| |
A weekly digest on impacts, politics and science of the climate emergency from the Global South perspective. You can find this digest in the web here.
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly Digest by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change and Green Economy Programme and Down to Earth.
Distributed renewable energy is helping farmers in the eastern Indian state of Odisha fight energy poverty, reports Puja Das for Down to Earth. In Koraput's Bairagiput village, water access for agriculture has relied heavily upon the monsoon, or diesel and electric motors for irrigation. For women from Self Help Groups (SHGs) in Kalahandi, unreliable electricity supply has often caused delayed food processing and delivery. Both groups are now using solar powered sprinklers, motors, fencing, and dryers to close the gaps.
One farmer got a solar-powered motor to replace a diesel motor that used one litre of fuel per hour of irrigation, and irrigation is carried out on alternate days. In the absence of monsoon, irrigation is typically done two to three times a week. His earnings rose from Rs. 40,000 in 2025 to Rs. 70,000 in 2026, for ginger. Another farmer from the region too saw a rise in earnings due to increased production and reduced fuels costs for beans sales. He installed a solar motor in 2023. In Kalahandi's Thuamul Rampur block, a 10-member SHG, supported by SELCO Foundation, began using solar panels, batteries and an inverter to power food processing for Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) nutrition supplies. This cut electricity bills and ended 40-45 km trips to Bhawanipatna for processed ingredients. But as operations expanded, costs increased, since packing and sealing machines aren't solar-powered. The bigger issue however, is reliability - outages of 2-6 hours are common, stretching to 10-15 days in monsoon, risking delays in the SHG's monthly deliveries of puffed rice, roasted chana and dates to Anganwadi centres across eight gram panchayats.
Meanwhile, Avantika Goswami and Trishant Dev from CSE’s Climate Change and Green Economy Programme discuss a crucial question in the latest episode of the Carbon Politics podcast – ‘Can the Global South Build the Clean Tech it Needs?’ Tune in to the full episode to learn more.
Lastly, you still have time to register for the global online certificate course ‘AI, Data and Fact-Checking for Effective Research and Communication in Environment, Science and Development’ organized by CSE, and due to commence on September 30th. Sign up now!
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
By - Sehr Raheja
Climate Change and Green Economy, CSE
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
August 2026 joint hottest month on record: Copernicus, 10 September 2026
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
CLIMATE NEWS | SCIENCE| IMPACTS| POLITICS |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
Carbon Politics: A Video Podcast by CSE |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
