CATEGORIES

CORAL BREACH

The government plans a seaweed park in Tamil Nadu, ignoring the threat that Kappaphycus, a widely grown invasive seaweed, poses to corals in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park running along the state's coastline

Target reset

Near certainty of missing its goal to set up 5,000 bio-CNG plants by 2023-24 has not stopped the government from announcing 200 more units in the budget

A REGIME UPENDED

The US and EU have finally come on board on green industrial policy, but they are kicking away that ladder for other countries

A REGIME UPENDED

The US and EU have finally come on board on green industrial policy, but they are kicking away that ladder for other countries

A NEW ORDER OF TRADE

The global superpowers are abandoning free trade to fight climate change. Armed with massive subsidies and tariffs, the US and EU are leading this charge towards protectionism. This may change the global trade system as we know it. But will developing countries and the climate gain from it? An analysis

Dirt cheap backup

Sand batteries can ensure round-the-year availability of clean energy

A monumental waste

Thousands of crores of rupees spent on millions of water-related works have not readied Jharkhand for droughts

NO ELIXIR FOR RURAL INDIA

With substantial allocation cuts in most subsidies, Union Budget 2023-24 has very little to offer the rural population BHAGIRATH, HIMANSHU N AND SHAGUN NEW DELHI

Mission Hariyali

A resident distributes free saplings to bring back fruit trees to the nearly barren villages of Nalanda, Bihar

Engage

Rising heat puts lives, economy at risk

Plastic Pollution - Discord From The Beginning

Industry hijacks the first round of negotiations on proposed global plastic treaty as countries talk in differing voices

Lead Toxicity - Element Of Mystery

Half the children in India are poisoned by lead. Why has the country failed to prevent it despite knowing the sources and treatment?

Barely a contrast

WALKING FROM DANDI: IN SEARCH OF VIKAS IS YET ANOTHER HAGIOGRAPHY OF M K GANDHI THAT UNCRITICALLY ROMANTICISES AND MYTHOLOGISES THE HISTORICAL FIGURE

'This rocket launch will inspire youngsters to join the space sector'

On November 18, 2022, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd scripted history by becoming the first private Indian organisation to launch a rocket from Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) launchpad in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The launch of the rocket, named Vikram-S after Indian space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, was successful. In a conversation with ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder PAWAN KUMAR CHANDANA talks about the company's plans to establish itself as satellite launcher catering to the international market and the long-term goal of developing resuable rockets to ensure sustainabililty. Excerpts:

Killed in cold blood

Surveys quantify the impact of crop intensification on frogs and reptiles; say loss of species and farm productivity inevitable

Battle half won

Lula's return as president speaks of his appeal with Brazil's poorest people. But this time the country is bitterly divided and short on cash

Planting monopolies in farm sector

The EU free trade deal may force India to jettison farmers’ traditional rights in favour of breeders’ interests

DEEP INVASION

Invasive ornamental shrub lantana is altering traits, fast spreading across India's forests

Fighting chance

The new framework on biodiversity provides the opportunity for a fresh start, but countries must ensure implementation

FAKE FABRIC

The moment you consider polyester just a fabric, it escapes attention as a pollutant. The fact is that polyester is a form of plastic and the second biggest by-product of petrochemicals. Yet only a few countries have regulations to manage the plastic fibre. Time India framed laws to regulate the textile industry and brought it under the extended producer responsibility regime

The Future Of Climate Talks

After three decades of efforts, the world has finally agreed to create a loss and damage fund at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt. Devising a mechanism to manage the fund and delivering aid to deserving countries is likely to keep the negotiators engaged in the coming months, even years. AVANTIKA GOSWAMI, ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY, AKSHIT SANGOMLA and PARTH KUMAR report from Sharm el-Sheikh on how the agreement on the fund was forged, the parleys between the Parties and the market mechanisms that will be the future of climate talks

CRUNCH TIME

Three decades of discourse to protect the world’s biodiversity and benefit from its use has not achieved much outside of discussion rooms. As the world meets at the 15\" UN Biodiversity Conference in Canada to decide on a new framework for managing nature through 2030 and beyond, it must ensure that indigenous communities benefit from the biological resources they have guarded for generations

EASY TO SWITCH

Low-cost ethnoveterinary medicines can help curb the use of antibiotics in Indian dairy sector and combat the overlooked pandemic of antimicrobial resistance

Burdened beast

A fall in demand as a beast of burden, and illegal meat and skin trade have caused a critical decline in donkey numbers

Clean champions

A couple in Himachal Pradesh trains teachers and students to promote zero-waste and sustainable living practices

What The Science Says

Attribution studies fix responsibility on historical polluters. But will they be open to the evidence?

Deny, Distract And Delay

The developed world has so far derailed all discussions on loss and damage. Will this change at COP27?

‘AFTER FANI, WE FOCUSED ON DISASTER-RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE’

Odisha, one of the most climate-vulnerable states in India, is hit by numerous extreme weather events every year. Cyclone Fani, which devastated the state in 2019, is one such event that forced Odisha to mount a post-disaster needs assessment. This multi-sector assessment on loss and damage provided new insights on building back better, GYANARANJAN DAS, executive director, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), tells SEEMA PRASAD. Excerpts:

‘SOCIAL STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO INCREASE THE SCOPE OF ATTRIBUTION?’

Researchers have established that the Pakistan deluge was made worse by global warming. But fixing responsibility of such events on historical polluters is not easy, KRISHNA ACHUTARAO, climate scientist at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, tells AKSHIT SANGOMLA. Excerpts:

'TRANSLATION BETWEEN CHANGE IN WEATHER AND DAMAGES IS NOT LINEAR’

Attribution science has grown leaps and bounds to trace the link between climate change and weather events. But this link does not extend to estimating loss and damages, FRIEDERIKE OTTO, climate scientist at Grantham Institute of Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, tells AKSHIT SANGOMLA. Excerpts: