Gravitational Waves Detected, Confirming Einstein’s Theory

Gravitational Waves Detected, Confirming Einstein’s Theory

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

India to reduce the Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 Per Cent by 2030 from 2005 Level

India to create additional Carbon Sink of 2.5 to 3 Billion Tonnes of Co2 Equivalent through Additional Forest and Tree Cover by 2030

The Government has said that India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) is balanced and comprehensive.

India has also decided to anchor a global solar alliance, INSPA (International Agency for Solar Policy & Application), of all countries located in between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

The INDC centre around India’s policies and programmes on promotion of clean energy, especially renewable energy, enhancement of energy efficiency, development of less carbon intensive and resilient urban centres, promotion of waste to wealth, safe, smart and sustainable green transportation network, abatement of pollution and India’s efforts to enhance carbon sink through creation of forest and tree cover. It also captures citizens and private sector contribution to combating climate change. The INDC proposals are on the following:

a. Sustainable Lifestyles
b. Cleaner Economic Development
c. Reduce Emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
d. Increase the Share of Non Fossil Fuel Based Electricity
e. Enhancing Carbon Sink (Forests)
f. Adaptation
g. Mobilizing Finance
h. Technology Transfer and Capacity Building

The Ministry had commissioned Greenhouse Gas (GHG) modeling studies for projections of GHG emissions till 2050 with a decadal gap. The gist of all these consultations & studies were taken on board before submitting India’s INDC. For India’s INDC, Government zeroed-in-on a set of contributions which are comprehensive, balanced, equitable and pragmatic and addresses all the elements including Adaptation, Mitigation, Finance, Technology Transfer, Capacity Building and Transparency in Action and Support.

India declared a voluntary goal of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 20–25%, over 2005 levels by 2020, despite having no binding mitigation obligations as per the Convention. A slew of policy measures to promote low carbon strategies and Renewable Energy have resulted in the decline of emission intensity of our GDP by 12% between 2005 and 2010. It is a matter of satisfaction that United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in its Emission Gap Report 2014 has recognized India as one of the countries on course to achieving its voluntary goal.

India has adopted several ambitious measures for clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency in various sectors of industries, achieving lower emission intensity in the automobile and transport sector, non-fossil based electricity generation and building sector based on energy conservation. Thrust on renewable energy, promotion of clean energy, enhancing energy efficiency, developing climate resilient urban centres and sustainable green transportation network are some of the measures for achieving this goal.

Solar power in India is poised to grow significantly with Solar Mission as a major initiative of the Government of India. A scheme for development of 25 Solar Parks, Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects, canal top solar projects and one hundred thousand solar pumps for farmers is at different stages of implementation. The Government’s goal of ‘Electricity for All’ is sought to be achieved by the above programs that would require huge investments, infusion of new technology, availability of nuclear fuel and international support.

The energy efficiency of thermal power plants will be systematically and mandatorily improved. Over one million medium and small enterprises will be involved in the Zero Defect Zero Effect Scheme to improve their quality, energy efficiency, enhance resource efficiency, pollution control, waste management and use of renewable energy.

Urban transport policy will encourage moving people rather than vehicles with a major focus on Mass Rapid Transit Systems. In addition to 236 km of metro rail in place, about 1150 km metro projects for cities including Pune, Ahmedabad and Lucknow are being planned. Delhi Metro, which has become India’s first MRTS project to earn carbon credits, has the potential to reduce about 0.57 million tonnes of CO2 e annually.
The switch from Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) to Bharat Stage V (BS V) and Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) to improve fuel standards across the country is also planned for the near future.

Renewable energy sources are a strategic national resource. Harnessing these sources will put India on the path to a cleaner environment, energy independence and, a stronger economy. The renewable energy technologies contribute to better air quality, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, curb global warming, add jobs to the economy and, protect environmental values such as habitat and water quality. Over the years India has successfully created a positive outlook necessary to promote investment in, demand for, and supply of, renewable energy. India’s strategy on renewable energy is driven by the objectives of energy security, energy access and also reducing the carbon footprints of the national energy systems. It has evolved over the years through increasingly stronger commitment at federal level.

