According to a new analysis, the G20 countries committed a stunning $1.4 trillion in public funding to support fossil fuels in 2022 in an effort to bolster energy reserves and mitigate the impact of their skyrocketing prices as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
The independent think tank International Institute for Sustainable Development and its collaborators released the analysis as G20 leaders got ready for their summit, which will take place in New Delhi on September 9–10.
The analysis notes that India, the G20’s current president, has made good strides, citing the 76 per cent reduction in fossil fuel subsidies from 2014 to 2022 while increasing support for clean energy.
According to the study, this puts India in a good position to take the lead on this issue.
Environment news updates in India to make you think about climate change.
As per the study, the astounding total of $1.4 trillion consists of investments in state-owned enterprises ($322 billion), loans made by public financial institutions ($50 billion), and subsidies for fossil fuels ($1 trillion).
According to the report, this sum is more than twice what was observed in 2019 before the COVID-19 epidemic and the energy crisis.
Ms. Tara Lane: Senior Associate at IISD and is top contributor to the study:
Ms Tara shared, “These figures are a stark reminder of the massive amounts of public money G20 governments continue to pour into fossil fuels despite the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change.”
She emphasized that the G20 must confront the effects of fossil fuel subsidies during the summit, particularly as the effects of climate change worsen.
She went on to say, “The G20 has the power and the responsibility to transform our fossil-based energy systems. The bloc must put fossil fuel subsidies on the Delhi leaders’ Summit agenda and take meaningful actions to eliminate all public financial flows for coal, oil and gas”.
The unpleasant effects of human-caused climate change, such as an increase in heat waves, wildfires, and heavy rains, are made worse by financial support for fossil fuels.
The study emphasizes that providing subsidies to lower the cost of fossil fuels is problematic since it encourages more usage of these dangerous energy sources.
Environment news updates in India to make you aware of the knock-out effects of climate change.
The researchers suggest a solution: by implementing minimum carbon taxes ranging from $25 to $75 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent, based on the country’s income, G20 nations could earn an additional $1 trillion a year.
New Surface Temperature Record By Oceans On This Planet:
This was in the third week of August that the world was amazed at the new peak in the temperature of the oceans and this made everyone worried deeply thinking about its adverse effects on communal climate, and marine life and how it would reshape the communities of coastal regions.
Data from the European Union’s climate observatory show that on July 30, the temperature of the ocean’s surface increased to 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
According to a spokesperson for the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the previous record was 20.95C in March 2016.
Polar regions were not included in the test samples.
Scientists estimate that since the start of the industrial age, the oceans have absorbed 90% of the surplus heat generated by human activities.
As greenhouse gases, mostly those produced by the burning of coal, oil, and gas, accumulate in the Earth’s atmosphere, this extra heat keeps building up.
At the University of Leeds, there exists the International Centre for Climate which has Piers Forster as one of the associates who said, “The ocean heatwave is an immediate threat to some marine life”.
“We are already seeing coral bleaching in Florida as a direct and I expect more impacts will surface”.
This might put fish supplies in danger and compromise global food security in some areas.
Additionally, warmer oceans are less able to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), feeding the cycle of global warming.
Environment news updates in India as the country braces for G20 summit.
The harshest effects of the present El Nino, according to scientists, could start to be felt by the end of 2023 and last into the following years.
Rowan Sutton, director of Climate Research at the University of Reading, hinted, “While there are certainly short-term factors, the main long-term cause is without a doubt the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by human activity, primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.”
Conservationists Worry About 99% Decline In Vulture Population Since 1980s in India:
Conservationists and specialists are worried about the alarming 99 per cent drop in India’s vulture population since the 1980s. Only two of the five species were listed in the early 1980s, according to conservationists.
As stated by Sachin Ranade, assistant director of the Bombay Natural History Society, there were roughly 4 crore vultures in India in the 1980s, but just about 4 lakh remain today.
Mr Ranade voiced concern, “This means we have lost almost 99 per cent of the species. The main reason behind this is the usage of diclofenac drug which is widely used in veterinary treatments.”
The Indian government placed a ban on diclofenac usage in veterinary medicine in March 2006.
We capture environment news updates in India that matter to you.
He made the addition, “Notably, if the drug used in any animal dies, the drug remains in the liver and kidney of the animal.
As vultures serve as scavengers of the environment, when they consume the flesh of the carcasses, the drug affects the vultures. In this way, the population is degrading.”
Well, dear reader, vultures keep the environment’s ecological balance.
He also reiterated, “It is evident that vultures and the environment are inseparable.
On one hand, the world is advancing with science, and with innovations and creations of man along with the use of chemicals, it is also degrading the environment we live in, so it is also our sole responsibility to save the environment.”
Two vulture breeds are preserved at a breeding facility for vultures that has been constructed in the Rani area of Assam’s Kamrup district, according to Ranade. “It has been observed that poisoning has caused a significant number of vultures to perish in Assam. Awareness-raising programs must be run, according to Ranade, to stop similar behaviours in the future.
Environment news updates in India to make you aware of the harsh consequences of global warming.
India, Pakistan, and Nepal are the vulture’s natural habitats. Since the year 2002, it has been classified as severely endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Environment news updates in India to make you aware of the grim situation.
In Assam, vultures have perished on numerous occasions after eating the carcasses of poisoned animals in recent years. According to experts, 88% of the vulnerable vulture species are affected by poisoning.
