Syllabus- Global Environment Issues: Climate Change, Global Warming and its impact.
Number of questions- Mains: 02, Prelims – 10
Mains Questions of the day-
1.Climate change is leading to extreme weather events like high-intensity floods and landslides mostly in Coastal Ecosystem. There is a need for Climate Action Plan to tackle Climate challenges. What is climate Action Plan? What can be done to create an effective Climate Action Plan for coastal cities?
Introduction:
Define Climate Action Plan
Body:
- Mention the need for Climate Action Plan for Coastal Ecosystem
- Mention the measures can be done to create an effective Climate Action Plan for Coastal Cities
Conclusion:
- The impact of climate-change on coastal cities has strong strategic, economic, and political repercussions.
- There is an urgent need to integrate climate change, developmental projects and population growth in climate adaptation and mitigation policy
Content:
Climate Action Plan:
- A climate action plan is a detailed and strategic framework for measuring, planning, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related climatic impacts and provides preventative measures to address the negative outcomes of climate change.
- The plan demonstrates how the city will adapt and improve its resilience to climate hazards that impact the city as well as risks that may increase in the coming years.
Need of a Climate Action Plan for Coastal Cities: The following are the various reasons for need of a Climate Action Plan for Coastal Cities:
- Sea level rise and Coastal flooding:
- Hazards such as Storm surges, flooding etc.
- Infrastructure impacted due to coastal erosion.
- Water scarcity due to saltwater intrusion in groundwater reserves.
- Threat to coastal ecosystems: Sea level rise could erode and inundate coastal ecosystems and eliminate wetlands
- Extreme weather events like cyclones, heavy precipitation events, droughts, heatwaves etc:
- Catastrophic loss of life and property damage.
- According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), number and intensity of cyclones have increased in the Arabian Sea since the 1980s, threatening the densely populated coastal areas.
- Recently, Cyclone Tauktae impacted all five states (Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat), islands and territories (Lakshadweep, etc.) on the west coast.
- Changes in weather patterns, precipitation events land and ocean surface temperatures:
- Biological hazards: Higher temperatures and prolonged wet conditions lead to favorable conditions for the mosquitos, rodents and other animals that carry vector-borne diseases leading to increased occurrence of vector-borne and water-borne diseases.
- Reduced crop nutrition and yields, fish depletion and the loss of plant and insect species leading to increased food insecurity. weather events.
The following measures can be done to create an effective climate action plan for coastal cities:
- Proper implementation and funding support: Climate action plans for coastal city level should have clear short and long term implementable action and have necessary financial, institutional and policy support.
- Following Guiding Principles for Coastal City Climate Action Planning aimed at mitigation, adaptation and building local climate resilience.
- Preparing Coastal risk assessment using coastal data along with future climate projections to inform us how we can be disaster-proof and make our coastline resilient
- Improve access to Climate Information Services (CIS) to improve the ability of people to make informed decisions on how to capitalise upon or prepare for future conditions, increasing their vulnerability to climate shocks and food insecurity.
- Building capacity: To be effective, climate change action planning requires a comprehensive and integrated cross-sectoral approach, with actors working across administrative boundaries.
- Following the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules to develop and manage the coastal regions on scientific principles.
2.Recently, India laid out Climate Change Action Plan at COP26 in Glasgow. Mention the prevalent challenges related to India’s Climate Action:
Introduction:
Mention some highlights of India’s Commitment in COP26
Body:
- Mention the issues associated to the Climate Change mitigation.
- Mention the prevalent challenges of India’s Climate Action Plan.
Conclusion:
- Climate change is a big challenge and there are various aspects to it. Several aspects are being taken care of by the countries individually but a global united front also needs to be put up.
- Climate financing remains as the key aspect which will eventually fructify if the developing nations get the helping hand from the developed countries which is what is being referred to as climate equity.
Content:
India’s Commitments at the Summit: Five commitments from India towards climate action at COP26. These include:
- Taking India’s non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 gigawatt (GW) by 2030.
- Fulfilling 50% of India’s energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.
- Bringing down the carbon intensity of India’s economy by more than 45% by 2030.
- Cut down its net projected carbon emission by 1 billion tons from now until 2030.
- Achieve the target of net zero carbon emission by 2070.
- Climate Equity Monitor: India has also been pushing for climate equity in terms of actions which need to be taken by the developed countries to achieve climate and energy goals.
Issues Associated to Climate Change Mitigation:
- Unfulfilled Pledges:
There has been an acknowledgment even in the leaders’ commitments and speeches that accelerated action now is required and the world has not kept up with the pledges that are needed to be fulfilled to stay below 1.5℃ temperature rise by the end of the century.
- Restricted Flow of Funds:
- As per the two UNFCCC’s Biennial Assessment of Finance (2018), the actual flow of funds from the developed to developing countries amounts to only 38 billion dollars that too after the relaxed criteria adopted by the UNFCCC.
- The actual flow of funds meant for climate finance like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) or the Adaptation Fund is much less and therefore a lot of finance flows through the World Bank and similar institutions have to be repackaged as climate finance.
- Higher Adaptation to Mitigation Fund Difference:
Adaptation finance is much less in comparison to mitigation finance. The proportion is around 75:25 or 65:35. The larger one going for mitigation actions.
