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Subject: Climate Change

1. Global Warming and Issues
2. All about Pollution

  • What is the EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy?

    Activists have been widely criticizing the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy as a “greenwashing” exercise that puts the European Union’s climate change targets at risk.

    What is the EU Taxonomy?

    • The EU taxonomy is a complex system to classify which parts of the economy may be marketed as sustainable investments.
    • It includes economic activities, as well as detailed environmental criteria that each economic activity must meet to earn a green label.

    Why in news now?

    • Rules for most sectors came into effect this year, covering investments including steel plants, electric cars and building renovations.
    • The rules for gas and nuclear energy, however, have been long delayed amid intense lobbying from governments who disagree on whether the fuels help fight climate change.

    What does it say about gas and nuclear energy?

    • The European Parliament supported that proposal in a vote paving the way for it to become law and apply from 2023.
    • Under the proposal, for a gas-fuelled power plant to be deemed green, it must emit no more than 270 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour, or have average emissions of 550g CO2e/kW over 20 years.
    • It must also commit to switch to low-carbon gases by 2035.
    • Gas and nuclear power plants are classed as transitional activities.

    What’s the taxonomy for?

    • The taxonomy does not ban investments in activities not labelled “green”, but it limits which ones companies and investors can claim are climate-friendly.
    • The EU’s goal to eliminate its net emissions by 2050 will require huge investments, much of it private funding.
    • The rules also aim to stamp out green-washing, where organisations exaggerate their environmental credentials, among so-called eco-friendly investment products.

    Who does it apply to?

    • Providers of financial products – including pension providers – in the EU must disclose which investments comply with the taxonomy’s climate criteria.
    • For each investment, fund or portfolio, they must disclose what share of underlying investments comply with the rules.
    • Large companies and listed firms must also disclose what share of their turnover and capital expenditure complies.
    • That means polluting companies can get recognition for making green investments.
    • For example, if an oil company invested in a wind farm, it could label that expenditure as green.

    What makes a “green” investment?

    The rules classify three types of green investments.

    • First, those that substantially contribute to green goals, for example, wind power farms.
    • Second, those that enable other green activities, for example, facilities that can store renewable electricity or hydrogen.
    • Third, transitional activities that cannot be made fully sustainable, but which have emissions below industry average and do not lock in polluting assets or crowd out greener alternatives.

     

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  • Commonwealth adopts ‘Living Lands Charter’

    All 54 Commonwealth members have agreed to voluntarily dedicate a ‘living land’ in their respective countries to future generations, in line with the strategy set for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

    Living Lands Charter

    • The non-binding mandates that member countries will safeguard global land resources and arrest land degradation while acting against climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable management.
    • It helps to encapsulate the combined effort to hold the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, said Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.
    • The document came after nearly two years of intense consultation, engagement and negotiation with member countries at UN Rio Convention.

    Key objectives

    • Leaders and their representatives noted with concern in the charter the alarming decline in the health and productivity of global land resources.
    • It aimed to support member countries to effectively deliver their commitments under the three Rio conventions:
    1. UN Convention on Biological Diversity
    2. UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
    3. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

    Major outcomes

    • The attendees also underlined the principle of “critical guardianship” provided by indigenous peoples and local communities in protecting land and vital ecosystem services.
    • The agreement was released along with a final wide-ranging communiqué by leaders, including on specific items on climate change.
    • Country heads underscored in it that the “urgent threat of climate change” exacerbates existing vulnerabilities and presents a significant threat to COVID-19 recovery efforts.

     

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2012:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Commonwealth has no charter, treaty or constitution
    2. All the territories/countries once under the British Empire (jurisdiction/rule/mandate) automatically joined the Commonwealth as its members

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

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    Back2Basics: Commonwealth of Nations

    • The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.
    • It dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonization of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories.
    • It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nation through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalized by the UK through the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
    • The current body was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernized the community, and established the member states as “free and equal”.
    • The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of the Commonwealth.
    • The Queen is head of state of 16 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 32 other members are republics and five others have different monarchs.
    • Member has no legal obligations to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

     

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  • Odisha’s Mo Bus: Recipient of the UN’s prestigious public service award

    Mo Bus, the bus service of Odisha’s Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) authority, has been recognized by the United Nations as one of 10 global recipients of its annual Public Service Awards for 2022.

    Mo Bus service

    • The Mo Bus service was launched on November 6, 2018.
    • It aimed to ensure transformation of the urban public transport scenario in the city and its hinterland through use of smart technology, service benchmarking and customer satisfaction.
    • The buses are designed to integrate smart technologies such as free on-board Wi-Fi service, digital announcements, surveillance cameras, and electronic ticketing.
    • CRUT says that to increase women’s participation in the workforce, and to make women riders feel safer, it is committed to ensuring that 50% of Mo Bus Guides (conductors) are women.

