individuals and financial systems on the whole.
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By - Sehr Raheja
Climate Change, CSE
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| EXTREME WEATHER TRACKER |
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Glaciers lost 6.5 trillion tonnes of ice since 2000, accelerating global sea-level rise: Study, 20 February 2025
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Hurricanes in North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific to get more frequent & intense over next decade: University of Reading, 20 February 2025
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Climate’s unsolicited payout, 17 February 2025
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Rising weather extremes is destabilising the insurance industry, driving up premium prices and pushing insurers out of high-risk markets. The crisis is also spurring re-invention of insurance sector
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CLIMATE NEWS | SCIENCE| IMPACTS| POLITICS |
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