India eases forest rules to boost exploration of minerals 

The Centre expedited approvals for surveys and exploratory drilling in forest areas to boost production of all minerals, reported the HT, citing a letter to top bureaucracy of all states and UTs. The newspaper added that on August 5, the FAC (forest advisory committee) exempted surveys involving drilling and felling of up to 100 trees for the prospecting of hydropower and other developmental projects in forest areas from obtaining prior forest clearance. The newspaper stated that the Centre has issued detailed guidelines and timelines for state governments or UTs to permit such projects.

The Centre also sought to boost oil and gas exploration in India through a recently introduced Oilfields Amendment Bill, 2024, that was passed in the Rajya Sabha last week. It aims to attract investment and regulate the exploration and extraction of natural gas and petroleum. The bill expands the definition of mineral oils to include: (i) any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, (ii) coal bed methane, and (iii) shale gas/oil. It clarifies that mineral oils will not include coal, lignite or helium. The newspaper report said the bill decriminalises various offences of exploring, prospecting, and production without a valid lease, according to PRS Legislative Research.

Consent for mining in Hasdeo Arand forest was forged, finds state probe 

The Chhattisgarh government’s investigations alleged key documents were forged to secure clearances for mining in the state’s Hasdeo Arand forest, reported Mongabay India. adding that the report’s findings align with the claims of residents in the affected area, who have long argued that consent for mining was never taken from them.

The Chhattisgarh State Scheduled Tribes Commission (CGSTC) probed the Parsa coal block, a 1,252 hectare expanse in the Surguja and Surajpur districts. The CGSTC made the findings of its investigation public, in a letter addressed to the district magistrate of Surguja on November 4.

The CGSTC found that the proposal for mining was added after the gram sabha meetings had already concluded. The Commission recommended the clearance for the project be cancelled and directed Vilas Bhoskar, Surguja’s district magistrate, to reconvene gram sabhas in three affected villages within 15 days of the letter’s issuance, to discuss the issue in accordance with the law, the outlet reported. “So far, there’s been no response. We wrote to the district administration, state government, and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, but none of these authorities have responded to our findings,” Bhanu Pratap Singh, chairman of the CGSTC , told Mongabay India.

Global plastic talks collapse in Busan, pushed to 2025

The UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s fifth meeting (INC-5) ended without delivering a legally binding treaty to address global plastic pollution, the Hindu reported. The talks, which began in March 2022, were supposed to have produced a treaty by the end of 2024 but they haven’t. The key split is around Article 6 – whether there should be a commitment to cutting how much plastic is produced, or just try and reduce plastic waste by increasing efforts to recycle, reported the BBC.

A large coalition of about 100 countries wanted caps on plastic production but a smaller set of oil-producing nations wanted to focus only on plastic waste management. With the two camps unable to reach a compromise, the conference concluded on December 1 with an agreement to meet again in 2025. In the meantime, the world remains on track to keep producing 20 million metric tonnes of plastic waste every year, and triple plastic production by 2050.

Historic climate change legal hearing come to a close at the Hague

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague wrapped the historic hearings into the countries’ legal obligations over climate change, reported VoA.  after more than 100 countries and international organisations presented arguments over two weeks on who should bear legal responsibility for the worsening climate crisis. Vanuatu and other Pacific island nations, said the climate crisis poses a threat to their very existence.

The outlet said the outcome could have implications for the fight against climate change — and for the big polluters blamed for emitting most greenhouse gases. Countering that argument were several big polluting nations, including China, India, Britain and the United States. They argued that only climate treaties, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, confer any legal obligations on nation-states regarding climate change.

The news portal explained that the 15 judges at the International Court of Justice have heard evidence from 99 countries and dozens of organizations over the course of the two-week hearing. The judges’ advisory opinion is expected to be published next year. The U.N. General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory ruling after years of lobbying from small island and vulnerable coastal states. The judges’ opinion will not be legally binding, but analysts say it will carry legal weight and could influence future climate negotiations, the report said,

Spain approves four days ‘paid climate leave’ during weather emergencies 

After Canada, now Spain has introduced “paid climate leave”, the country’s left-wing government has approved the policy of up to four days “paid climate leave” for people who need to avoid travelling during weather emergencies, Euronews reported. The policy was trialled in areas affected by the flooding that killed more than 200 people in the Valencia region and it will now be rolled out nationwide, the article explains. The leave, which is based on similar legislation in Canada, will be based on alerts about climate or meteorological disasters from authorities,

Debt owed by developing countries hit 20-year high at $1.4 trillion in 2023: World Bank

The World Bank’s latest International Debt Report found that developing nations collectively spent an unprecedented $1.4 trillion servicing their foreign debt in 2023, driven by soaring interest costs that reached their highest level in 20 years, DTE reported. 

Interest payments rose nearly 33 per cent to $406 billion, further constraining national budgets already stretched thin in critical sectors such as health, education and environmental programmes. The outlet explained that the burden was particularly acute for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations — those eligible for financing from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). The report said “these countries paid a record $96.2 billion in debt service during the year. While repayments of principal fell by almost 8 per cent to $61.6 billion, interest costs hit an all-time high of $34.6 billion, a fourfold increase compared to a decade ago.”

The report explained that on average, IDA countries now dedicate nearly 6 per cent of their export earnings to interest payments, a level not seen since 1999. In some cases, this figure soared to as much as 38 per cent, highlighting the severe strain on their economies.

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