COP 26 Outcomes

The UNFCCC COP 26 Climate Conference was held in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021. Many world leaders including President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the Conference.

According to UNFCCC, the main outcomes of the Conference were:

Mitigation: 

• Over 90% of world GDP is now covered by net zero commitments.
• 153 countries put forward new 2030 emissions targets (NDCs). 
• Countries agreed to come back next year with new strengthened commitments and a new UN climate programme on mitigation ambition
• Countries finalised the Paris Rulebook, agreeing the ‘enhanced transparency framework’ (common reporting of emissions and support), a new mechanism and standards for international carbon markets, and common timeframes for emissions reductions targets.
• There were commitments to move away from coal power, halt and reverse deforestation, reduce methane emissions and speed up the switch to electric vehicles.

Adaptation & Loss and Damage: 

• 80 countries are now covered by either Adaptation Communications or National Adaptation Plans to increase preparedness to climate risks.
• The Glasgow - Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation was agreed. 
• Record amounts of adaptation finance have been pledged, including committing to doubling 2019 levels of adaptation finance by 2025. This is the first time an adaptation specific financing goal has ever been agreed globally. 
• Nations have announced new partnerships to improve access to finance, including for Indigenous Peoples. 
• A new Glasgow Dialogue on Loss and Damage funding arrangements was created. 
• The Santiago Network on Loss and Damage was brought to life through clear functions and funding.

Finance: 

• Developed countries have made progress towards delivering the $100
• billion climate finance goal and will reach it by 2023 at the latest. 
• 34 countries and five public finance institutions will stop international
• support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector next year. 
• Private financial institutions and central banks are moving to realign trillions towards global net zero. 
• Developed countries committed significantly increased funding to vital funds such as the Least Developed Countries Fund.

Collaboration: 

• The Glasgow outcomes will accelerate collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society to deliver on climate goals faster, whilst collaborative councils and dialogues in energy, electric vehicles, shipping and commodities will help deliver on commitments.

Amendments proposed to the Forest Conservation Act

 What are the amendments proposed to the Forest Conservation Act and their implications?

On October 2, 2021, MoEFCC released a proposal to amend several aspects of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA). 

In the Godavarman v Union of India case, the Supreme Court had in 1996 expanded the definition and scope of forest land to include all areas recorded as forest in any government record, irrespective of ownership, recognition and classification. Previously, the Act had applied largely to reserve forests and national parks. The court also expanded the definition of forests to encompass the “dictionary meaning of forests”, meaning that a forested patch would automatically become a “deemed forest” even if it is not notified as protected. The order was also to plantations in non-forest land.

The proposed amendments seem to change the Court’s definition of forest. The general thrust of the changes is to deregulate forest resources so that they can be exploited even more than now for the sake of ‘development’. The proposed key amendments are:

• All land acquired by the Railways and Roads Ministries prior to 1980 will be exempted from the Act. These Ministries will no longer need clearance for their projects, nor pay compensatory levies to build there.
• For individuals whose lands fall in the category of forest as defined by the Act and the Court Order, the amendment will allow “construction of structures for bona fide purposes’’ including residential units up to 250 sq m as a one-time relaxation.
• Defence projects near international borders will be exempted from forest clearance.
• Oil and natural gas extraction from forested lands will be permitted, but only if technologies such as Extended Reach Drilling are used.
• Levies for non-forestry purposes during the renewal of a lease will be scrapped, the argument being that the double levy at the time of awarding of the lease and the renewal is “not rational”.
• Strip plantations alongside roads that would fall under the Act will be exempted.

Environmentalists and activists have these concerns:

• The creation of exceptions to the requirement of forest clearances goes directly against the legal requirement that forest rights be recognized and the consent of the gram sabha be obtained before the conversion of a forest.
• The relaxation of forest rules will facilitate corporate ownership and the disappearance of large tracts of forests.
• With the exemption of forests on private land, many forests will disappear. For instance, 4% land in Uttarakhand falls under private forests.

Speech by PM Narendra Modi at UNFCCC COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

Speech by PM  Narendra Modi at UNFCCC COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 2, 2021

Friends,

Today I am representing amid you, the land which gave this mantra thousands of years ago-

सम्-गच्छ-ध्वम्,
सम्-व-दद्वम् ,
सम् वो मानसि जानताम्।

Today in the 21st century, this mantra has become more important, has become more relevant.

सम्-गच्छ-ध्वम् – That is, let’s move together सम्-व-दद्वम् – That is, let’s all interact togetherand सम् वो मनानसि जानताम् – That is, everyone’s minds should also be one.