The institutional arrangement for offtake of renewable energy power will be further strengthened by Renewable Purchase Obligations and Renewable Generation Obligations.

India’s share of non-fossil fuel in the total installed capacity is projected to change from 30% in 2015 to about 40 % by 2030. India is running one of the largest renewable capacity expansion programmes in the world. Between 2002 and 2015, the share of renewable grid capacity has increased over 6 times, from 2% (3.9 GW) to around 13% (36 GW) from a mix of sources including Wind Power, Small Hydro Power, Biomass Power / Cogeneration, Waste to Power and Solar Power.

On normative terms the CO2 emission abatement achieved from the renewable power installed capacity was 84.92 million tons CO2 eq. /year as of 30 June 2015. To accelerate development and deployment of renewable energy in the country, the Government is taking a number of initiatives like up-scaling of targets for renewable energy capacity addition from 30GW by 2016-17 to 175 GW by 2021-22.The renewable power target of 175 GW by 2022 will result in abatement of 326.22 million tons of CO2 eq. /year.

The ambitious solar expansion programme seeks to enhance the capacity to 100 GW by 2022, which is expected to be scaled up further thereafter. Efforts will include scaling up efforts to increase the share of non-fossil fuel based energy resources in total electricity mix including wind power, solar, hydropower, biomass, waste to energy and nuclear power.

The range of ecosystem goods and services provided by forests include carbon sequestration and storage. Despite the significant opportunity costs, India is one of the few countries where forest and tree cover has increased in recent years and the total forest and tree cover amounts to 24% percent of the geographical area of the country. Over the past two decades progressive national forestry legislations and policies of India have transformed India’s forests into a net sink of CO2. With its focus on sustainable forest management, afforestation and regulating diversion of forest land for non-forest purpose, India plans to increase its carbon stock. Government of India’s long term goal is to increase its forest cover through a planned afforestation drive which includes number of programmes and initiatives like Green India Mission, green highways policy, financial incentive for forests, plantation along rivers, REDD-Plus & Other Policies and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority

For the first time devolution of funds to states from the federal pool will be based on a formula that attaches 7.5 % weight to the area under forest. It takes into account the changing realities in order to rebalance the fiscal system of the country in a way that will incentivize greener distribution of resources. This initiative will give afforestation a massive boost by conditioning about USD 6.9 billion of transfers to the states based on their forest cover, which is projected to increase up to USD 12 billion by 2019-20.

For India, adaptation is inevitable and an imperative for the development process. India is facing climate change as a real issue, which is impacting some of its key sectors like agriculture and water. The adverse impacts of climate change on the developmental prospects of the country are further amplified enormously by the existence of widespread poverty and dependence of a large proportion of the population on climate sensitive sectors for livelihood. It is of immediate importance and requires action now. In the INDC, the country has focused on adaptation efforts, including: a) developing sustainable habitats; b) optimizing water use efficiency; c) creating ecologically sustainable climate resilient agricultural production systems; d) safeguarding the Himalayan glaciers and mountain ecosystem; and, e) enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and implementing adaptation measures for vulnerable species, forest-dependent communities and ecosystems. India has also set up a National Adaptation Fund with an initial allocation of INR 3,500 million (USD 55.6 million) to combat the adaptation needs in key sectors. This fund will assist national and state level activities to meet the cost of adaptation measures in areas that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

India's climate actions have so far been largely financed from domestic resources. India already has ambitious climate action plans in place. Preliminary domestic requirements to implement national climate plans add upto more than USD 2.5 trillion between 2015 and 2030.Substantial scaling up these plans would require greater resources. Developing countries like India are resource constrained and are already spending enormous amounts on climate change, . Implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation actions would require domestic and new & additional funds from developed countries in view of the resource required and the resource gap.

