News Analysis India

Tag: IPCC

  • It’s now or never if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C: IPCC report

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C is beyond reach and this requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43 per cent by 2030, said the latest series of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report.

    What is of concern is that the report highlights that even if we do this, it is almost inevitable that we will temporarily exceed this temperature threshold but could return to below it by the end of the century.

    “It’s now or never if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible. Action in this decade is critical to capture the mitigation potential of buildings,” said IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Jim Skea.

    This assessment shows that limiting warming to around 2°C still requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by a quarter by 2030.

    The intergovernmental panel finds that all unabated coal-fired power plants need to be shuttered by 2050 if the world is to limit global temperature rise to 1.5c. Global use of coal would need to fall by 95 per cent by 2050 compared to 2020. As far as India is concerned, it is still in process of constructing coal power plants and none of them have the capture and store carbon (CCS) technology as recommended in the report.

    The publication of the report was delayed due as the rich nations wanted dilution of text on climate financing for the developing nations and small countries.

    On the finance part, the report noted that annual public and private finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation rose by up to 60 per cent from 2013 to 2020 but these gains have slowed in recent years, and finance for fossil fuels still outstrips funding for climate action.

    “Financial flows are a factor of three to six times lower than levels needed by 2030 to limit warming to below 2°C though there is sufficient global capital and liquidity to close investment gaps,” it noted.

    Current climate policies and pledges are massively insufficient: If NDCs are followed to 2030, it is “likely” the world will pass 1.5C and there is no way to limit warming to 1.5C with “no or limited overshoot”

    Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen).

    “Having the right policies, infrastructure, and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behavior can result in a 40-70 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing,” said IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla.

  • 2050 is too late, we need to address climate change: Expert

    By Express News Service

    According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the scale of recent changes across the climate system as a whole, and present state of many aspects of the climate system, are unprecedented over many centuries. 

    The frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events have increased. At the same time, climate change has contributed to an increase in drought in many regions. IPCC further concluded that more regions will be affected by drought due to global warming, and a larger fraction of land will also be affected by an increase in floods. In India, a large per cent of rural population depends on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry and forest biodiversity. 

    Mitigation and adaptation are two actions to address climate change. Mitigation involving reducing carbon dioxide emissions and achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 were debated at COP in Glasgow, to keep global warming within 1.5 deg C by the end of the century, which is agreed under the Paris Agreement. Even if this is achieved, which is highly unlikely, the benefits of stabilising warming below 1.5 deg C will be seen several decades later. But farmers, fishermen, forest dwellers, coastal communities, communities living in flood and drought-prone areas are already facing the adverse impacts. 

    The impacts will only intensify in the next 5 to 10 to 20 years, leading to increased loss and damage to food production, water resources and infrastructure, so farmers, fishermen and forest dwellers cannot wait for the world to reach Net Zero by 2050. 

    Measures and actions have to be taken now, urgently. We need to develop a good understanding of risks and impacts of projected climate change in the next 10 to 30 years on food production, water availability, forest fire, health, infrastructure, etc. Develop climate resilient agricultural and water management practices, provide early warning systems and weather forecasts on droughts, floods and cyclones at panchayat level, develop disease monitoring and surveillance systems, build climate-resilient and climate-proof infrastructure. The critical aspect of addressing climate change is the speed and urgency of action, and any delay will make it more expensive to address the adverse impacts. 

    Prof N H RAVINDRANATHProfessor (Retd), Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Indian Institute of Science 

  • Maharashtra government to set up climate change council

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will set up a state council that will work to reduce the impact of climate change highlighted by the United Nations body IPCC and suggest measures to meet future challenges, it was announced on Wednesday.

    A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the state climate council will be headed by CM Uddhav Thackeray.

    “The state will work on the 5Rs – Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle, Recover – declared by the United Nations,” said the statement issued after the weekly cabinet meeting.

    The cabinet discussed the need to have a time-bound action plan and all ministers whose departments are related to climate change should be involved in formulating the plan, it said.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in a report released last month, said extreme sea-level events that previously occurred once in 100 years could happen every year by the end of this century with scientists warning sea level rise, floods, heavy rainfall and glacier melting are some of the irreversible effects.

    Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray told reporters after the cabinet meeting that the state pollution control board has taken to social media platforms to apprise citizens about the impact of climate change and issues related to the environment.

    The state cabinet discusses issues related to climate change and the environment every month, he said.

    Thackeray said environment and climate change figure on the agenda of the weekly cabinet meetings along with important issues like COVID-19 and agricultural crops.

    He said the latest IPCC report, which highlights threats to coastal cities, including Mumbai, due to climate change, was discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.

    ”The threat is not just because of rising sea levels, but also due to increased frequency of unseasonal rains and landslides,” the minister said.

    “Through social media platforms (Twitter and Instagram), where the state pollution control board is active, citizens can post their complaints related to the environment,” he said.

    Among other things, the IPCC report has warned that the coastline of 12 cities in the country will go under water.

    Maharashtra is in the tropical region and if temperature increases by 2 to 2.5 degrees Celsius, the state’s coastline may go under water, the report presented before the cabinet warned.

    In central Maharashtra, there is a possibility of severe drought and wildfires due to climate change, it said.

  • Climate report no surprise, developed nations must respect Paris Accord: Scientist

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: The United Nation’s Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday released its sixth assessment report in which scientists confirmed that human influence has warmed the climate system, raising global surface temperature. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the IPCC assessment — the most detailed review of climate science ever conducted — “code red for humanity”. 

    India is one of the 195 members of the IPCC. Underscoring the report, distinguished scientist in the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Dr Shailesh Nayak said the report has not come as a surprise.

    “We know that temperatures are rising all over the world, and we are heading towards a catastrophe. Unfortunately, the problem of climate change has not been addressed by developed countries. They keep shifting the goalpost; from the Kyoto Protocol to Paris Agreement to now the COP26 to be held this year-end at Glasgow. Nothing substantial will come out of this meeting unless we see something in practice,” said the scientist. 

    He added that every country has a responsibility based on equity. “Where is the $100 billion investment, agreed upon by the developed world towards climate change in the Paris Agreement? There is a cost to developing technology and human resources for climate change, and no one is talking about it post the Paris Agreement. Shifting goalposts will not help address a looming apocalypse,” he said. 

    The NIAS director added that the record of the developing world is “better than first world countries. India has done far better than the US, UK and other developed countries in respecting the Paris Agreement and its commitment towards renewable energy”. 

    He said there are three aspects to global warming. “There is knowledge that climate change is upon us, which will have a devastating impact on lives and livelihood. There has to be a global response by all stakeholders; this is missing. Developing countries cannot be made scapegoats. They can’t be told to shut down thermal power stations. It is not feasible. The government of a country has to balance between knowledge of climate change and human requirement. India needs thermal power to electrify its villages,” he said.

    “Greenhouse gases during the past 150 years or so are responsible for warming of atmosphere by 1.1°C. It is expected to touch 1.5°C during the next 20 years. It is the responsibility of all countries to address issues on reducing emissions in historical, current and future context and ensure equity,” added Dr Nayak.