Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Indian top negotiator, R R Rashmi said yesterday at a side event we had organized on equity in climate negotiations that they could not use the word ‘equity’ in the final Durban Platform document because of the aversion to that word of a particular country. He said that they had …
India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. And there is much that needs to be reviewed and reworked as the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission …
How will solar energy be made to work in India? As I discussed in my previous article there are three key challenges. One, how will the country pay for solar energy in a situation where there is no money to pay for even the crashed costs of installation. Two, what …
For growing economies the stress has to be on patterns of natural resource use and not on the status of natural resources; that is, dealing with the causes rather than the symptoms of the problem of climate change. The time has come for rapidly growing Asia to distinguish between the …
A number you likely know: 400 million. That’s how many people live without electricity in India. And not coincidentally, most of these people are poorest of the poor and live in rural villages or hamlets. The presence of such an enormous population eager for something better has given rise to …
The theme of this years’ World Environment Day is lifestyles and an opportunity to reflect on the central issue of global environmentalism - how a continually growing economic system can fit within a finite ecological system. In an interdependent world the patterns, trends and drivers of global change are at …
Redistribution has been kept out of the agenda of the United Nations, and a new global agenda, goals and rules to share responsibility and prosperity can lead to a new world Mukul Sanwal[1] There is an ongoing debate within the United Nations whether a sustainable development and a security lens …
The outrage over nine per cent fare hike ignited over a million demonstrators in 100 cities across Brazil (Photo courtesy Agencia Brasil) While watching the mob fury on the streets of São Paulo on television recently I was stunned to see how bus fare hike could stoke such urban discontent. …
Car industry's efforts to dilute standards approved by PMO will significantly reduce fuel savings The desperate bid of the Indian car industry to reopen and dilute the proposed fuel economy standards after it was approved by the prime minister’s office (PMO) has shocked all. This violates the sanctity of the …
With generous dispensing of cheap diesel to rich car owners, the government has finally turned the market around. Media is abuzz with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell’s report. It says the diesel consumption growth rate at 6.4 per cent has outstripped that of petrol at 4.5 per cent. Petrol …
Anumita Roychowdhury @ If any other cause was responsible for so many deaths and injuries as we see on our roads it would have been a state of emergency Sunita Narain—our colleague and friend—was seriously injured in an accident while cycling yesterday. A car hit her and fled. This cruel …
With relations between countries now being shaped by geo-economics rather than geo-politics, an emerging issue is to what extent the United States, China and India, all populous countries and top tier economies, see their national interest in giving a new meaning to words like “responsibility”, “development” and “growth” by shifting …
Small changes in urban human behavior and increased energy efficiency will have a positive impact on our natural resources. Mukul Sanwal[1] The recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the United Nations, “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,” details the impact of climate …
Author: Chandra Bhushan @Bh_Chandra Posted on: 18 Apr, 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group Report III suggests historical emissions are a thing of the past; it endorses carbon removal options, allowing the fossil fuel industry to continue its polluting operations Two weeks after the Working Group 2 report …
The Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) for the 21st century will not achieve their overall objective if the agreement is only for ‘promoting’ ‘sustainable consumption and production’. The Zero-draft Goal 12 stress is also on production patterns - chemical, hazardous, food and other waste; business practices and public procurement; dissemination of …
A framework for updating the Climate Treaty MukulSanwal [1] On September 23 the world’s leaders will meet in New York to shape the contours of a new global agreement to address climate change. India will face acute pressure to take on commitments to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and needs …
The focus on current and per capita emissions has not led to the desired results MukulSanwal[1] The UN Climate Summit was expected to develop an understanding on the contours of a new climate regime, by staying away the Prime Ministers of India, China, Russia and Germanysignalleda lack of confidence that …
Compromises have to be made by all Mukul Sanwal The current impasse in the climate negotiations provides an unprecedented opportunity for the BRICS countries to re-frame a global challenge that has divided countries for the last 20 years. In an increasingly interdependent world for growing economies an agreement is more …
Moving from emission reductions to energy use as the basis for international cooperation must now shape our approach to the climate negotiations MukulSanwal[1] The Prime Ministerof India has called for a bold new vision on climate change,effectively moving from ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’, focused on burden sharing, to ‘sharing responsibility …
Moving sustainability from ideas to reality and regaining the leadership of developing countries MukulSanwal[1] Prime Minister Modi’s focus on ‘lifestyles’ marks a departure from India’s 40 year old approach to global environmental concerns where India, and other developing countries, stressed poverty rather than patterns of natural resource use. At one-fourth …
