Climate Change

By 2035, Risk Of Sea-Level Rise In Mumbai, Ahmedabad An Urban Heat Island: Climate Panel Report   https://www.indiaspend.com/climate-change/by-2035-risk-of-sea-level-rise-in-mumbai-ahmedabad-an-urban-heat-island-climate-panel-report-805918  Flavia Lopes,Tanvi Deshpande|28 Feb, 2022
Climate change impacts will continue to increase, reducing the window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future, if drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are further delayed, a new report warns.

In Mumbai, by 2035, 27 million could be impacted by climate change, with high risk of floods and sea-level rise.
In Ahmedabad, 11 million people would be at a high risk of living in an urban heat island, with much higher temperatures than nearby areas.

By 2050, 70% of the world's population will live in urban areas, the IPCC report says. Cities are at much greater risk to extreme weather, like heat waves, that can aggravate air pollution and limit the functioning of critical infrastructure, such as transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems.

Why it is important to climate-proof infrastructure https://www.indiaspend.com/climate-change/why-indias-budget-push-to-infrastructure-should-consider-climate-resilience-803850 

India has over 50 cities with a population above 1 million, and nearly 500 cities with a population above 100,000. The National Commission on Population in India predicts that in the next 15 years (by 2036), about 38.6% of Indians (600 million) will live in urban areas. Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai--some of India's largest cities--are all low-lying coastal cities.

India has already suffered infrastructural losses and damage of more than Rs 2.7 lakh crore ($37 billion) in 2018 due to extreme climate events--nearly as much as its defence budget in 2018, found the 15th edition of the Global Climate Risk Index 2020 prepared by Bonn-based think-tank Germanwatch. In the last two decades, India's lack of disaster preparedness amounted to a loss of Rs 13.14 lakh crore ($180 billion), a 2021 CEEW study stated.

As India’s petrochemical industry expands, experts question how it will achieve its net zero target https://scroll.in/article/1014787/as-indias-petrochemical-industry-expands-experts-question-how-it-will-achieve-its-net-zero-targets 14 Jan 2010
Plastic pollution plays a significant role in global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Devayani Khare

In 2019, a report titled Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet examined the lifecycle of plastics and identified major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, unaccounted sources of emissions, and uncertainties that lead to an underestimation of plastic’s climate impacts.

In October 2021, Beyond Plastics released another report built on previous findings, titled “The New Coal: Plastics & Climate Change”, to assess the devastating impact of plastics on climate, much of it happening with little public scrutiny and lesser government and industrial accountability. While both reports focus on the plastic industry in the United States – the worst global plastic polluter, the findings will hold true for other nations with expanding petrochemical industries.

Plastic is manufactured from naphtha, a crude oil-based substance, and ethane, liquid natural gas, with the addition of other chemicals, most of which are fossil fuel-based. Hence, plastic manufacturing is a significant source of greenhouse emissions.

A recent study identified over 8,000 chemical additives used for plastic processing, some of which are a thousand times more potent as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. Products like single-use packaging, plastic resins, foamed plastic insulation, bottles and containers, among many others, add to global greenhouse emissions.

Most plastic cannot be recycled, only downgraded, and is often incinerated, or used as fuel in waste-to-energy plants, sometimes known as chemical recycling.

Climate Change is a Market Failure https://typeshare.co/pauledawson/posts/climate-change-is-a-market-failure Jan 9, 2022 

Climate change is a financial issue as well as an environmental issue. The subsidisation of fossil fuels distorts the energy market and slows down the rollout of cleaner, renewable energy. 

Instead of subsidising fossil fuels, these funds could be spent on improving health services, improving education or just going back into your pocket.

Analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that governments subsidised fossil fuels by $5.9 trillion in 2020, this equivalent to 6.8% of global GDP. Furthermore, the IMF analysis shows that fossil fuel subsidies are expected to rise to 7.4% of GDP by 2025. 

https://drawdown.org/solutions

ongoing review and analysis of climate solutions—the practices and technologies that can stem and begin to reduce the excess of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Our work shows the world can reach drawdown by mid-century, if we make the best use of all existing climate solutions.

(UK) Government invites oil companies to help write rulebook on whether new fossil fuel drilling is green. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-change-cop26-new-oil-drilling-b1988807.html  The race continues..

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) invited the “UK oil and gas industry and the investment community” as well as NGOs to submit ideas on what tests their projects would have to pass in order to be considered compatible with climate goals. The consultation launched today will give interested parties, including oil and gas industry stakeholders, the opportunity to input on the design of the new climate compatibility checkpoint,” the department said in a statement, adding that “responses from all interested parties are encouraged, although it is anticipated that the audience for this consultation will predominantly be industry stakeholders”.

Ministers were accused by environmentalists of living in a “fantasy” for claiming new drilling is compatible with taking action to tackle the climate emergency.

The shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband added that the document “appears to prepare the ground to justify the most dangerous business as usual”.