ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE: “Slow Progress” on Paris rule book, Extreme storms kill 278, Arctic sea ice melts again; Around 8% emissions from Tourism

“Slow Progress” at Bonn; India’s extreme storms kill nearly 280; Another heat wave at Arctic

UN climate talks ended in Bonn with “slow progress” on the “rule book” for Paris accord and a “diplomatic logjam” on the issue of cutting emissions. Disputes included how rich nations will raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing nations cope with warming and emissions.

Extra session will be held in Bangkok from September 3-8 before the conference to be held later this year in Poland which will become the only country to have hosted the COP four times after this crucial meeting. Poland has not led on climate ambition either within its country or as part of EU, and this remains cause of anxiety about what COP24 will deliver. Writing the “rule book” by December is the biggest test.

Nearly 100 people killed since Sunday, over 3 days, in storms across six Indian states, 278 have died since April. More died in 5 weeks, than all of 2017 (197 deaths). Experts said the severity and frequency of dust storms will rise with rising global temperature. With extreme rise in both minimum and maximum temperatures, such storms could become the new normal.

Meanwhile, a spike in temperature in the Arctic is dangerously thawing the sea ice yet again. The winter of 2017-2018 is witnessing extreme Arctic heat events, just like the region did in 2016. “Temperatures have been as much as 17 degrees Celsius above normal,” and the sea ice has taken a “huge nosedive” recently.

Need green clearance? Pay 2% fund; Massive tourism emissions

Centre’s new guidelines require every corporate seeking green clearance to set aside up to 2% of its capital investment for Corporate Environment Responsibility (CER). The mandatory CER will be over and above what is required for executing the environment management plan in a project-affected area.

Recent study has revealed global tourism to be a big warming villain: between 2009 and 2013, tourism’s global carbon footprint has increased from 3.9 to 4.5 GtCO2e, four times more than previously estimated, accounting for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The trillion-dollar industry will emit 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon emissions by 2025.

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