    What is the recent award?

    • The public transport service has been recognised for its role in “promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”.
    • The “impact” is that 57 per cent of the city’s commuters now use the Mo Bus, the UN said.
    • Mo E-Ride is estimated to reduce pollution by 30-50 per cent.

    About UN Public Service Award

    • The UN describes its Public Service Awards as the “most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service”.
    • The first Awards ceremony was held in 2003, and the UN has since received “an increasing number of submissions from all around the world”.
    • It is intended to reward the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
    • Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service.

     

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  • How Marine Heatwave fuelled super cyclone Amphan

    The super-cyclone Amphan is said to have been triggered by Marine Heatwaves.

    What is the news?

    • A study has found the presence of a strong MHW beneath the track of the cyclone with an extremely high anomalous sea surface temperature of more than 2.5°C.
    • This coincided with the cyclone track and facilitated its rapid intensification in a short period.

    What are Marine Heatwaves?

    • We know that heatwaves occur in the atmosphere. We are all familiar with these extended periods of excessively hot weather.
    • However, heatwaves can also occur in the ocean and these are known as marine heatwaves, or MHWs.
    • These marine heatwaves, when ocean temperatures are extremely warm for an extended period of time can have significant impacts on marine ecosystems and industries.

    When do they occur?

    • Heatwaves can happen in summer and also in winter, where they are known as “winter warm-spells”.
    • These winter events can have important impacts, such as in the southeast of Australia where the spiny sea urchin can only colonize further south when winter temperatures are above 12 °C.

    What causes marine heatwaves?

    • Marine heatwaves can be caused by a whole range of factors, and not all factors are important for each event.
    • The most common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents which can build up areas of warm water and air-sea heat flux, or warming through the ocean surface from the atmosphere.
    • Winds can enhance or suppress the warming in a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can change the likelihood of events occurring in certain regions.
    • MHWs can be caused due to large-scale drivers of the Earth’s climate like the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

    Impacts of the MHWs

    • Marine heatwaves affect ecosystem structure, by supporting certain species and suppressing others.
    • For example, after the 2011 marine heatwave in Western Australia, the fish communities had a much more “tropical” nature than previously and switched from kelp forests to seaweed turfs.
    • Marine heatwaves can cause economic losses through impacts on fisheries and aquaculture.
    • Temperature-sensitive species such as corals are especially vulnerable to MHWs. In 2016, marine heatwaves across northern Australia led to severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.

    How do we measure marine heatwaves?

    • A marine heatwave occurs when seawater temperatures exceed a seasonally-varying threshold (usually the 90th percentile) for at least 5 consecutive days.
    • Successive heatwaves with gaps of 2 days or less are considered part of the same event.

    Why study MHWs?

    • MHWs are increasing in frequency due to climate change. MHWs increased by 54 per cent in the last 30 years.
    • MHW has severe socio-economic consequences such as fish mortality, and coral bleaching, and also has the potential to interact and modify other extreme events such as tropical cyclones.

    Way Forward

    • Marine heatwaves clearly have the potential to devastate marine ecosystems and cause economic losses in fisheries, aquaculture, and ecotourism industries.
    • However, their effects are often hidden from view under the waves until it is too late.
    • By raising general awareness of these phenomena, and by improving our scientific understanding of their physical properties and ecological impacts, we can better predict future conditions and protect vulnerable marine habitats and resources.

     

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  • Issues with the Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

    Context

    The 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by Yale and Columbia Universities and released on World Environment Day (June 5) has triggered much consternation in India, as the country is ranked last (180th).

    Issues with EPI 2022

    • Ignoring the past effects: Indicators may focus on current rates of increase or decrease in environmental pressures (flows) — as the EPI does for carbon dioxide emissions and tree cover gains — but under-state the accumulated effect (stocks) that relates to actual harm, thereby ignoring past effects.
    • Same standard in different socio-ecological context: When ranking countries, one is essentially applying the same standard across vastly different socio-ecological contexts – this involves difficult choices.
    • For example, the EPI leaves out arsenic in water, which is a major threat in Bangladesh.
    • Difficulty in measurement of frogress on climate change: Climate change is a global environmental problem, and because its effects depend on the accumulation of greenhouse gases over time, measuring progress in a given country is challenging.
    • Climate change mitigation has to be measured against what it is reasonable and fair to expect from different countries, taking into account their past emissions as well as national contexts.
    • There has been an inconclusive 30-year debate on this question; any choice of benchmark involves major ethical choices.
    • EPI has given 38 per cent weight to the climate change in the index.
    • They assume that the world must reach net zero emissions by 2050, and so the appropriate benchmark is whether all countries are reducing emissions and reaching zero by 2050.
    • Against CBDR: This approach is contrary to widely accepted ethical principles, especially the global political agreement on common-but-differentiated-responsibility (CBDR).
    • The Yale-Columbia approach ignores the fact that countries have different responsibilities for past accumulations and are at different levels of emissions and energy use.
    • The inclusion of indicators on emissions intensity and emissions per capita partly addresses this issue, but these two account for 7 per cent of the weight, versus 89 per cent for indicators derived from current emission trends.

