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Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged that the nation will meet the target of net zero emissions by 2070. ‘Net Zero’ emission implies a situation where all the carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases produced are completely absorbed via natural solutions or through the use of advanced technology. India also made a commitment of getting half of its energy from renewable resources by 2030
them - we are still careening towards climate catastrophe. He said, “So, as we open this much anticipated climate conference, we are still heading for climate disaster.”
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Sir David Frederick Attenborough, English broadcaster, natural historian and author, called for a new industrial revolution powered by millions of sustainable innovations to counter the terrible decline caused due to the previous industrial revolution. He said that humans are the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth. Guterres said that G20 countries have key responsibility of mitigation and immediate concrete action to reduce global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, because they represent around 80 per cent of the emissions. Moreover, he suggested that countries revisit their national climate plans and policies, not every five years, but every year, if commitments fall short by the end of COP26. Guterres also announced the establishment of a Group of Experts to propose clear standards to measure and analyse net zero commitments from non-state actors, because he mentioned that there is a deficit of credibility and a surplus of confusion over emissions reductions and net zero targets, with different meanings and different metrics. Over 20 countries and financial institutions at the COP26 vowed to halt all financing for fossil fuel development overseas, and to divert that money, estimated at around $8 billion a year, to green energy. The signatories for the same included the US, UK, Denmark, and some developing countries, including Costa Rica. The European Investment Bank is one of the financial institutions involved. In addition, a finance pledge was made, also known as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). Under this, by 2050, all assets managed by hundreds of the world’s biggest banks and pension funds will be aligned with net zero emissions. Cristián Samper, an ecologist and President of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City, commented that the involvement of the financial sector and of ministers of finance and energy in the meeting is a game-changer.
One of the biggest commitments came from India as its Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledged that the nation will meet the target of net zero emissions by 2070. ‘Net Zero’ emission implies a situation where all the carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases produced are completely absorbed via natural solutions or through the use of advanced technology. India also made a commitment of getting half of its energy from renewable resources by 2030. Many scientists have been skeptical about mid-century net-zero pledges, partially because it is easier to make long-term promises but hard to make the difficult short-term decisions that are required to meet those pledges. But India’s commitment comes as a good change as it includes measurable near-term targets, such as a pledge to provide 50 per cent of the nation’s power through renewable resources and to reduce projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.
Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, started his address by saying that if world leaders came together and commit, they could keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. He said that Glasgow has to be the kick off of a decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future, for climate change is already costing nations millions of lives and dollars every year. Biden said that his government will soon release a long term plan as well to enable the country to become a net zero emitter by 2050.
More than 130 countries also pledged to halt and reverse forest-loss and land degradation by 2030. The signatories, including Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, are home to 90 per cent of the world’s forests. Additionally, a group of high-income countries, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and EU countries, has pledged $12 billion in public finance for forest protection between 2021 and 2025. However, they have not specified how the funding will be provided. A statement from the group said that governments intend on working closely with the private sector to leverage vital funding from private sources to deliver change at scale.
Referring to the pledges at COP26, Dr Niklas Höhne, Professor, New Climate Institute, said that none of the countries that have a net zero carbon emission target have so far implemented sufficient short-term policies to put itself on a trajectory towards it. Known for monitoring and assessing national carbon cutting plans, he said that “right now, it is more a vision, or imagination, and it is not matched by action.” Experts have noticed that despite repeated calls from developing countries for a larger share of the finance to be used to help them to adapt to higher temperatures, the focus is still on using the money to help them cut emissions.
Kerala awarded for most sustainable transport
Antony Raju, Minister of Road Transport, Motor Vehicles and Water Transport, Government of Kerala, said that Kerala’s Kochi has been awarded as the city with the most sustainable transport system. The award was presented to the state on October 29 in Delhi by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. The city has been awarded due to the exceptional work done in the Kochi Metro, Water Metro and e-mobility to improve transport facilities, said Raju.
“India all set to complete its climate goals”
Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, said that although India is not responsible for global warming, yet it is the only country among G20 which is well on track to realise its climate goals. He said this while addressing the Schneider Electric Innovation Summit 2021 which was held on October 19 in New Delhi. Kant said that independent studies have rated Indian efforts to address climate change as highly compliant with the requirements under the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.
ADB to aid Aizawl’s urban mobility, grants PRF loan worth $4.5 million
AIZAWL: The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank signed a $4.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan on October 26. The funding will support project preparation and design activities to improve urban mobility and better manage the urban sprawl in Aizawl.
