Day after he imposes 25% tariff, Trump says India-Russia can ‘take their dead economies down together’

US president Donald Trump targeted India and Russia over their trade and ties, saying the two countries could “take their dead economies down together”. In a post on Truth Social he wrote: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India; their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.”

He also warned former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to “watch his words” and avoid entering “very dangerous territory”.

Medvedev, on July 28, had posted in X: “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”

India in its initial official response said it will take care of its national interest: “The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective,” the Ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.

India said the government places the “utmost importance on protecting and promoting the welfare of” farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs.

Permission to clear forest to last ‘till the life of the coal mine’

Centre extended the validity of forest clearances to match with the validity of coal mine leases granted under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, according to a letter it issued to all states and UTs earlier this month, reported HT. 

Earlier forest clearances for coal mine leases could be granted for a maximum period of 30 years. The Chhattisgarh government had sought clarification on extension of validity of approvals granted under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 to coal mining projects, according to documents seen by HT. 

The newspaper continued: “The matter was thereafter discussed by the Forest Advisory Committee of the environment ministry. The meeting discussed that as per the provisions of the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 and a clarification provided by the ministry of coal in a letter dated May 19, validity of coal mining projects/leases of state-owned companies, acquired under the CBA is perpetual i.e. once the lease is granted it remains valid till the life of the coal mine.”

India forms panel for COP-33 that it proposed to hos

India’s environment ministry set up a “dedicated COP33 cell” to prepare to host the UN climate talks in 2028, although its bid is yet to be officially accepted, PTI reported. The environment ministry set up the cell to address the professional and logistical requirements for COP 33. If accepted by the UNFCCC, COP 33 would be the second UN climate conference to be hosted by India after COP 8 in New Delhi in 2002. It would follow India’s successful presidency of the G20 summit in 2023 and position the country at the centre of global climate negotiations.

Leaders of the BRICS nations, at the 17th BRICS Summit held earlier this month, welcomed India’s candidacy to host Cop33. A joint declaration said: “We express our full support to the Presidency of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Cop-30, which will take place in Belem, Brazil, highlighting the importance of action and cooperation on all pillars of the UNFCCC as applicable, considering each country’s membership and commitments thereunder. We also underscore our full commitment to a successful Cop30 that will catalyze progress in implementing the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. We welcome India’s candidacy to host Cop33 in 2028.”

More than 368,000 trees could be felled for a coal mining project in “one of India’s last remaining old-growth forests”

Centre told Parliament over 368,000 trees “will be affected” due to the Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB) coal mining project in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand, one of India’s last remaining old-growth forests, reported HT. Minister of state for environment Kirti Vardhan Singh told Lok Sabha provided written information on the tree felling in response to Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation lawmaker Raja Ram Singh’s question. 

The newspaper said, the lawmaker from Bihar asked whether the government was aware that over 200,000 trees had been felled for the Adani Enterprises project. He sought details of the felling and whether environmental clearance was granted despite local opposition, tribal rights claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the ecological sensitivity of the region. The lawmaker asked for the reasons for permitting extensive deforestation in a biodiversity-rich forest despite the climate crisis.

The outlet in January 2022 reported the environment ministry permitted further coal mining on 1,136 hectares in Hasdeo Arand despite protests. The ministry’s forest advisory committee on December 23 approved a proposal to extend mining in Rajasthan’s power distribution utility-owned PEKB block, as coal reserves in the first allotment of 762 hectares were exhausted earlier than estimated.

EU and China pledge climate leadership role as US retreats

At their recent summit, the EU and China declared they would “lead the world in the fight against climate change”, according to a joint statement quoted by Bloomberg. Both sides committed to submitting updated climate plans for 2035 that align with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goals—well ahead of COP30 in Brazil. They also agreed to deepen cooperation on the energy transition and reducing methane emissions. The New York Times reported that the summit found “common ground on climate change”, adding that the statement was “conspicuously silent on trade issues, including electric cars”. 

US: EPA moves to end climate regulation under Clean Air Act

The Trump administration made the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) release a plan to revoke the scientific finding that underpins the government’s regulatory authority to combat climate change, reported Washington Post. The repeal of the “endangerment finding” would end EPA regulations on power station emissions, the control of the release of methane by oil and gas companies and pollution from cars and trucks, the newspaper said adding that : “The EPA’s new proposal argues that Congress, in the Clean Air Act, does not give the agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. If the rule takes effect, it would immediately reverse the vehicle regulations and spark a legal battle that probably would take years. Should the Trump administration prevail in court, the rule would severely limit the ability of future presidents to curb fossil fuel emissions.”

 The New York Times said the proposal is the “most consequential step yet to derail federal climate efforts and appears to represent a shift toward outright denial of the scientific consensus”.

News channel CNN reported that the repeal is “based in part on a hastily produced report – authored by five researchers who have spent years sowing doubt in the scientific consensus around climate change – that questions the severity of the impacts of climate change”. 

Japan takes step towards first post-Fukushima nuclear energy reactor

A Japanese utility has become the first since the Fukushima nuclear disaster 14 years ago to take steps towards building a new reactor, the FT reported. The newspaper added: “Kansai Electric Power said on Tuesday it would resume a survey into whether it could build a new reactor at Mihama in Fukui prefecture. The project had been suspended after a tsunami in 2011 caused the country’s worst nuclear power accident. Resuming the review marks the first push by a Japanese power company to advance concrete plans to construct a nuclear energy plant from scratch since the disaster.” 

COP30 must make good on past climate commitments

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, former UN under-secretary-general Carlos Lopes and former French ambassador and current European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana wrote for Project Syndicate saying that Brazil’s COP30 presidency “must eschew flashy results in favour of pragmatic pathways to deliver on past agreements”. 

They said: “Fortunately, Brazil recognises this. Its fourth letter to the international community outlines an action agenda aimed at making progress on what the world has ‘already collectively agreed’ during previous COPs and in the Paris climate agreement. Specifically, the agenda seeks to leverage existing initiatives to complete the implementation of the first ‘global stocktake’ under the Paris Agreement, which was concluded at COP28. This focus on previously agreed outcomes is well-suited to the current geopolitical context, in which any agreement can be difficult to reach.”

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