    Implications EPI’s approach

    • This approach is guaranteed to make richer countries look good, because they have accumulated emissions in the past, but these have started declining in the last decade.
    •  Meanwhile, poorer countries that have emitted comparatively little in the past, look bad.
    • The EPI’s flawed and biased approach distracts from a much-needed honest conversation about the environment in India.
    • India’s local environmental performance on air, water and forests is deeply problematic.
    • Air quality in India is now the second largest risk factor for public health in India, behind only child and maternal nutrition.
    • Rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted, rivers are drying, groundwater tables are rapidly declining, and gains in tree cover hide declining natural productivity and diversity of forests and grasslands.

    Conclusion

    While indices like these have a limited attention-grabbing purpose, they serve this purpose well only when they are focused, limited to easy-to-measure metrics, and consciously minimise value judgements. The EPI 2022 resoundingly fails this test.

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  • Environmental Performance Index (EPI), 2022

    India has objected to a report, called the EPI, 2022, that places the country last (along with Nigeria) on a list of 180 countries on managing climate change, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality.

    Environmental Performance Index

    • The report is prepared by researchers at the Yale and Columbia universities.
    • It provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world.
    • Using 40 performance indicators across 11 issue categories, the EPI ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality.
    • These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy targets.
    • The EPI offers a scorecard that highlights leaders and laggards in environmental performance and provides practical guidance for countries that aspire to move toward a sustainable future.

    Why the report is inherently biased?

    • The US placed itself at the 20th spot of the 22 wealthy democracies in the global west and 43rd overall.
    • The relatively low ranking has put all blame on the rollback policies during the Trump administration.
    • It goes on to preach that developing countries do not have to sacrifice sustainability for economic security.

  • Monsoon sets in over Kerala

    The monsoon has reached Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    What does the “Onset of Monsoon” mean?

    • The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month — June-September — southwest monsoon season over India.
    • It brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. This marks a significant day in India’s economic calendar.
    • IMD announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
    • Broadly, the IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed.

    (1) Rainfall

    • The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep.
    • The 14 enlisted stations are: Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Mangaluru.
    • It records at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
    • In such a situation, the onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, provided specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled.

    (2) Wind field

    • The depth of westerlies should be up to 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE.
    • The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.

    (3) Heat

    • According to IMD, the INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2).
    • This is measured in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.

    Is it unusual for the monsoon to hit the Kerala coast early?

    • Neither early nor late onset of the monsoon is unusual.
    • In 2018 and 2017, the onset over Kerala occurred on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
    • In 2010, onset was realised on May 31.
    • In 2020 and 2013, the monsoon was exactly on time, hitting the Kerala coast on June 1.

    Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?

    • No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon.
    • The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
    • A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall.

    How does the monsoon spread across the country after hitting Kerala coast?

    • The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low pressure areas.
    • Though this year monsoon has arrived early, it is possible that despite a late onset over Kerala, other parts of the country start getting rain on time.
    • After its onset over Kerala, the monsoon spreads over the entire country by July 15.

    Back2Basics:

    Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

     

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  • India’s Vulnerability to Drought

    A United Nations report ‘Drought in Numbers’ has revealed that many parts of India fall under the list of regions that are vulnerable to drought globally.

    What are Droughts?

    • Drought is a prolonged dry period in the natural climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the world.
    • It is a slow-onset disaster characterized by the lack of precipitation, resulting in a water shortage.

    Types of Droughts

    • Meteorological drought is defined usually on the basis of the degree of dryness (in comparison to some “normal” or average amount) and the duration of the dry period.
    • Agricultural drought should be able to account for the variable susceptibility of crops during different stages of crop development, from emergence to maturity.
    • Hydrological drought is associated with the effects of periods of precipitation (including snowfall) shortfalls on surface or subsurface water supply (i.e. streamflow, reservoir and lake levels, and groundwater).
    • Socioeconomic drought is associated with the supply and demand of some economic goods with elements of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought.

    What is the Drought in Numbers report?

    • The Drought in Numbers report is a collection of data on the effects of droughts on our ecosystem and how they can be mitigated through efficient planning for the future.
    • The report also helps inform negotiations surrounding key decisions by the UNCCD’s 197 member parties at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15), currently underway in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
    • Drought, land restoration, and related aspects such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment are among the top considerations at COP15.