The proposal of funding the Aizawl Sustainable Urban Transport Project was signed between Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Activities, Ministry of Finance, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission.
The representative of ADB said that the PRF will assist the state in developing a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) that would outline the urban transport development strategy. This would further assist in building synergies with urban development planning initiatives in Aizawl. Aizawl, though the center of the administrative and service industry of Mizoram, has largely constricted urban mobility. Its direct consequence has been traffic congestion on narrow roads and an adversely impacted road safety. Thus, a long-term plan is essential for Aizawl’s development. The PRF will strengthen the backbone of projects that are working towards resolving the city’s transport problems by adopting sustainable urban mobility solutions. The PRF will be conducting feasibility studies of projects that are underlined as priority in the CMP and prepare detailed project reports of the same.
Sustainable food system must to combat rise in hunger: UN Chief
NEW DELHI: On the occasion of World Food Day this year, Antonio Guterres, SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, noted that almost 40 per cent of humanity, amounting to around three billion people in the world, cannot afford to eat healthy at present. World Food Day is celebrated on October 16 every year.
The UN Secretary-General noted that hunger and undernourishment are on the rise, and the economic impacts of COVID-19 have made the situation worse. He quoted a study’s data which established that the pandemic made an additional 140 million people unable to access the food they need.
In his address, Guterres mentioned how the way humans are producing, consuming, and wasting food has started taking a heavy toll on the planet. He warned how this pattern is an epoch-putting pressure on Earth’s natural resources, climate and natural environment, thereby costing humans trillions of dollars a year. Last month, the world had taken part in the UN Food Systems Summit which addressed the need to transform food systems everywhere in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2020. The Food and Agriculture Organisation reports that sustainable agri-food systems can offer food security and nutrition to everyone without compromising the economic, social, or environmental bases for generations to come. Collen V Kelapile, President, Economic and Social Council, said that the day highlights how access to science, technology and innovation, smart investments and cooperation can make “hunger a hardship of the past”.
GERMAN RAIL OPERATOR Deutsche Bahn and industrial group Siemens unveiled the world’s first automated, driverless train in the city of Hamburg on October 12, assessing it as more punctual and energy efficient than traditional trains. The train runs on digital technology and is fully automated. However, the driver remains on the train to supervise the journey with passengers on board. Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said automated trains offer “a more reliable” service “without having to lay a single kilometre of new track”.
India bags 71st position on Global Food Security Index 2021
On the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021, India ranked 71st out of 113 countries. Moreover, the country lags behind its immediate neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka in terms of food affordability, according to the report. Pakistan and Sri Lanka both scored comparatively better than India, with 52.6 and 62.9 points respectively in category of food affordability. This information was released by The Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience on October 19. This GFS Index was devised by London-based Economist Impact, and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
Thane-Borivli twin tunnel project gains ground
The Thane-Borivli twin road tunnel project has made headway with Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) proposing to de-reserve around 34 hectares (ha) of land within its bounds for the project. Around 8.4 ha in Majiwada-Manpada administrative ward was required for access to the ThaneBorivli road, a survey reported. This proposal for changing the current reservation on the lands has been moved before the TMC. Officials said that a majority of the land is currently reserved for a botanical and zoological park, Thane Transport Depot, and a road development plan. These places will need to be altered to suit the project.
World missed most 2020 mental health targets
NEW DELHI: The recently released edition of Mental Health Atlas 2020 has found that the increased attention given to mental health in recent years has yet to result in a scaleup of quality mental services aligned with needs. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organisation (WHO), said that the world needs to act immediately on this wake-up call and substantially increase investment in mental health, because there is no health without mental health.
Dr Tarun Dua, Unit head of WHO, said that in order to build a better post COVID-19 world, it is crucial to invest in mental health data and services. She said that mental, neurological and substance abuse were the most disrupted health services during the pandemic. Dr Fahmy Hanna, Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, WHO, said that lost productivity costs a trillion dollars a year, and each dollar invested in mental health would yield a return of $5. According to the report, out of 171 countries assessed, none is close to achieving targets set for mental health. In 2020, only 51 per cent of WHO member countries reported that their mental health policy was in line with the international and regional human rights instruments, which falls way short of the target of 80 per cent. Only target that was met in 2020 was reduction in the rate of suicide by 10 per cent, but even then, only 35 per cent of the countries had a stand-alone prevention strategy, policy, or plan. The report revealed that governments’ health budgets spent on mental health has scarcely changed in the last two years and still hovers around two per cent.
