Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tall claims that no one has served nature more than India, some of the steps taken by his BJP government proves that the ground reality is exactly opposite, says Devanik Saha.
The 'Civil Society Report on Climate Change' prepared by the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change -- a conglomerate of 40 scientific think-tanks from as many countries, including the US, the UK and Italy -- that was released today clearly says that 'cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the coming two decades is not a cost-effective way to address climate change". The report was released by deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
'Urbanisation results in heavy rainfall events.'
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Tuesday that India's general government debt (comprising both central and state government debt) could exceed 100 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the medium term. It also cautioned that long-term debt sustainability risks are high due to the significant investment required to meet India's climate change mitigation targets. The Indian government, however, disagreed, arguing that risks from sovereign debt are extremely limited as it is predominantly denominated in domestic currency.
The pandemic has led to the International Finance Corporation massively ramping up its impact investment in the country - its largest client nation globally - at $1.7 billion as of June, a 51 per cent rise over the past 12 months, the largest developmental lender into third world private sector said on Tuesday. This is nearly half of its investment in the whole of South Asia since the pandemic, which touched $3.8 billion as of June 2021, it said. "Our total commitment to India, which is our largest client country globally, at the end of June stood at $1.7 billion representing an increase of over 51 per cent from last year," IFC vice-president for Asia and the Pacific region Alfonso Garcia Mora said in a statement.
At the summit, the US is able to play the role of a bully.
India's leading commodity exchange, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and private weather forecasting company Skymet took a significant step towards launching the country's first tradeable weather index on Monday (August 14) by entering into an agreement to deepen their understanding of the impact that weather has on agricultural commodities. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NCDEX and Skymet is a profound step in the direction of linking farmers with the weather in a scientific way, according to an official statement. Sources indicate that NCDEX and Skymet will conduct workshops and seminars across the country to educate farmers about how they can scientifically use weather forecasts to hedge risks.
The 54-page Paris agreement draft had been scaled down to 50.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a climate deal between the United States and China does not put pressure on India, but that global warming itself was reason to take action.
Growing at a robust rate due to economic reforms in key sectors like digitisation and infrastructure, India has emerged as a star performer and is projected to contribute more than 16 per cent of the global growth, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. "What we have been observing for quite some time now is that India has been growing at a very robust rate. "It's one of the star performers when it comes to real growth when you look at peer countries.
Climate change can adversely impact the production of crops like wheat, rice and pulses in India and the government needs to educate farmers in this regard, Nobel Laureate and Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman R K Pachauri said.
Chopra, who is now settled in Los Angeles, was invited by the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum to interview the Vice President for a fireside chat.
'We know our glaciers are melting very rapidly.' Dr R K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, outlines the implications for India.
India stands to lose more working hours to extreme heat than the rest of the world, in addition to the humanitarian cost of extreme heat events.
Nothing is more promising than countries putting aside hubris and ideological differences to invest in our shared future, observes Durga Sreenivasan, a delegate at COP28.
'If you look at the entire 60-day period of March and April, you see that temperatures were soaring more than 3.5 degrees Celsius above the maximum temperature.' 'Normally, events like this happen only for a short period.'
When it comes to the Congress and Wayanad, the only way the scepticism in the minds of some in Kerala may be addressed is by the Gandhi family proving that they are more than a passing caravan in town, reports Shyam G Menon.
If the pitch gets hampered then the match officials will assess the pitch and see whether it is in good condition to play or not if yes they will continue playing on the same and if not then they will look at the other pitch condition and take a call on whether they can play on the other one or not, according to ANI.
Obama said US is leading the efforts to combat carbon pollution
To break the deadlock at the meet which began on day, efforts will be made to bring Brazil and South Africa, two other members of the BASIC group, on board.
Kharif crops were sown in only 4.15 lakh hectares against the target of 28.27 lakh hectares till July 21 or only in 14.71 per cent of the arable land.
'Events like the one we saw on Sunday are complex geological processes which can be impacted by weather and climatic conditions.' 'It is difficult to attribute something like this to just one factor or to a particular time period, especially when we have still not understood the exact cause.'
Climate experts also warn the intensity of rains in Kerala and Uttarakhand is "alarming" and must draw immediate attention towards "climate emergency".
'ESG is actually a concept which cannot be applied effectively in the very short run.'
Ahead of his much-anticipated visit to conflict-torn Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield and it is ready to extend all possible cooperation for the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
In the 76 years since India gained independence, 53 recipients of the Bharat Ratna have been there. That's less than one every year, which is a healthy ratio given there is the sanctity of this gem of an award to preserve. But four recipients for the year were announced in a few days in addition to one announced earlier. That took the total number in 2024 to five in less than a month, the highest for any year, post-Independence, notes Shyam G Menon.
'All hydropower projects in the Himalayan region must be stopped.' 'Joshimath is not alone.'
Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday cautioned banks against any build-up of asset-liability mismatches, saying both are detrimental to financial stability and hinted that the ongoing crisis in the US banking system seems to have emanated from such mismatches. Delivering the annual KP Hormis (Federal Bank founder) commemorative lecture in Kochi this evening, the governor was quick to acknowledge and assure that the domestic financial sector is stable and the worst of inflation is behind us. Amid the continuing volatility in exchange rates, especially due to the excessive appreciation of the US dollar, and its impact on the external debt servicing ability of nations, Das said, "We have nothing to fear as our external debt is manageable and thus appreciation of the greenback does not pose any problem to us."
Santosh Patkar of Devgadh Taluka Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra is a worried man these days. Devgadh, which is known as the home to world famous Alphonso variety of mangoes, has seen an unusual drop in yields which is affecting farmers' income. Being one of the primary agricultural produce from the area, Santosh is not untouched by this somewhat rare phenomenon. He said in his own mango garden, yields have come down by a third from most trees.
The industrialised world must work fast.
'Yes, the playing conditions still vary over time. But you're still in control of what sort of works for you on a pitch. So, you might play on a new hybrid pitch for one game.'
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has announced its first media fellowship for journalists of the South Asian region on climate change.
'We need an early warning system in India.'
In their first summit, the leaders of Quad countries on Friday decided to launch a mega vaccine initiative under which coronavirus vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region with financial assistance from the United States and Japan while Australia will contribute in logistical aspects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed hope that G20 will draw inspiration from the vibrancy of the Indian economy and work towards bringing back stability, confidence and growth on the global landscape.
An allocation to ESG theme funds can bring down the overall risk of an equity portfolio. Investors with long-term financial goals, such as retirement, should not ignore sustainable investing.
Never skip your meals during a climatic transition, warns Dr Siddhant Bhargava.
The southwest monsoon has started on a weak note and this has delayed the sowing of kharif crops. Though a cause for concern, the situation hasn't reached a stage where it warrants any panic response. Moreover, according to meteorologists and industry players, monsoon rains will witness a revival in the coming few weeks.
'AI can be very useful for making analysis and especially making city-based local forecasts.'
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