I had the opportunity to attend a workshop organized by the World Resources Institute and the Centre for Policy Research on Energy and Environment Modelling in New Delhi on October 29. The workshop was attended by policy-makers from the Government of India, as well as policy professionals from think tanks and consultancies. Apart from the […]
The de-carbonization of the energy sector, through an increased share of renewable energy, is an urgent need. India has set itself a target of increasing its renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022, and increasing the share of electricity from non-fossil fuel based energy sources to 40% by 2030, as part of its Nationally […]
Some of the earlier posts here have discussed the rising temperatures in Indian cities, the imminent heatwave conditions (particularly at 2ºC global warming), and the Urban Heat Island effect. The recent IPCC Report strongly recommends that policy-making be geared towards limiting global warming to 1.5ºC – an uphill task for Indian policy-makers, considering the Indian […]
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C last week, and it paints a bleak picture. First, it highlights the devastating consequences of failing to curtail global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, and the grave impact of the additional 0.5ºC above this threshold. And second, it […]
One of the terms that has entered the climate change narrative is “Urban Heat Island” or UHI, which refers to the heat accumulation phenomenon arising from urban construction and human activities. UHIs are defined as “those urban areas where the surface, sub-surface or air temperatures are higher than the corresponding temperatures in surrounding rural areas“. […]
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur recently published its findings on the correlation between the air pollution and the changing monsoon cycle in India in Nature Communications. The article can be accessed here. The process of cloud formation and precipitation is impacted by atmospheric aerosols. Higher aerosol concentration in the atmosphere, a direct result of increasing […]
That the winter months will arrive in Delhi with life-threatening amounts of air pollution now seems to have been internalized by the government as a matter of inevitability. As per a recent report, the Delhi Government appears to be confident about having made the right efforts to handle the imminent air pollution this year. This […]
An important book by Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group on solid waste in India was launched in Delhi last week. The book launch was followed by two sets of panel discussions: experiences from across the country, and the value of a decentralised approach to waste management. This new book is a comprehensive primer on many […]
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