Looming water crisis requires urgent attention
GENEVA: United Nations World Meteorological Organisation published a report on October 5 saying that improved water management, monitoring and forecasting are needed against the looming global water crisis. The report titled ‘The State of Climate Services 2021: Water’ was coordinated by WMO and included inputs from over 20 international organisations, development agencies, and scientific institutions.
According to the report, frequency of water related disasters has increased since the year 2000. Flood-related disasters have risen by 134 per cent, in comparison with the two previous decades. It added that most deaths and economic losses occurred in Asia, where warning systems require strengthening. Petteri Taalas, Secretary General, WMO, said that increasing temperatures due to global warming are resulting in changes in global regional precipitation, which is leading to visible shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons. This is creating a major impact on food security and human health and well-being.
Taalas recalled that extreme rainfall across the continent caused massive flooding in Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and India over the last year. He said that it is not only the developing world that is bearing major disruption due to flooding and irregular rainfall patterns, but catastrophic flooding in Europe had also resulted in deaths of hundreds of people and widespread damage over the past year.
The report established that the number and duration of droughts have also increased by 29 per cent over the past two decades. Taalas said that lack of water is still a major cause of concern for many nations, especially those in Africa. With more than two billion people living in water-stressed countries and suffering lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, there is an urgent need to open our eyes to the looming water crisis in the world.
Delhi CM Kejriwal launches plan to fight pollution during winter
10 point action plans
1. Stop stubble burning 2. Anti-dust campaign 3. Stop burning of garbage 4. Ban on firecrackers 5. Installation of smog towers 6. Monitoring of pollution hotspots 7. Strengthening Green War Rooms 8. Promoting use of Green Delhi app 9. Construction of eco waste park
NEW DELHI: With the aim of controlling air pollution which Delhi faces every year during winters, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal released a 10-point winter action plan for the national capital on October 4. While speaking at a press conference, Kejriwal said that since neighbouring states have not taken steps to tackle air pollution and stubble burning, Delhi will begin bearing its brunt and face high levels of air pollution. Buses and taxis coming to Delhi from other states should be converted to CNG, stated the CM. He also announced that specific areas in the NCR region would be marked as pollution hotspots that would further help in fighting pollution in the region. He also said that even though the Delhi government has repeatedly requested the Centre and neighbouring state governments, no step has been taken to tackle stubble burning and other activities which affect Delhi’s air quality.
He added that instead of passing the blame on each other, the Delhi government has come up with this action plan and has requested the Centre to consider implementing the plan on a larger scale. With assembly elections approaching in Punjab, and the farmer agitation against the three farms laws still on, stopping farmers from burning paddy stubble will be an uphill task. The Government of NCR of Delhi identified ten areas of focus for the smog season ahead. These include measures to mitigate dust pollution, garbage burning, paddy straw burning, ban on firecrackers, installing smog towers, monitoring pollution hotspots, controlling vehicular pollution, effective operation of the green war room, and the Green Delhi app
To pave a way through the polluting stubble burning, the state government has invented a process of decomposition with the help of Pusa Institute. This solution, once sprayed on the crop residue, will eliminate the need to burn it. Delhi government has been spraying it for free, Punjab and other states too can do the same. The CM mentioned that his administration is in talks with the central government so as to get other states to use the Pusa Bio Decomposer. This helps the paddy stubble decompose quicker and hence eliminates the need for farmers to set fire to their fields after harvest.
The Delhi government will be running an anti-dust campaign in the coming smog season. 75 teams will be deployed across the national capital which will be conducting surveys and imposing heavy penalties on those who are found violating the government’s dust pollution norms. 250 teams have been allotted the duty to stop the burning of garbage. Recently, the Delhi CM inaugurated two smog towers in the Capital under the National Clean Air Programme. These towers have shown good results so far and they will continue to analyze results before taking a call to install more such structures. The Delhi administration will be monitoring and identifying pollution hotspots by using the Green Delhi mobile application. Kejriwal, in his speech, informed that over 20 acres of land has been allotted to the eco waste park project, the first such park to be constructed in the country. He also said that steps are being taken to minimize traffic jams to reduce the emissions caused by cars and other vehicles. The chief minister said that 64 congestion points have been identified across Delhi and steps will be taken to control traffic and the resultant pollution here. “We have also intensified checking for Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates and are cracking down on diesel vehicles older than 10 years,” Kejriwal added. The Delhi Government has hired 50 environment engineers to strengthen Green War Rooms.