Urgent efforts to reduce GHG emissions need to take place against the backdrop of a growing energy demand and urbanisation in India. With the responsibility of lifting around 360 million people out of poverty and raising the standard of living of an even greater number of people, technology is the only powerful solution for countries like India that can simultaneously address climate change and development needs.

Technology development and transfer and capacity-building are key to ensuring adequate development and deployment of clean-technologies. The technology gap between rich and poor countries remains enormous and the capacity of developing economies to adopt new technology needs to be enhanced. Enhanced action on technology development and transfer will be central in enabling the full and effective implementation of India’s INDC. Developed countries should be supportive and help in transfer of technology, remove barriers, create facilitative IPR regime, provide finance, capacity building support and create a global framework for Research & Development on clean coal and other technologies.
India has submitted it’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution on Gandhi Jayanti, The approach of India’s INDC has been anchored in the vision of equity inspired by the Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi's famous exhortation;“Earth has enough resources to meet people’s needs, but will never have enough to satisfy people's greed” and formulated under the leadership and guidance of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, who has called for ‘convenient action’ in order to deal with the ‘inconvenient truth’ of climate change.

Conference of Parties (COP) of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at 19th Session held in Warsaw in November 2013 invited all Parties to initiate domestic preparations for their INDC towards achieving the objective of the Convention and to communicate them, well in advance of the 21stsession of the Conference of Parties. The concept of ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’, taking into account the outcomes of both Warsaw COP 19 and Lima COP 20 has to (i) reflect the principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) and (ii) the Country’s contributions must be seen in a balanced and comprehensive context.

Expectations from Paris

1) A balanced agreement with all components -mitigation, adaptation, technology, finance and capacity building- consistent with the principles and provisions of the Convention;
2) New, additional and predictable finances from developed and developing countries for mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and capacity building;
3) Provision of technology development, transfer and diffusion;
4) Paris Agreement must incorporate loss and damage and make operational Warsaw International Mechanism

India ratifies Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear damage

India ratifies Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear damage ,1997 on 5th feb 2016. came into force on may 2016. .it will boost India's nuclear commerce with international commerce and strengthen global nuclear liability regime ;it also set parameters on nuclear operator's financial liability in case of nuclear accident to victims.

CSC can enter into force after ratification by at least 5 countries having minimum of 400,000 units of installed nuclear capacity. It has been framed in consistent with the principles of Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963) and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (1960).

Seeks to encourage regional and global co-operation to promote a higher level of nuclear safety in accordance with the principles of international partnership and solidarity. All states are free to participate in it regardless of their presence of nuclear installations on their territories or involvement in existing nuclear liability conventions. India had signed it in 2010 for delivering its commitments for stemming the landmark 2005 nuclear agreement with the United States

CHANGING ARCTIC

In a world where the climate is changing at a rate not exceeded in the geological record, the Arctic is on the front lines, experiencing the most rapid warming of any region on the planet. Once considered remote and disconnected, now we know that changes within the Arctic can have a direct impact on the rest of the world, affecting physical and biological systems near and far at regional and global scales. Such changes range from how much solar radiation the region reflects back into space to the structure of the ecological communities in Arctic waters; meanwhile, melting permafrost is driving the transformation of frozen tundra into wetlands, and grassy plains are shifting into lusher landscapes of bushes and trees. To understand the scope and details of these changes, scientists have intensified their efforts across all areas of Arctic research.

Challenges in conservation science

Human activities are increasingly leading to the deterioration of habitats and the loss of species around the world. Conservation efforts were initially mainly focused on individual species protected in remote environments such as nature reserves, but now encompass a much wider set of goals and activities, as reflected in the Aichi biodiversity targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Using the idea of ecosystem services, some conservationists are trying to emphasize the importance of natural systems to human well-being, although others are concerned about “putting a price on nature.” How well do we understand the systems we are trying to protect? Which metrics and tools are best suited for determining the state of ecosystems, and how can economic demands and conservation goals be reconciled?