When I first came to Paris for the Climate Summit, it was not my intention to add one promise to the many promises being made in the world. I came with a concern, for the whole of humanity. I came as a representative of a culture that gave the message of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ means that everyone should be happy.

And so, for me the event in Paris was not a summit, it was a sentiment, a commitment. And India was not making those promises to the world, but 125 crore Indians were making those promises to themselves.

And I am happy that a developing country like India, which is working to lift crores of people out of poverty, which is working day and night on the Ease of Living for crores of people, despite having 17% of the world’s population today, whose responsibility in emissions has been only 5%, still India has left no stone unturned to show that it has fulfilled its obligation.

Today the whole world believes that India is the only big economy, which has delivered in letter and spirit on the Paris Commitment. We are making every effort with determination, working hard, and showing results.

Today, when I have come among you, I have also brought India’s track record. My words are not just words, they are cheers of bright future for the future generations. Today India is at number four in the world in installed renewable energy capacity. India’s non-fossil fuel energy has increased by more than 25% in the last 7 years. And now it has reached 40% of our energy mix.

Passengers numbering more than the entire population of the world travel by Indian Railways every year. This huge railway system has set itself a target of making itself ‘Net Zero’ by 2030. This initiative alone will lead to a reduction of 60 million tonnes of emissions annually. Similarly, our massive LED bulb campaign is reducing emissions by 40 million tonnes annually. Today, India is working fast on many such initiatives with a strong will.

Along with this, India has also given institutional solutions to cooperate with the world at the international level. As a revolutionary step in solar power, we initiated the International Solar Alliance. We have created a coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure for climate adaptation. This is a sensitive and vital initiative to save crores of lives.

I would like to draw your attention to one more important topic. Today the world is recognizing that lifestyle has a big role in climate change. I propose to you today a One-Word Movement. This One-Word, in the context of climate, can become the basic foundation of One World. This word is  LIFE, that is, Lifestyle For Environment Today. There is a need for all of us to come together with collective participation to take Lifestyle For Environment (LIFE) forward as a campaign. This can become a mass movement of Environmentally Conscious Lifestyle. 

What is needed today is mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of mindless and destructive consumption. These movements together can set goals that can revolutionize many sectors such and diverse areas such as fishing, agriculture, wellness, dietary choices, packaging, housing, hospitality, tourism, clothing, fashion, water management, and energy.

These are topics where each of us has to make conscious choices every day. These daily choices of billions of people around the world will take the fight against climate change, billions of steps forward every day. And I consider it as a movement on every ground whether on economic grounds, on scientific grounds, on the basis of the experiences of the past century, it meets every criterion. This is the path of self-realization. This is the only way to benefit.

In the midst of this global brainstorming on climate change, on behalf of India, I would like to present five nectar elements, Panchamrit, to deal with this challenge:

1. India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
2. India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
3. India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030.
4. By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45%.
5. By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero. 

These Panchamrits will be an unprecedented contribution of India to climate action.

We all know this truth that the promises made till date regarding climate finance have proved to be hollow. While we all are raising our ambitions on climate action, the world ambitions on climate finance cannot remain the same as they were at the time of the Paris Agreement. Today, when India has resolved to move forward with a new commitment and a new energy, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies becomes more important. India expects developed countries to provide climate finance of US$1 trillion at the earliest. Today it is necessary that, as we track the progress made in climate mitigation, we should also track climate finance. The proper justice would be that the countries which do not live up to their promises made on climate finance, must be pressured too.

Today India is moving forward on the subject of climate with great courage and great ambition. India also understands the suffering of all other developing countries, shares them, and will continue to express their expectations.

For many developing countries, climate change is looming large over their existence. We have to take big steps today to save the world. This is the need of the hour and this will also prove the relevance of this forum. I am confident that the decisions taken in Glasgow will save the future of our future generations, giving them the gift of a secure and prosperous life.

Speaker Sir, I took more time, I apologize to you, but I consider it as my duty to raise the voice of developing countries. That’s why I have emphasized on that too. I once again thank you very much.

2021 WMO Provisional State of the Global Climate 2021 Report

On October 31, 2021, the day of the opening of the COP 26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, UK, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released ‘The Provisional State of the Global Climate 2021 report.’