Kerala’s health department joins UN’s Race to Zero campaign
Health Care Without Harm, the official healthcare partner of Race to Zero, announced on October 25, that India’s Kerala and over 50 healthcare institutions, representing 11,500 health facilities from 21 countries, have joined the UN-backed Race to Zero Campaign. As per this, these organisations commit to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The organisations included in Race to Zero campaign comprise of institutions ranging from global, public and private hospitals and health systems to entire government or state government health departments.
UN Council declares access to healthy environment a human right
The United Nations Human Rights Council declared ‘Access to a clean and healthy environment’ as a fundamental right. The declaration added formal weight to the global fight against climate change and its consequences. Although, this resolution is not legally binding, David Boyd, UN special rapporteur on human rights, called this decision a ‘historic breakthrough’ as it has potential to shape global standards. Environmental lawyers said that the decision would help them in building arguments against governments ignoring the already visible effects of climate change.
PM launches renewed schemes to lead Indian’s urban development
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched two flagship missions on Friday, October 1 – the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U) 2.0 and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0. These flagship programmes of the Government of India address the ambitious challenge to make all the cities in India garbagefree and water-secure. These are part of India’s journey towards achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. The Prime Minister’s Office said in reference to the launch of these programmes that the SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 programmes signify a step forward in the march towards effectively addressing the challenges of rapidly urbanising India. SBM 2.0 is being introduced to make all cities garbage free by ensuring grey and black water management in all cities, except those covered under AMRUT. The programme aims to make all urban local bodies (ULBs) with a population of less than one lakh Open Defecation Free. It will also focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilising the principles of the three R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle. It will work on introducing scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste, and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management in all ULBs.
AMRUT 2.0 is all about providing 100 per cent coverage of water supply to all households in around 4700 urban local bodies. It aims to provide about 2.68 crore tap connections and 100 per cent coverage of sewerage and septage connections, which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas. Moreover, AMRUT 2.0 will promote conservation and rejuvenation of surface and ground water bodies by adopting the principles of circular economy.
AIIB approves $356.67 million loan for Chennai metro
DELHI: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a fund of US$ 356.67 million for the expansion of the Chennai metro rail system. After this approval, the total financing of the bank for various projects in India has reached US$ 6.7 billion, making India the largest beneficiary of the bank.
DJ Pandian, Vice President, Investment Operations, AIIB, said that the Chennai project includes the construction of a new corridor in Chennai’s metro network as part of its Metro Rail Phase 2.
After this, the Bank has approved a total of 28 projects in India, which amount to a total of US$ 6.7 billion, in which energy and transport sector got the maximum amount of financing, Pandian added.
Besides funds for infrastructure, the bank has also released US$ 1.75 billion for India in terms of COVID-19 relief budget support. Pandian said that the Chennai project is aligned with AIIB’s mission to assist high-quality and sustainable infrastructure. The project will have solar panels on the rooftop of elevated stations, as well as dedicated spaces for bicycles and green vehicles, including signage to raise environmental awareness. Pandian added that the project also integrates climate change resilience features in order to reduce the vulnerability to climate-related events. Women will also benefit from the project as they will have access to a safer and convenient mode of public transport.
Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to three for climate discoveries
This year, the Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to three scientists from Japan, Germany and Italy. Syukuro Manabe from Japan and Klaus Hasselmann from Germany were awarded for their work in the physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifiable variability and reliably predicting global warming. The award was also presented to Giorgio Parisi for discovering the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical system from atomic to planetary scales. The winners were presented the awards by Goran Hansson, SecretaryGeneral, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Mumbai becomes first city to join TUMI e-bus mission
Mumbai has become the first city in India to join the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) E-Bus Mission, which will design and implement the plan for deploying electric buses in Mumbai. The Letter of Intent (LoI) to join the mission was signed by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) in the presence of Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. The Mission will include a technical assistance plan and strategy for long-term adoption of e-buses in Mumbai.
New Malaria vaccine receives WHO’s approval
NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation endorsed the world’s first vaccine against Malaria on October 6. Malaria is a mosquito borne disease which kills over 4,00,000 people in a year across the world, and is most prevalent in Africa. WHO recommended the use of newly developed malaria vaccine, RTS,S/ AS01 (RTS,S), also named Mosquirix, against moderate to high transmission of P. falciparum malaria.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO, said that RTS,S malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health, and malaria control. He said that it took more than 30 years to make the RTS,S malaria vaccine and it will change the course of public health worldwide. He added that using this vaccine to prevent malaria on top of existing tools could save tens of thousands of lives each year, especially those of young ones.