    What is COP15?

    • The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP15 focuses on desertification, land degradation, and drought.
    • The theme for the conference is “Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity.”
    • The conference has brought together government representatives, private sector members, and civil society stakeholders to ensure that land continues to benefit present and future generations.

    What does the report entail?

    • The number and duration of droughts around the world has increased by an alarming 29% since 2000.
    • Globally, droughts in the same period caused economic losses of approximately $124 billion.
    • Drought conditions can force up to 216 million people to migrate by 2050.
    • Other factors at play along with drought could be water scarcity, declining crop productivity, rise in sea levels, and overpopulation.
    • The report also stated that India’s GDP reduced by 2 to 5% between 1998 and 2017 due to severe droughts in the country.

    Gendered impacts of drought

    • Research shows that women and girls in emerging and developing countries suffer more in terms of education levels, nutrition, health, sanitation, and safety as a result of droughts.
    • The burden of water collection also disproportionately falls on women (72%) and girls (9%).
    • The report notes that they may spend up to 40% of their caloric intake fetching water.

    What are the environmental aspects?

    • The largest increase in drought losses is projected in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic regions of Europe.
    • Australia’s megadrought in 2019-2020 contributed to “megafires” resulting in one of the most extensive losses of habitat for threatened species.
    • About three billion animals were killed or displaced in the Australian wildfires.
    • Around 12 million hectares of land are lost each year due to drought and desertification.

     

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  • What is Stockholm+50?

    Stockholm+50 conference — a follow-on to the 1972 conference to be held in Stockholm from 2-3 June 2022 is the one that started the environmental movement we see today.

    What is Stockholm +50?

    • Stockholm +50 is an international environmental meeting hosted by the United Nations General Assembly to be held in Stockholm, Sweden from 2-3 June 2022.
    • The theme of Stockholm+50 is “a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity.
    • In 1972, the UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm was held, and it was essentially the first conference that managed to address environmental issues on the right level.
    • Fifty years later, the United Nations is back in Stockholm to commemorate that important milestone.

    Significance: Establishment of UNEP

    • In 1972, some 122 countries attended, and participants adopted a series of principles on the environment, including the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment.
    • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was created as a result of the conference.

    What is India’s connection with this?

    • Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her seminal speech in the conference brought forward the connection between ecological management and poverty alleviation.
    • Her call remains as pertinent now as then: “We have to prove to the disinherited majority of the world that ecology and conservation will not work against their interest but will bring an improvement in their lives.”

    Why is Stockholm +50 important?

    • There was a lot of media attention around COP26 last year where world leaders gathered to continue the work to uphold the actions promised by the Paris Agreement, 2015.
    • Later this year, there will be COP27 in Egypt, where organizers will aim to make the conference a radical turning point in international climate efforts.

    What will be happening at Stockholm +50?

    • The event in the beginning of June will see representatives from around the world gather in Stockholm to discuss how to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for all.
    • Stockholm +50 could usher in a much-needed new boost to environmental awareness and action for the next half-century, just as it did five decades ago.

     

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  • What are Urban Heat Islands?

    Several parts of the country are reeling under heat wave conditions. Cities, especially, are a lot hotter than rural areas. This is due to a phenomenon called an “urban heat island”.

    Urban Heat Island

    • An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day.
    • The variations are mainly due to heat remaining trapped within locations that often resemble concrete jungles.
    • The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.

    Why are cities hotter than rural areas?

    • Green cover: Rural areas have relatively larger green cover in the form of plantations, farmlands, forests and trees as compared to urban spaces.
    • Transpiration: Transpiration is a natural way of heat regulation. This is the scientific process of roots absorbing water from the soil, storing it in the leaves and stems of plants, before processing it and releasing it in the form of water vapour.
    • Heat-regulation: Urban areas are often developed with high-rise buildings, roads, parking spaces, pavements and transit routes for public transport. As a result, heat regulation is either completely absent or man-made.
    • Construction: Cities usually have buildings constructed with glass, bricks, cement and concrete all of which are dark-coloured materials, meaning they attract and absorb higher heat content.

    This forms temporary islands within cities where the heat remains trapped.

    How can urban heat islands be reduced?

    • The main way to cut heat load within urban areas is increasing the green cover; filling open spaces with trees and plants.
    • Other ways of heat mitigation include appropriate choice of construction materials, promoting terrace and kitchen gardens, and painting white or light colours on terraces wherever possible to reflect heat.

    What has NASA said on urban heat islands in India?

    • NASA recently pointed out heat islands in urban parts of Delhi, where temperatures were far higher than nearby agricultural lands.
    • It used its Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment (Ecostress) on the International Space Station.

     

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