The key messages of the report on 2021 climate were:

Greenhouse Gases: 

• Atmospheric concentrations of the major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, continued to increase in 2020 and 2021. The growth rate of all three greenhouse gases in 2020 was above the average for the last decade despite a 5.6% drop in fossil fuel CO2 emissions in 2020 due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Global warming: 

• Global mean temperature in 2021 (January to September) is around 1.08 ±0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average and the year is likely to be between the 5th and 7th warmest year on record. 2021 is cooler than recent years owing to La Niña conditions early in the year. 

Sea level and Ocean: 

• The rate of global sea level rise has increased since satellite altimeter measurements began in 1993, reaching 4.4 mm/yr between 2013 and 2021. Global mean sea level reached a new record high in 2021. 
• Ocean heat content reached new record highs in 2019 and then 2020, the latest year for which a comprehensive analysis is available. Ocean warming rates show a particularly strong increase in the past two decades. 

Global Cryosphere:

• Changes in the global cryosphere in 2021 were consistent with recent multi-decadal trends, with below-normal Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover and end-of-summer Arctic sea ice area, negative mass balances on mountain glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets, and near-normal Antarctic sea ice cover. 
• The summer heat wave in western North America took a toll on the region's mountain glaciers, with exceptional mass losses in the Cascade, southern Coast, and Rocky Mountains. Mass loss at some glaciers in southwestern British Columbia was the greatest in the instrumental record (1965-2021). 
• Greenland experienced an exceptional mid-August melt event which included temperatures above 0°C and rainfall at Summit Station, the highest point on the ice sheet. This is the first time that rain has been observed at Summit, and marks the third time in the last nine years that the Summit has experienced melting conditions. Ice core records indicate that only one such melt event occurred in the 20th century. 

Extreme Weather Events:

• Exceptional heatwaves affected western North America on several occasions during June and July. Lytton, in south-central British Columbia, reached 49.6 °C on 29 June, breaking the previous Canadian national record by 4.6 °C. 569 heat-related deaths were reported in British Columbia alone between 20 June and 29 July. 
• Death Valley, California reached 54.4 °C on 9 July, equalling a similar 2020 value as the highest recorded in the world since at least the 1930s. 
• Extreme heat affected the broader Mediterranean region on several occasions during the second half of the Northern Hemisphere summer. The most exceptional heat was in the second week of August. On 11 August, an agrometeorological station near Syracuse in Sicily reached 48.8 °C, a provisional European record. 
• The most significant hurricane of the North Atlantic season was Ida. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on 29 August with sustained 1-minute winds of 240 km/h, the equal-strongest landfall on record for the state, with major wind damage and storm surge inundation. The system continued on a northeast track over land with significant flooding, especially in the New York City area. In total, 72 direct and 43 indirect deaths were attributed to Ida in the US and Venezuela, with economic losses in the United States estimated at US$63.8 billion. 
• Extreme rainfall hit Henan Province of China from 17 to 21 July. On 20 July, the city of Zhengzhou received 201.9 mm of rainfall in one hour (a Chinese national record), 382 mm in 6 hours, and 720 mm for the event as a whole, more than its annual average. The city experienced extreme flash flooding with many buildings, roads and subways inundated. 302 deaths were attributed to the flooding, and economic losses of US$17.7 billion were reported. 
• Western Europe experienced some of its most severe flooding on record in mid-July. The worst-affected area was western Germany and eastern Belgium, where 100 to 150 mm fell over a wide area on 14-15 July over wet ground. The highest daily rainfall was 162.4 mm at Wipperfürth-Gardenau (Germany). Numerous rivers experienced extreme flooding, with several towns inundated, and there were also several landslides. 179 deaths were reported in Germany and 36 in Belgium, with economic losses in Germany exceeding US$20 billion.

India:

• The progress and withdrawal of the Indian Monsoon was delayed but overall Indian monsoon rainfall was close to average, with above-average falls in the west offset by below-average values in the northeast. During the course of the season, 529 deaths in India and 198 in Pakistan (as of 30 September) were attributed to flooding with further deaths in Bangladesh and Nepal6.
• The most severe cyclone of the North Indian Ocean season was Tauktae, which tracked north off the west coast of India, with a peak 3-minute sustained wind speed76 of 50-53 m/s, before making landfall in Gujarat on 17 May at slightly below peak intensity, the equal strongest known landfall in Gujarat. At least 144 deaths were reported in India and 4 in Pakistan77. 
• Later in the season, Cyclone Gulab crossed the eastern coast of India from the Bay of Bengal in late September; the remnant system crossed India before emerging and re-intensifying in the Arabian Sea, where it was renamed Shaheen. 
• Shaheen made landfall on 3 October on the northern Oman coast northwest of Muscat, the first cyclone since 1890 to make landfall in this area. Al Suwaiq recorded 294 mm rain in 24 hours, about three times the region’s annual average. 39 deaths were reported across India, Pakistan, Oman and Iran, mostly from flooding.