WHO issued a statement where, in the context of comprehensive malaria control, WHO recommended that the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be administered in a schedule of four doses in children from five months of age.
The mention of the vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, a British drugmaker, by the WHO came after the latest results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. The pilot found RTS,S increases equity in access to malaria prevention as the pilot programme gave evidence of more than two-thirds of children in the mentioned three countries, who were not sleeping under a bednet, benefitted from the RTS,S vaccine. Moreover, significant reduction in deadly severe malaria was noticed, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.
SDMC seeks PWD’s cooperation in EV hub installations
NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), on October 4, wrote to the Public Works Department (PWD) to assist them in the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on roads which fall under their jurisdiction. As the mentioned agency removed equipment from Bhikaji Cama Place and Lajpat Nagar, SDMC officials were drawn towards the matter. An SDMC official said that the installation process has been deferred for long now. He further added that Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), a public sector undertaking, has been tasked with installing 35 e-charging stations, but reported that they are facing reluctance from PWD in carrying out the needful. “These charging stations have been removed from these two locations and from Lajpat Nagar. The equipment has been confiscated, which indicates a loss of public money. To make electric vehicle policy a success, inter-departmental coordination is needed,” the official added. However, PWD officials said that the stations were removed because the contractors did not take prior permission for the work. Civic officials argued that roads that are wider than 60 feet were only transferred to PWD for maintenance purposes but the actual ownership of land still falls under the three municipal corporations.
SDMC has planned on installing e-charging stations at 109 locations out of which, installation work for two-wheeler specific modules will be carried out at 35 locations by TCIL, an official said. According to Delhi’s Electric Vehicle policy announced in August this year, the Delhi government aims to achieve 25 per cent battery electric vehicle registration out of the total registrations by 2024.
Sustainable transport should be priority in shift to green energy: UN Chief
BEIJING: A three-day United Nations Conference on Sustainable Transport was held from October 14. It addressed the ways in which transportation can contribute to climate response, economic growth and sustainable development. In the opening remarks of the conference, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General, UN, underlining what is at stake here, said, “The next nine years must see a global shift towards sustainable energy,” and that sustainable transport is central to that transformation. According to the World Bank, such a complete shift to renewable energy can save $70 trillion by 2050. The International Financial Institution said that with sustainable infrastructure, there will be better access to roads, which can help Africa become self-sufficient in the food sector, thereby creating a regional food market worth $10 trillion by the end of this decade. Several UN reports have quoted that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the shortcomings of the transport sector across all the countries in the world, even though transportation is much more than a means of getting people and goods from point A to B. Transport, according to the UN Chief, is fundamental to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Adding that both these goals are going completely offtrack, Guterres said that the door for action for major goals, opportunities and commitments is closing. The transport sector, which currently accounts for more than one quarter of global greenhouse gases, must be reformed drastically. Guterres asserted that in order to get to net-zero global emissions by 2050, all means of transport must be decarbonized. In order to decarbonize transportation, countries must address emissions from all shipping and aviation industries as their current activities are not aligned with the Paris Agreement. Decarbonization has to be undertaken in a systematic manner, keeping the priority of clean and sustainable transport in mind. By 2040, Guterres aims for the transport sector to have discontinued the production of internal combustion engines in a phased manner, and for the shipping sector to have made the switch to zero emission vessels as “the default choice”. Therefore, all stakeholders have a role to play in this matter. Individuals must change their travel habits and businesses must transform their carbon-footprint for sustainable transport to become a reality. In his speech, Guterres urged governments worldwide to use incentives to promote clean transportation, such as regulatory standards and taxes, and to impose stricter regulations on infrastructure and procurement. The three-day Sustainable Transport Conference also addressed the concerns of vulnerable groups such as women, youth, elderly persons, and people living in poverty. The SecretaryGeneral emphasised the importance of safety and accessibility in transport and said, “This means helping more than one billion people with access to paved roads with designated space for pedestrians and bicycles, and providing convenient public transit options.” Public transport needs to be made more reliable and efficient, so more people can switch to it, without having to worry about their safety. The Secretary-General added that public transportation should be the “foundation of urban mobility” as investment in the public transport sector also yields more benefits in addition to contributing to sustainability. These pros include the generation of jobs and opportunities for communities that are isolated. “Per dollar invested creates three times more jobs than building new highways,” said Guterres. He also stressed the importance of making transport resilient, stating that it is the need of the hour, following the crisis of the pandemic. The concerns of developing nations, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states must be kept in mind in relation to this transformation work.
