Indepth: Climate Change

Unique initiative: launch of Indian climate research network

Date: 08/03/2010

IIT Delhi and IIT Madras join hands with CSE to launch the landmark Indian Climate Research Network on 6th March 2010 in Delhi. This is a unique community of individuals & institutions to enhance capacity for climate research and cross-sectoral initiatives. This will provide a common platform to scientists and grassroot workers to build relationships & encourage collaboration between communities and enable systematic research.

Latest News from Down To Earth

High and dry
Soot-coated glaciers on a melting spree. Climate scientists have tagged the Himalayan glaciers to disappear by the end of this century. The Tibetan glaciers are in a bigger hurry to disappear, apparently. Courtesy: soot or black carbon that is increasing the sunlight-absorption capacity of the snow.
A dangerous balance
Peatlands juggle with carbon dioxide and methane, global warming wins. The contribution of peatlands to fluctuation in atmospheric content of carbon and methane has long been a matter of debate. How seriously should they be taken in the context of global warming? Several studies dug into the history of peatland formation to see if it had impacted the earth’s climate earlier.

Blogs

Copenhagen Accord letters continued: India
31 Jan 2010 Posted by : Sunita Narain
India (letter dated January 30, 2010, National Focal Point to Yvo de Boer) Late Saturday night (around 9.30 pm reportedly from the media release), the Indian government sent a letter to the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn.
Copenhagen Accord: US, China submissions and more
29 Jan 2010 Posted by : Sunita Narain
Copenhagen Accord: country submissions

By now, Australia, US, China and EU have all sent their letters to UNFCCC secretariat regarding their ‘willingness to support’ the Copenhagen Accord or not. It is interestingly to break down the communication and to read between the lines.

Negotiation

Summary of remarks by Shyam Saran at valedictory session, Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on Feb 7, 2010
This document contains the text of remarks made by Shri Shyam Saran, Special Envoy of PM at the Valedictory Session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on February 7, 2010.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)
Tags: Climate Agreements, Climate Change, Copenhagen Accord, R K Pachauri, TERI, UNFCCC, India
Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of the second meeting of ministers of BASIC group, New Delhi
This document contains the Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of Second Meeting of Ministers of BASIC Group at New Delhi.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Forests
Tags: Brazil, China, Climate Agreements, Climate Change, Copenhagen Accord, South Africa, UNFCCC, India

Mitigation

Global carbon budget and challenges for making low carbon society- why Asia matters
This is the presentation made by Shobhakar Dhakal, Executive Director, Global Carbon Project in an event "Challenge 25 beyond borders?:promoting a low carbon society" on 23 January 2010 at Kobe, Japan, organised by: Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), Hyogo Prefectural Government.
Source: Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)
Tags: Energy, Asia, Budget, Carbon Dioxide, Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, India
Intellectual property rights and climate change: principles for innovation and access to low-carbon technology
As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting convenes in Copenhagen, Denmark, intellectual property (IP) rights remain a highly contentious issue that threatens the long-term prospects of these negotiations.
Source: Center for Global Development
Tags: Climate Agreements, Climate Change, Developing Countries, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Technology Transfer, UNFCCC, India

Impact

Using RESOURCESAT-1 data for determination of snow cover and snowline altitude, Baspa Basin, India
This paper presents a method for deriving the snowline altitude using a combined analysis of terrain elevation and multispectral Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) data from the RESOURCESAT-1 satellite, launched by India on 17 October 2003. AWiFS is a unique instrument capable of acquiring imagery of the world repeatedly every 5 days with very high radiometric resolution.
Source: Annals of Glaciology
Tags: Climate Change, Climate Impacts, Himachal Pradesh, Himalaya, Kinnaur, Remote Sensing, River Basin, Western Himalaya

Adaptation

Asian cities climate change resilience network (ACCCRN): responding to the urban climate challenge
Human-induced climate change, in conjunction with environmental degradation, will have unavoidable effects on cities. UN-Habitat estimates that 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, and approximately 60% of the growth is expected to take place in Asia.
Source: Institute for Social and Environmental Transition
Tags: Asia, Climate Change, Disaster Management, Governance, Indonesia, Thailand, Urbanisation, Vietnam, India, Natural Disasters

Books

Climate change: politics and facts
Climate change is definitely the biggest story of the 21st century. But its sheer complexity and urgency is defeating us For the past 19 years – the first intergovernmental negotiation took place in Washington, DC, USA in early 1991 – the world has been haggling about what it knows but doesn’t accept.
Climate action
Climate action is produced by Sustainable Development International in partnership with the UNEP to encourage and assist governments and business to lower greenhouse gas emissions.