2021 World Population Data Sheet Released

The 2021 World Population Data Sheet released by the US Population Reference Bureau in August 2021 gives these messages:

• World population in mid-2021 is estimated to be 7.8 billion.
• While COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live and work in the short-term, it will be years before we have a full understanding of the pandemic’s longer-term impact on populations.
• COVID-19 is likely the cause of an increase in crude death rates in some countries around the world and a dip in life expectancy in the United States. 
• While the pandemic’s impact on fertility rates is still largely unknown, the global population is on course to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, a nearly 24% increase over 2020.

• India is projected to have the greatest absolute increase in population size of any country between 2021 and 2050, rising nearly 246 million to 1.64 billion.
• China, Thailand, and Ukraine are among 39 countries and territories projected to have smaller populations by 2050.
• Globally, the total fertility rate dropped from 3.2 in 1990 to 2.3 in 2020. But wide variations can be found across regions, ranging from 4.7 in sub-Saharan Africa to 1.3 in East Asia and Southern Europe.
• Global life expectancy at birth is 75 years for women and 71 years for men.

First UN Food Systems Summit

The UN hosted the inaugural Food Systems Summit on September 23, 2021, uniting global leaders in a drive to find novel ways to produce healthy fare for the world’s growing population without harming the planet. It was a virtual held during the UN General Assembly in New York. The summit brought together governments, businesses, farmers, indigenous peoples, youth, academics and citizens to produce a detailed roadmap to a world where good food is affordable and accessible and produced with minimal damage to the natural systems that sustain life on Earth. 

The UN Food Systems Summit saw over 51,000 people tuned in from 193 countries, all ready to tackle global hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss for true food systems transformation.

Over the previous 18 months, the Summit had brought together all UN Member States and constituencies around the world – including thousands of youth, food producers, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, researchers, private sector, and the UN system – to bring about tangible, positive changes to the world’s food systems. As a people’s summit and a solutions summit, it recognized that everyone, everywhere must take action and work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes, and thinks about food.

Five action areas emerged through the process as the primary areas to accelerate action in order to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through food systems:

• Nourish All People
• Boost Nature-Based Solutions of Production
• Build Resilience to Vulnerabilities, Shocks, and Stresses
• Advance Equitable Livelihoods, Decent Work, & Empowered Communities 
• Means of Implementation

The first-ever UN Food Systems Summit saw nearly 300 commitments from hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and across all constituencies to accelerate action and to transform food systems. On behalf of India, NITI Aayog submitted a paper on National Pathways for Food Systems Transformation. Many Indian NGOs and other groups have submitted their commitments to the Registry.

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Das Gupta Review

The UK Government commissioned Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta of the University of Cambridge, to lead an independent, global Review on the Economics of Biodiversity. The Review was released in early 2021. The key messages of the Review were: 

• Our economies, livelihoods and well-being all depend on our most precious asset: Nature. Biodiversity enables Nature to be productive, resilient and adaptable.
• We have collectively failed to engage with Nature sustainably, to the extent that our demands far exceed its capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on. Estimates show that between 1992 and 2014, produced capital per person doubled, and human capital per person increased by about 13% globally; but the stock of natural capital per person declined by nearly 40%.
• Our unsustainable engagement with Nature is endangering the prosperity of current and future generations. 
• Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing.
• At the heart of the problem lies deep-rooted, widespread institutional failure. Nature’s worth to society – the true value of the various goods and services it provides – is not reflected in market prices because much of it is open to all at no monetary charge. These pricing distortions have led us to invest relatively more in other assets, such as produced capital, and underinvest in our natural assets.
• The solution starts with understanding and accepting a simple truth: our economies are embedded within Nature, not external to it. While most models of economic growth and development recognize that Nature is capable only of producing a finite flow of goods and services, the focus has been to show that technological progress can, in principle, overcome that exhaustibility. This is to imagine that, ultimately, humanity is ‘external’ to Nature. 
• The Review develops the economics of biodiversity on the understanding that we – and our economies – are ‘embedded’ within Nature, not external to it. 
• We need to change how we think, act and measure success. We should:
• Ensure that our demands on Nature do not exceed its supply, and that we increase Nature’s supply relative to its current level.
• Change our measures of economic success to guide us on a more sustainable path. Introducing natural capital into national accounting systems would be a critical step towards making inclusive wealth our measure of progress.
• Transform our institutions and systems – in particular our finance and education systems – to enable these changes and sustain them for future generations.
• Transformative change is possible – we and our descendants deserve nothing less.

Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: UNICEF Report

In late August 2021, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report entitled “The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis”. The report examines the impact of the rapidly deteriorating global climate on children.

Here are the key messages of the report:

The climate crisis is the defining human and child’s rights challenge of this generation, and is already having a devastating impact on the well-being of children globally. We are up against, and crossing, key planetary boundaries. And as a result, the climate crisis is creating a child’s rights crisis. 

• A billion children across the world are at “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change.
• 820 million children (over one third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to heatwaves. 
• 400 million children (nearly 1 in 6 children globally) are currently highly exposed to cyclones. 
• 330 million children (1 in 7 children globally) are currently highly exposed to riverine flooding. 
• 240 million children (1 in 10 children globally) are currently highly exposed to coastal flooding. 
• 920 million children (over one-third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to water scarcity 
• 600 million children (over 1 in 4 children globally) are currently highly exposed to vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, among others 
• 2 billion children (almost 90% of children globally) are currently highly exposed to severe air pollution. 
• 815 million children (over one-third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to lead pollution due to exposures in contaminated air, water, soil and food. 

Millions of children live in areas that experience multiple, overlapping climate and environmental hazards:

• 330 million children are exposed to at least 5 of these overlapping climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses. 
• 80 million children are exposed to at least 6 of these overlapping climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses.

Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI)

This report provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change through the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI). The CCRI is structured according to two central pillars: Pillar (1) Exposure to climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses; 

Pillar (2) Child vulnerability. Across the two categories, the CCRI brings 57 variables together to measure risk across every country and region.

Globally, approximately 1 billion children (nearly half of the world’s children) live in extremely high-risk countries. Out of the countries assessed, here are some of the country ranks (Rank 1 extremely high-risk to Rank 163 the least risk):

1. Central African Republic

2. Chad

14. Pakistan

15. Afghanistan

15. Bangladesh 

26. India

40. China

61. Sri Lanka

80. US

90. Russia

117. Canada

154. Norway

163. Iceland

The highest-risk places on Earth contribute least to the causes of climate change – the 33 extremely high-risk countries emit less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions The 10 most extremely high-risk countries emit only 0.5% of global emissions.

Hope 

While the outlook is dire, there is room for optimism and hope. We can reimagine an environment fit for children. One of the biggest reasons for hope is the power of children and young people. Listening and responding to ALL children and young people’s perspectives on climate change is critical. COVID-19 has added a new dimension to this challenge, but the recovery process is also an opportunity to make the changes that are necessary.

Achieving an environment fit for children will require a whole-of-society response: 

• Increase investment in climate adaptation and resilience in key services for children. To protect children, communities and the most vulnerable from the worst impacts of the already changing climate, critical services must be adapted, including water, sanitation and hygiene systems, health and education services. 
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, comprehensive and urgent action is required. Countries must cut their emissions by at least 45% (compared to 2010 levels) by 2030 to keep warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. 
• Provide children with climate education and greens skills, critical for their adaptation to and preparation for the effects of climate change. Children and young people will face the full devastating consequences of the climate crisis and water insecurity, yet they are the least responsible. We have a duty to all young people and future generations. 
• Include young people in all national, regional and international climate negotiations and decisions, including at COP26. Children and young people must be included in all climate-related decision making. 
• Ensure the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is green, low-carbon and inclusive, so that the capacity of future generations to address and respond to the climate crisis is not compromised. 

Bracing for Climate Impact: Renewables as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

In August 2021, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released a report “Bracing for Climate Impact: Renewables as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.”

The impacts of climate change are being seen with increasing frequency and intensity around the world. Climate change mitigation (action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) remains vital but is just one of the two main pillars of climate change response. The critical importance of the second pillar, adaptation (action to adjust to and protect against the impacts of climate change), has gained significant recognition in recent years, and an increasing flow of finance to adaptation activities is being seen at the international and national levels. Many climate adaptation strategies require considerable energy use, yet the role of reliable, affordable and modern renewable energy services in climate adaptation is not widely acknowledged in policy making or practice.

