Climate Change Debate Post G20 India Summit
Category: global warming
Environmental Issues of South Asia Region
South Asian countries have been dealing with several issues of social, political, cultural, and economic nature among many others. The environmental issues however are slowly becoming more and more pronounced in the region, with the rise in natural catastrophes, energy crises, and scarcity of resources. Mainly consisting of developing nations of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, this region since the early 20th century, first, most of them as a colony and later as independent states, have been experiencing economic upheavals. Notably, most of the environmental issues surged post-1960s due to high economic activities, industrialization, population […]
Top 5 Global Environmental Concerns for 2019
Environmental concerns are on the rise with some becoming more critical by the year. UN has declared 2019 the year of Biodiversity, asking all of us to do our bit to save the environment and the various species inhabiting the planet. Below are few more environmental threats in need of mitigation.
Earth Day- Past & Present
The earth day is commemorated on 22nd April world over with several events. Every year, it comes as a reminder of things that have come to be and things that can be with respect to environment, and what can we as earthlings do to protect our earth better. This year’s theme is “protect our species” with the agenda of raising awareness about rate of extinction of species. The earth day celebrations were first initiated in 1970 by a US Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson. He proposed the initiative after having witnessed the enormous oil spill of Santa Barbara, California in […]
Earth Overshoot Day and Our Environment Real-Time
As per the Global Footprint Network (GFN) the world has already consumed this year’s annual budget of natural resources. Having reached its maximum limit on 1st August itself, the earth overshoot day serves as an annual report card, reminding us of our promises to reduce carbon footprint, control climate change and conserve our environment. Notably, humans already overshot nature’s annual budget in early 1970s itself and ever since this has been creeping up. Another significant fact is that every day, every minute past the overshoot day is equivalent of drawing down from the natural resource savings than living of interest. To understand […]
India & Green Economy
The last few years have been tough for India, not just in context of economic reforms but also environment— specifically in terms of climate. As per the India Meteorological Department, 2017 was the fourth warmest year of the country, with the last quarter of 2017 being the hottest since 1901. In the beginning of the 20th century, India, a British colony then, suffered from significant climate change marked by severe droughts and famines, which were further fueled by fatal British economic policies. Notably, India’s economic backwardness wasn’t due to any niggardliness of geography, but was rather anthropogenic. There was no […]
Globalization & Migration
Globalization, as Anthony Giddens has defined, is the intensification of the worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice—versa. Often perceived to be a present age phenomenon, globalization has been happening for centuries. It is intricately linked with trade dealings, whether in 1st century owing to the silk-road mechanism or in 16th century with the emergence of capitalism. It has encouraged free trade agreements between nations, development of multinational corporations, and a network for free flow of goods across the globe. This trans-national flow […]
Impact of Climate Change on Migration
Usually, migration is understood as a movement of people, in context of various social, economic or political developments. All of which though true, discount the role of environment in larger scheme of things here. From time immemorial, the dynamics of society have been deeply engraved by the climatic dispositions of the environment. Whether it is the way one dresses, what one eats or for that matter even the way a deceased would be put to rest— in other words, local culture is deeply influenced by the environmental forces. Often, migration is thought to have stemmed from the quagmire of non-development. […]
Climate Security in Times of Energy Insecurity
There is a surge in energy demand world-over, which is increasingly still being met by conventional fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. (Coal is the king in Asia-Pacific, at least till 2040). In last few decades, this has led to serious implications in form of increase in carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, resulting in rise of temperature. With rise in global warming, the countries are now fast looking out for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and most of them targeting their energy basket. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has in its […]
Fossil Fuel Policy for Mitigating Climate Change
Climate change poses a glaring challenge for the present generation who fast needs to mitigate the causes of the same in order obtain a sustainable world. This definitely calls for complete phase out of fossil fuels which have been instrumental in enhancing the calamity. The social optimum by today’s standards requires an immediate aggressive renewable fuel intervention apart from a gradually rising carbon tax which falls in the long run. As more and more renewables are used in relation to fossil fuel, faster will be the advent of carbon free era. And as more fossil fuel will be locked up […]