Category: Global Warming & Climate Change

Australian Bushfire Crisis – All You Need to KnowPREMIUM 

Disasters & Management / Forest/Ecosystem Conservation / Global Warming & Climate Change

Reading Time: 7 mins The on-going Australia bushfires have already destroyed millions of acres of land, making it worse than that of the last year’s Amazon rainforest fire. The blaze due to these fires have turned the skies orange and made breathing air in Sydney equivalent to smoking 19 cigarettes. It is hard to even fathom the impact on the land and biodiversity. An estimated 1 billion animals have died and the scientists fear long-term damage to many sensitive ecosystems. This is one of the many symptoms of global warming and the blaze may even contribute to it. This disaster is a warning to the world that the extreme fire events like this one will only grow more likely to occur.

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Climate Change – Causes, Impacts, Global & India’s Initiatives

Global Warming & Climate Change

Reading Time: 17 mins Since August 2018, when Greta Thunberg initiated a protest in front of the Swedish Parliament, there have been hundreds of similar “climate strikes” across the world. This, along with extreme weather conditions like unpredictable monsoons, extended droughts and frequent cyclones are doing little to make the global leaders undertake measures to address this issue. At the UNFCCC’s 25th COP that was held in Madrid last year, global leaders were unable to move forward to fulfil the commitments they made in the 2016 Paris Agreement. Although India has been more proactive than many other nations in dealing with the global climate crisis, it too has fallen short on the implementation. If the necessary steps are not taken soon, the decade we are going to embark on is going to be a lot more dangerous due to the rapid, out of control climate change.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – India’s Readiness & ChallengesPREMIUM 

Economic Growth & Development / Global Warming & Climate Change / Inclusive growth / Sustainable Development

Reading Time: 7 mins In 2015, the UNGA adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 193 nations, including India, are committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It broadly involves the eradication of poverty of all forms, fighting inequality and tackling climate change through inclusiveness. India has played a significant role in past years to achieve these goals and its achievement is critical for the global community as it is consists of about 17% of the world population. As per the SDG Index released by the NITI Aayog and the UN showed the nation has scored 58 – almost more the halfway mark in meeting the target set for 2030.

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United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP14): Key Highlights & TakeawaysPREMIUM 

Global Warming & Climate Change

Reading Time: 8 mins This year, India had hosted the United Nations Convention to Combating Desertification Conference of Parties (UNCCD COP14), in New Delhi. About 8,000 participants and delegates from across 200 countries took part in this Convention. Almost 30 decisions were agreed upon after intense deliberations. The use of the term “desertification” in the Convention to Combat Desertification gives the impression that this Convention only focuses on deserts. However, this is not true. This Convention is about the sustainable management and restoration of land – which has important positive implications for water, energy, biodiversity, and livelihoods. This year’s COP, India took over the presidency and has the opportunity to bring to the limelight this lesser-known Rio Convention. By hosting UNCCD COP14, India has become the 4th country in the world along with Argentina, Kenya, and Germany to have convened all three COPs under the Rio Convention of 1992. These include the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the UNCCD.

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Low Carbon Sustainable Transport System – Why India Need It?PREMIUM 

Global Warming & Climate Change / Sustainable Development / Transport / Urbanization & their problems

Reading Time: 5 mins

A few years back, Beijing and Delhi were competing with each other for being some of the most polluted cities in the world. Between 2000 and 2009, Beijing was far worse than Delhi in terms of air pollution. However, in recent years, the air quality of Beijing began improving while Delhi’s pollution levels continued to increase. In 2017, the concentration of PM 2.5 (particulate matter with a size of 2.5 microns or less) in Beijing was less than half that of Delhi. The number of “very unhealthy” days in Delhi is four times more than that of Beijing. The reason behind Beijing’s successful reduction of atmospheric pollution is due to the series of stringent measures to reduce the carbon emission into the atmosphere. One among them is the focus on the automobile sector. In 2017, the quota for new vehicles was fixed at 150,000 cars of which 60,000 was allotted only to the fuel-efficient cars. In 2018, this quota was reduced to 100,000. Although an average Indian contributes only a microscopic amount of transport-related carbon dioxide emissions to the global climate change, congested streets and polluted air are common aspects seen in the Indian metropolises. It is not only discomforting on a daily basis but is also a long-term health hazard to those who are living in big cities like Delhi.

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Amazon rainforest fires – Everything you need to know

Forest/Ecosystem Conservation / Global Warming & Climate Change / South America

Reading Time: 5 mins Forest fire as a disaster is gaining prominence in recent years. Many international forums like G7 are undertaking several measures to address this crisis. The current crisis of the Amazon forest fire is only the tip of the iceberg. Now the Arctic region is also dealing with a similar problem in the form of a …

Nitrogen Pollution – The Biggest Environmental Threat

Agriculture Issues in India / Environmental Pollution / Global Warming & Climate Change / GS3 / March 2019

Reading Time: 4 mins The UN Environment in its Frontiers report mentioned that Nitrogen Pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats faced by humans today and needs urgent measures from countries around the world.Nitrogen is essential for life, however, the excess nitrogen pollution has huge consequences on humans and the environment. It is 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas besides its negatives effects on air quality and the ozone layer.Altogether, humans are emitting a huge amount of reactive nitrogen that threatens health, climate, and ecosystems, making nitrogen one of the most important pollution issues facing humanity.However, pollution caused by Nitrogen is being overlooked by governments and they focus only on carbon emissions, thus ignoring the growing risks to health and the environment.

Biofuel Generation in India – Complete Analysis

Energy / Environmental Pollution / February 2019 / Global Warming & Climate Change / GS3 / New and Renewable Energy

Reading Time: 6 mins National Bio-fuel Policy – 2018 seems to be chasing ambitious targets based on unclear plans and questionable technologies. Moreover, the pollution levels and fuel prices are only rising and our biofuels programme is becoming irrelevant because of the lack of effective implementation.