This report discusses the benefits of renewables-based adaptation and illustrates the importance of renewable energy within an integrated mitigation-adaptation approach to climate action. The key messages of the three main areas explored in the report are:

1. Strategic role of renewable energy in climate change

adaptation and in mitigation-adaptation synergies

• Renewable energy can significantly contribute to climate change adaptation and create opportunities for innovative practices to address climate change. Renewables-based adaptation solutions promote mitigation and reinforce adaptation efforts synchronously across many sectors. As a versatile energy resource, renewables can serve a broad range of adaptation needs and provide benefits that other resources cannot deliver. 
• Renewables allow implementation of energy-intensive adaptation solutions – such as air conditioning, desalination and irrigation – with net-zero emissions. 
• Distributed renewable energy solutions (technologies that provide power outside a central grid) can create a resilient energy system, and therefore support vital adaptation measures, for the most vulnerable communities. 
• Renewables can also deliver non-energy services that contribute to climate adaptation. This multifunctionality enables renewable energy technologies to provide additional forms of resilience to climate change. For instance, the multipurpose nature of hydropower and bioenergy technologies is well recognised, and their non-energy services have been used in real adaptation projects, such as solar shading (e.g. honey production under solar panels to improve food security) to reduce evaporation on agricultural land; use of byproducts from biogas facilities to make organic fertiliser; and water harvesting from hydropower dams. 

2. Planning and financing for renewables-based adaptation

• Many countries recognise renewable energy as a synergistic mitigation-adaptation measure and incorporate it into their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term development strategies under the Paris Agreement. Of the 190 countries that had submitted NDCs by the end of 2020, 64 (34%) had incorporated renewable energy into the adaptation component. 
• Although most of those countries describe renewable energy as an adaptation measure for the energy sector (diversifying energy mix and increasing the resilience of the sector), its use for adaptation in other sectors, such as water, food and agriculture, is also frequently mentioned. 
• Climate finance provided and mobilised for adaptation activities has significantly increased, rising to USD 16.8 billion in 2018 and accounting for 21% of total climate finance, up from 17% in 2016. However, a considerable amount of adaptation finance remains untapped, and renewables-based adaptation could be a prime candidate for these funding opportunities. For instance, the Green Climate Fund has been mandated since 2014 to deliver half its portfolio to adaptation projects, and in 2019 the World Bank announced it would boost its adaptation financing to USD 50 billion by 2025, ensuring that over half its climate finance will go to adaptation. Projects involving renewable energy for adaptation are gaining ground: they already compose around 42% and 60% of projects for adaptation in the financial aid of the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund, respectively.

3. The way forward for renewables-based climate adaptation

solutions

• A holistic approach needs to be taken to integrate renewable energy into the climate change adaptation process at all levels of upstream and downstream decision making. This integrated and holistic approach would help identify the contribution of renewable energy to adaptation, promote synergies with mitigation and sustainable development, and maximise the overall benefits of renewable energy while minimising trade-offs.
• A clear framework provides a strong basis for climate adaptation; it is therefore critical that countries establish a clear climate rationale, based on the best available science, through which renewable energy technologies can be embedded in adaptation policies, programmes and projects. A cross-sectoral approach is essential, and a range of stakeholders should be engaged from the early stage to identify synergies, avoid conflict, decrease implementation costs, and significantly improve project success.
• Renewables may contribute more than one adaptation, mitigation or sustainable development objective, while producing greater impact with fewer resources.
• Renewable energy options must be integrated into short- and mid- to long-term decision-making and planning processes to mainstream, structure and scale up renewable energy adaptation projects. This integration can be best realised by (i) creating an enabling environment for private investors to catalyse private financing and supplement public spending, (ii) ensuring the engagement of finance ministries in adaptation planning, and (iii) engaging international climate finance.

As climate risks keep changing with time, and multiple sectors interact with one another, projects should include continually evolving processes for monitoring, learning and managing changes. Good practice-based policy, monitoring and evaluation will generate lessons learnt and present practical solutions for clean energy deployment in different sectors.

IPCC WG1 Sixth Assessment Report: Code Red for Humanity

In early August 2021, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Working Group I report, Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis. This was the first installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed in 2022. The assessment is based on improved data on historical warming, as well as progress in scientific understanding of the response of the climate system to human-caused emissions.

