This paper presents a status report of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) on two crucial development parameters—inequality and poverty—that have a significant bearing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; especially SDG-1 and SDG-10). The paper tracks the origins and movements of absolute and relative poverty, …
Climate change could alter the ecological impacts of the seasons, which could mean some big changes when it comes to our environment and agriculture. Now, scientists have taken a closer look at temperature variability across the globe in order to find out a bit more about potential impacts. "We describe, …
Producing energy resources requires significant quantities of fresh water. As an energy sector changes or expands, the mix of technologies deployed to produce fuels and electricity determines the associated burden on regional water resources. Many reports have identified the water consumption of various energy production technologies. This paper synthesizes and …
The European Union made headway toward a deal on a strategy to shift to a low-carbon economy and boost security of energy supplies amid a natural-gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Energy and environment ministers from the EU’s 28 member states met in Milan yesterday to prepare ground for a …
There is a growing quest for synergy between mitigation and adaptation due to concerns of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the compartmentalized approaches to climate change. However, little has been done to explore the necessary enabling conditions for synergistic design and implementation. This paper proposes an analytical framework to assess enabling …
Hyderabad, Mumbai and Shimla spanning 2005 - 2012. We developed Poisson regression models to study ‘the main temperature effect’ as well as ‘additional impacts’ of sustained high and low temperatures (i.e. heat and cold waves) on all-cause mortality risk. Results: We find large heterogeneity among mortality risks across urban areas. …
More people are eating local and organic foods and plan to consume less meat and bottled water. However, most also believe they lack enough information and influence to become more environmentally sustainable consumers, a new National Geographic survey has found. This year's report, the fifth since 2008, focused on food. …
BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted 22 km southeast of Kurush, Russia at 0138 GMT on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 41.33 km, was initially determined to be at 41.2192 degrees north latitude and 48.0929 …
New data on carbon shows that China's emissions per head of population have surpassed the EU for the first time. The researchers say that India is also forecast to beat Europe's CO2 output in 2019. Scientists say that global totals are increasing fast and will likely exceed the limit for …
This report analyses impacts of four extreme weather events (a heat wave in Russia, flooding in Pakistan, drought in East Africa, and a typhoon in the Philippines) on food security. For each case, the nature of the extreme weather is characterized, and its impact on vulnerable people is assessed by …
Some 140 tiger experts and government officials from 20 countries met in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday to review progress towards an ambitious goal of doubling their number in the wild by 2022. The nations, including the 13 where tigers are still found in the wild, had vowed at …
China will exert consistent and unswerving efforts to establish a strategic partnership of energy cooperation with Russia as agreed by the heads of state of the two countries, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said here Saturday. Zhang made the remarks as he co-chaired the 11th meeting of the China-Russia Energy Cooperation …
European natural gas prices are reversing their biggest slump in five years as concern mounts that tension between Russia and Ukraine will again disrupt flows to the region. Gas for next-month delivery in the U.K. rallied 17 percent over the past six weeks as Ukraine said it may ban OAO …
Summer heatwaves and downpours have become more frequent in the northern hemisphere this century, apparently because extreme weather can get trapped for weeks in the same place in a warming world, a study showed on Monday. Disruptions to the jet stream, which forms huge meandering waves as it blows at …
Russia and the world's top energy user China may jointly develop six floating nuclear power plants, Russia's nuclear export body said on Tuesday. The two recently signed a $400 billion natural gas supply deal. Rusatom Overseas said it signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the development of floating …
Antibiotic drug consumption is a major driver of antibiotic resistance. Variations in antibiotic resistance across countries are attributable, in part, to different volumes and patterns for antibiotic consumption. The researchers aimed to assess variations in consumption to assist monitoring of the rise of resistance and development of rational-use policies and …
In a reflection of the poor standard of living of Indians, the country’s ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) remained unchanged at 135 in 2013, according to a United Nations Development Programme report. “India’s HDI value for 2013 is 0.586 which falls in the medium human development category positioning …
The European Commission agreed on Wednesday to put forward a target to improve energy efficiency by 30 percent as part of a package of climate and energy policy for 2030, EU sources said. Member states will decide whether the target should be binding on individual nations or at an EU-wide …
Melting Arctic ice is widening a path for ships to deliver European oil to Asia, stoking South Korea’s ambition to become a regional storage and trading hub. The country, whose proximity to China, Russia and Japan makes it an ideal conduit for oil arriving via the Arctic, plans to add …
A coalition of top business groups expressed rising concerns over the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants, demanding more time Tuesday to respond and eyeing a legal battle against the Obama administration if necessary. The EPA early last month rolled out new proposed rules …
A high-flying package of live animals, plant seeds, and materials samples shot into space Friday (July 18) aboard a retrievable Russian Foton satellite, launching a two-month mission focusing on microgravity research into biological and physical sciences. The workhorse launcher fired its kerosene-fueled engines and lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome …