Shaswata Kundu Chaudhuri
Writer-Researcher
Shaswata writes about the environment at the intersection of technology, energy, finance and mobility.
Beyond Compensation: What Coastal Communities Lose to a Rising Sea
Part 1 of CarbonCopy’s series on non-economic loss and damage examines how climate impacts along Odisha’s coast are eroding identity, culture and belonging beyond what compensation frameworks recognise
What COP30 reveals about the next phase of multilateralism
COP30 did not collapse. This may feel like a win in a year when climate diplomacy has seen a major churning. The process survived extreme weather, fire scares, and the COP30 presidency’s strategy to mainly focus on closed-door negotiations. But just surviving is far from enough. Two weeks after the Belém COP
COP30 ends in chaos and compromise
What was meant to be a smooth closing act at COP30 in Belém briefly spiralled into chaos. Objections from countries like Colombia, Uruguay and Panama — who argued that their concerns were sidelined by the Brazilian Presidency — forced the suspension of the final plenary for nearly an hour.
From fire to fallout: COP30’s uneasy compromise
COP30 witnessed its most dramatic moment, yet. But it had nothing to do with text negotiations. On Thursday evening, a massive fire broke out in the venue’s ‘Blue Zone’, forcing talks to shut down for more than six hours. No one was injured, but those participating were clearly shaken up.
Lula Pitches Fossil Fuel Phase-Out at COP30, But Can a Divided World Agree?
With Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flying into Belém on Wednesday, two things changed at the COP30 venue — the mood became more urgent, and the phrase ‘fossil fuel phase out’ was on everyone’s tongues. While the need to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ was one of the key takeaways from COP28 held in
First draft of COP30 text weak on public finance
The COP30 Presidency released the first iteration of the draft text, based on the four outstanding issues that have hogged the spotlight at Belem. Titled ‘Global Mutirão’ — which translates to collective effort in Portuguese — it is a response to Presidency consultations on the issues of trade, finance, transparency and the temperature limiting cause of 1.5°C, as agreed at the Paris Agreement.
India commits to revised NDC, shifts pressure back to rich nations to deliver on climate finance at COP30
The second week of COP30 started off with two much needed ingredients: stormy rainfall which sent temperatures dipping, and India’s announcement it will be announcing its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Tripling adaptation finance may be the only way to secure a win at COP30: Experts
While nearly 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Belém, beating up a furore against the threat of climate change, the mood at the COP30 venue remained rather nonchalant a week into the negotiations. Views from the consultations regarding the four issues, namely trade, finance, 1.5°C and emissions
India’s stance at COP30: No new commitments without real finance
COP30 is almost at the halfway mark and country stances are getting clearer as negotiations progress. For India, the position is crystal clear: nothing moves unless finance does, according to a source familiar with the delegation’s strategy.
New report recasts Global South as climate finance investor, not recipient
“Tackling climate change and nature loss is one of the greatest economic opportunities of our era.” This line from the Fourth Report by the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance (IHLEG), released on Wednesday at COP30, may have forever changed the language of climate finance from one of responsibility of richer nations towards poorer ones to one of investment,
Climate change, unplanned construction and a malfunctioning dam can worsen the flooding in north Bengal
After wreaking havoc in the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, extreme rainfall led to flooding in north Bengal. The resultant landslides affected the districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri badly, claiming up to 24 lives, according to The Hindu.
From extraction to regeneration: How India’s coal mines are being reimagined
Barely five hundred metres after crossing the Damodar river near Jharkhand’s Bhurkunda town, a leaf-strewn path branches out from the main road to Saunda, a coal town in Ramgarh district. This almost missable path, lined with sal trees, slopes downward towards the former coal mine in the Barkasayal area. It’s now used for harvesting fish.
India’s coal heartland is powering down, with no safety net
Even after three decades, the village of Manki in Jharkhand’s Chatra district still bears the marks of abandonment with its old houses and rusted electric poles. It was home to workers from a now-abandoned coal mine nearby. Today, the mine is buried under wild shrubs and red-flowering trees,