Key messages of the Report

• Human activities affect all major climate system components, with some responding over decades and others over centuries.
• The evidence is clear that carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the main driver of climate change, even as other greenhouse gases and air pollutants also affect the climate.
• Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since 1850-1900. Averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming. 
• In the coming decades climate changes will increase in all regions. 
• For 1.5°C of global warming, there will be increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons. At 2°C of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health. 
• Climate change is bringing multiple different changes in different regions – which will all increase with further warming. These include changes to wetness and dryness, to winds, snow and ice, coastal areas and oceans. For example:

• Climate change is intensifying the water cycle. This brings more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions.
• Climate change is affecting rainfall patterns. In high latitudes, precipitation is likely to increase, while it is projected to decrease over large parts of the subtropics. Changes to monsoon precipitation are expected, which will vary by region.
• Coastal areas will see continued sea level rise throughout the 21st century, contributing to more frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-lying areas and coastal erosion. Extreme sea level events that previously occurred once in 100 years could happen every year by the end of this century.
• Further warming will amplify permafrost thawing, and the loss of seasonal snow cover, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and loss of summer Arctic sea ice.
• Changes to the ocean, including warming, more frequent marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, and reduced oxygen levels have been clearly linked to human influence. These changes affect both ocean ecosystems and the people that rely on them, and they will continue throughout at least the rest of this century.
• For cities, some aspects of climate change may be amplified, including heat (since urban areas are usually warmer than their surroundings), flooding from heavy precipitation events and sea level rise in coastal cities.
• Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.
• Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach. However, strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change. While benefits for air quality would come quickly it could take 20-30 years to see global temperatures stabilize.

For the first time, the Sixth Assessment Report provides a more detailed regional assessment of climate change, including a focus on useful information that can inform risk assessment, adaptation, and other decision-making, and a new framework that helps translate physical changes in the climate – heat, cold, rain, drought, snow, wind, coastal flooding and more – into what they mean for society and ecosystems.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “The Working Group's report is nothing less than a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable…. The internationally agreed threshold of 1.5°C is perilously close.  We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5°C in the near term.  The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts and pursuing the most ambitious path.”

Leaked IPCC draft report warns of accelerating climate devastation

In June 2021, a 4000-page draft report of the IPCC was leaked to the press. It is a part of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report to be published in stages from late 2021. The document warns of sweeping impacts on weather events, food, ecosystems, and disease—changes expected even if global temperature rise is kept under the Paris climate agreement's second threshold of 2°C. It also calls for systems-wide changes to avert a worst-case climate scenario.

The key messages of the leaked report were:

• With 1.1 deg C of warming clocked so far, the climate is already changing. 
• Global warming will trigger tipping points in Earth’s natural systems, which will lead to widespread and possibly irrevocable disaster, unless action is taken urgently.
• Tipping points are triggered when temperatures reach a certain level, whereby one impact rapidly leads to a series of cascading events with vast repercussions. The draft details at least 12 potential tipping points. Some examples are:
• As rising temperatures lead to the melting of Arctic permafrost, the unfreezing soil releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that in turn causes more heating.
• The melting of polar ice sheets, which once under way may be almost impossible to reverse even if carbon emissions are rapidly reduced, and which would raise sea levels catastrophically over many decades.
• The possibility of the Amazon rainforest switching suddenly to savannah, which scientists have said could come quickly and with relatively small temperature rises.
• The impacts are likely to be much closer than most people realise and will fundamentally reshape life in the coming decades even if greenhouse gas emissions are brought under some control.

• Tens of millions more people are likely to face chronic hunger by 2050, and 130 million more could experience extreme poverty within a decade if inequality is allowed to deepen.
• In 2050, coastal cities on the “front line” of the climate crisis will see hundreds of millions of people at risk from floods and increasingly frequent storm surges made more deadly by rising seas.
• Some 350 million more people living in urban areas will be exposed to water scarcity from severe droughts at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming – 410 million at two degrees Celsius.
• That extra half-a-degree will also mean 420 million more people exposed to extreme and potentially lethal heatwaves.

• Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas – these and other devastating climate effects are accelerating and are bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30.
• Current levels of adaptation will be inadequate to respond to future climate risks. We need transformational change operating on processes and behaviours at all levels: individual, communities, business, institutions and governments. We must redefine our way of life and consumption.
• The worst is yet to come, affecting our children’s and grandchildren’s lives much more than our own. Life on Earth can recover from a drastic climate shift by evolving into new species and creating new ecosystems … humans cannot.