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Washington State University researchers have concluded that feeding a growing global population with sustainability goals in mind is possible. Their review of hundreds of published studies provides evidence that organic farming can produce sufficient yields, be profitable for farmers, protect and improve the environment and be safer for farm workers. 

The review study, "Organic Agriculture in the 21st Century," is featured as the cover story for February issue of the journal Nature Plants and was authored by John Reganold, WSU regents professor of soil science and agroecology and doctoral candidate Jonathan Wachter. It is the first such study to analyze 40 years of science comparing organic and conventional agriculture across the four goals of sustainability identified by the National Academy of Sciences: productivity, economics, environment, and community well being. 

"Hundreds of scientific studies now show that organic ag should play a role in feeding the world" said Reganold, lead author of the study. "Thirty years ago, there were just a couple handfuls of studies comparing organic agriculture with conventional. In the last 15 years, these kinds of studies have skyrocketed." 

Organic production currently accounts for only one percent of global agricultural land, despite rapid growth in the last two decades. 

Critics have long argued that organic agriculture is inefficient, requiring more land to yield the same amount of food. The review paper describes cases where organic yields can be higher than conventional farming methods. 

"In severe drought conditions, which are expected to increase with climate change, organic farms have the potential to produce high yields because of the higher water-holding capacity of organically farmed soils," Reganold said. 

However, even when yields may be lower, organic agriculture is more profitable for farmers because consumers are willing to pay more. Higher prices can be justified as a way to compensate farmers for providing ecosystem services and avoiding environmental damage or external costs. 

Numerous studies in the review also prove the environmental benefits of organic production. Overall, organic farms tend to store more soil carbon, have better soil quality, and reduce soil erosion. Organic agriculture also creates less soil and water pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions. And it's more energy efficient because it doesn't rely on synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. It is also associated with greater biodiversity of plants, animals, insects and microbes as well as genetic diversity. Biodiversity increases the services that nature provides like pollination and improves the ability of farming systems to adapt to changing conditions. 

Reganold said that feeding the world is not only a matter of yield but also requires examining food waste and the distribution of food. 

"If you look at calorie production per capita we're producing more than enough food for 7 billion people now, but we waste 30 to 40 percent of it," Reganold said. "It's not just a matter of producing enough, but making agriculture environmentally friendly and making sure that food gets to those who need it." 

Reganold and Wachter suggest that no single type of farming can feed the world. Rather, what's needed is a balance of systems, "a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems, including agroforestry, integrated farming, conservation agriculture, mixed crop/livestock and still undiscovered systems." 

Reganold and Wachter recommend policy changes to address the barriers that hinder the expansion of organic agriculture. Such hurdles include the costs of transitioning to organic certification, lack of access to labor and markets, and lack of appropriate infrastructure for storing and transporting food. Legal and financial tools are necessary to encourage the adoption of innovative, sustainable farming practices.

juvenile justice law

The recently passed juvenile justice law should be welcomed. However it is a matter of serious concern that the government perhaps needs some dramatic event or public outrage to make a law. This practice needs to be changed. Few of the critics of the law have opined that this would not bring about changes in the society and would be detrimental to the juveniles. The point is that though the society needs to raise its ethical standards but when conscience fails to serve as the source of ethical guidance , it is the law which would serve the purpose. Most of the data suggest that the rise in juvenile crimes in India is approximately 2-3 per cent however, even this rise seems to be alarming considering the total number of crimes. Societies need both reformative and retributive laws to deal with the issues and concerns of the criminal justice system. So far as reformation is concerned the onus lies primarily on us to guide the growing children especially the juveniles to make them sensitive to the society. The rise in juvenile crimes may be attributed to the breakdown of the system of social control, and certainly their exposure to Internet, the consumerist culture and may more factors that contribute to development and growth. Though we can not and should not stop the growth yet at the family level itself we need to be sensitised and make the juveniles also understand the importance of social institutions and cultural traditions. They should be made able to understand that modernity does not come just by becoming absolutely free rather modernity and traditions go hand in hand