PM Modi’s Address at the UN High-level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought

On June 14, 2021, the UN General Assembly held a High-level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought. Indian PM Narendra Modi spoke at the meeting in his capacity as the President of UNCCD COP 14, which was held in New Delhi in 2019. The key messages of his speech are given below:

• Land is the fundamental building block for supporting all lives and livelihoods and all of us understand that the web of life functions as an interconnected system.
• Sadly, land degradation affects over two-thirds of the world today. If left unchecked it will erode the very foundations of our societies, economies, food security, health, safety and quality of life. Therefore we have to reduce the tremendous pressure on land and its resources. Clearly a lot of work lies ahead of us. But we can do it. We can do it together.
• In India we have always given importance to land and considered the sacred Earth as our mother. India has taken the lead to highlight land degradation issues at international forums. The Delhi Declaration of 2019 called for better access and stewardship over land, and emphasised gender-sensitive transformative projects.
• In India, over the last 10 years, around 3 million ha of forest cover has been added. This has enhanced the combined forest cover to almost one fourth of the country's total area. We are on track to achieve our national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality. We are also working towards restoring 26 million ha of degraded land by 2030. This would contribute to India's commitment to achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
• We believe that restoration of land will start a virtuous cycle of good soil health, increased land productivity, food security and improved livelihoods. In many parts of India we have taken up some novel approaches. To give you just one example: The Banni region in Rann of Kutch in Gujarat suffers from highly degraded land and receives very little rainfall. In that region land restoration is done by developing grasslands which helps in achieving land degradation neutrality. It also supports pastoral activities and livelihood by promoting animal husbandry. In the same spirit we need to devise effective strategies for land restoration while promoting indigenous techniques.
• Land degradation poses a special challenge to the developing world. In the spirit of South-South cooperation, India is assisting fellow developing countries to develop land restoration strategies. A Centre of Excellence is being set up in India to promote a scientific approach towards land degradation issues.
• It is mankind's collective responsibility to reverse the damage to land caused by human activity. It is our sacred duty to leave a healthy planet for our future generations. 

New climate predictions increase likelihood of temporarily reaching 1.5 °C in next 5 years

In late May 2021, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, produced by the UK Met Office, the WMO lead centre for such predictions.

Recall that the WMO’s report on the State of the Global Climate 2020, released in April, said that in 2020 – one of the three warmest years on record – the global average temperature was 1.2 °C above the pre-industrial baseline. That report highlighted the acceleration in climate change indicators like rising sea levels, melting sea ice, and extreme weather, as well as worsening impacts on socio-economic development.

The Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update confirms that trend. The key messages of the Update were:

• There is about a 40% chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level in at least one of the next five years – and these odds are increasing with time. 
• There is a 90% likelihood of at least one year between 2021-2025 becoming the warmest on record, which would dislodge 2016 from the top ranking

• Annual mean global (land and sea) mean near-surface temperature is likely to be at least 1°C warmer than preindustrial levels (defined as the 1850-1900 average) in each of the coming 5 years and is very likely to be within the range 0.9 – 1.8°C.
• It is very unlikely (10%) that the 5 year mean annual global near-surface temperature for 2021-2025 will be 1.5°C warmer than preindustrial levels.
• Over 2021-2025, almost all regions, except parts of the southern oceans and the North Atlantic are likely to be warmer than the recent past (defined as the 1981-2010 average).
• Over 2021-2025, high latitude regions and the Sahel are likely to be wetter than the recent past.
• Over 2021-2025 there is an increased chance of more tropical cyclones in the Atlantic compared to the recent past.
• In 2021, large land areas in the Northern Hemisphere are likely to be over 0.8°C warmer than the recent past.
• In 2021, the Arctic (north of 60°N) is likely to have warmed by more than twice as much as the global mean compared to the recent past.
• In 2021, southwestern North America is likely to be drier than the recent past whereas the Sahel region and Australia are likely to be wetter.

Prof. Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, had this to say about the Update:

“These are more than just statistics. Increasing temperatures mean more melting ice, higher sea levels, more heatwaves and other extreme weather, and greater impacts on food security, health, the environment and sustainable development. This study shows – with a high level of scientific skill – that we are getting measurably and inexorably closer to the lower target of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It is yet another wakeup call that the world needs to fast-track commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.”

“The Update also underlines the need for climate adaptation. Only half of 193 WMO Members have state of the art early warning services. Countries should continue to develop the services that will be needed to support adaptation in climate-sensitive sectors – such as health, water, agriculture and renewable energy – and promote early warning systems that reduce the adverse impacts of extreme events. Besides limitations in early warning services we are having severe gaps in weather observations especially in Africa and island states. This has a major negative impact on the accuracy if the early warnings in those areas and globally. We need to invest in the basic networks as well.”

The Paris Agreement seeks to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2°C degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C. National commitments to cut emissions, known as nationally determined contributions, currently fall far short of what is needed to achieve this target.

The year 2021, and the crucial climate change negotiations, COP26, in November, have been widely described as a “make-or-break” chance to prevent climate change spiralling ever more out of control.