- Issues Raised in NDC Synthesis Report:
- In the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Synthesis Report, what is seen is that the developed countries who have pledged the 2050 carbon neutrality goal, even if their commitments are summed up, it really doesn’t add up too much.
- It is not even leading to 100% reduction in emissions. What is actually happening is that they are trying to shift the emission burden to developing countries.
- Issue Related to Net Zero Emissions:
- Net zero emissions means that a country can keep emitting Greenhouse Gases and it will purchase carbon credit from other countries and show itself to be net zero.
- It may be beneficial to some developing countries but the same is not the case at the global scale.
- The developed countries shall become carbon neutral by 2030, otherwise they will keep occupying the carbon space which will mean that the developing countries will be crowded out of the carbon space and will not have any carbon space in the coming years.
Prevalent challenges related to India’s Climate action:
- Coal dependency:
Multiple coal-fired power plants already in the works are still being built and approvals are being given for new domestic mines to be opened up.
- Balancing growth and environment:
For a country like India, committing to net zero transition could potentially have implications on growth, on the economy and on energy availability for industrialisation and urbanisation.
- Lack of ambition in India’s commitments:
- Delayed timeline for Net zero: Scientists have advised countries to go net zero latest by 2050 and move on to negative emissions to mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis.
- Focus on increasing total capacity rather than total consumption of renewable installed capacity.
- Absence of commitments relating to reduction in emissions from other energy-intensive sectors like transport sector and industries like cement, iron and steel, non-metallic minerals and chemicals.
- Rising emissions from agricultural sector:
India’s significant food and fertilizer subsidies contribute to climate change leading to high GHG emissions, especially in paddy cultivation.
- Need of investment:
India expects developed countries to provide climate finance of $1 trillion.
- Issues in implementation of the climate missions:
Like institutional, systemic and process barriers, including financial constraints, inter-ministerial coordination, lack of technical expertise and project clearance delays.
Prelims question of the day:
1.Which of the following represent the state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balance by removing them out of the atmosphere?
- Gross Zero Emissions
- Net Zero Emissions
- Negative Carbon Emissions
- Carbon sequestration
Answer: B
Explanation:
Net Zero Emission:
- Net-zero, also known as climate neutral, refers to a state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removing them out of the atmosphere.
- It is different from Gross zero, i.e., stopping all emissions to become climate neutral, as some sectors like agriculture can’t reach gross zero even with best of efforts.
2.Which of the represents the removing CO2 from the atmosphere more than it is emitted?
- Negative Carbon Emissions
- Carbon Footprint
- Carbon Sequestration
- Carbon neutral
Answer: A
Explanation:
Negative Carbon emissions:
- It means removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, or sequestering more CO₂ than is emitted.
- There are multiple ways of removing CO2 from the atmosphere, most of which fall into three broad categories:
- Nature-based solutions include afforestation, reforestation, restoration of coastal and marine habitats etc.
- Enhanced natural processes include land management approaches to increase the carbon content in soil through modern farming methods or ocean fertilisation in which nutrients are added to the ocean to increase its capacity to absorb CO2.
- Technology solutions include bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and direct capture of CO2 directly from the atmosphere.
3.Which of the following international Union pushes the Carbon Border Tax on imported goods from 2026?
- United Nation
- European Union
- NATO
- IUCN
Answer: B
Explanation:
Carbon Border Tax:
- As part of the European Union (EU) ambitious target of reducing 55% of carbon emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030 (Fit for 55 Initiative), it is pushing for the world’s first carbon border tax on imported goods Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 2026.
- It seeks to address carbon leakages i.e., companies decamp to places with cheaper pollution costs and looser climate regulations.
- A carbon border tax is a tax on carbon emissions imposed on imported goods from countries with less strict climate policies.
- It aims to create a level playing field between imports and domestic production.
- Developing countries, including India, have opposed CBAM calling it ‘discriminatory’ as it will ramp up prices of their goods in Europe and shrink demand.
- Also, it goes against the UN principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR–RC).
4.Which of the following represents the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent?
- Carbon Border Tax
- Carbon ionization
- Carbon credit
- Carbon Footprint
Answer: D
Explanation:
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
5.Which of the following represents the powerful climate forcers that remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the atmosphere can be many times greater?
- Carbon footprint
- Carbon credit
- Short-lived climate pollutants
- None
Answer: C
Explanation:
Short-lived climate pollutants
- They are powerful climate forcers that remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the atmosphere can be many times greater.
- Certain short-lived climate pollutants are also dangerous air pollutants that have harmful effects for people, ecosystems and agricultural productivity.
- The short-lived climate pollutants black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons are the most important contributors to the man-made global greenhouse effect after carbon dioxide, responsible for up to 45% of current global warming.
6.which of the following organisation releases the Emission Gap Report?
- World Metrological organization
- World Bank
- IMF
- UNEP
Answer: D
Explanation:
- Emissions Gap Report 2021 was recently released by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- About the report: The report in an annual series that provides an overview of the Emission gap- difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they should be to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
- Limited impact of New or updated Nationally Determined Contributions and announced pledges for 2030: Projected to reduce 2030 emissions by only 7.5 per cent, resulting in warming of 2.7°C (slightly less than the 3°C UNEP forecast in its last report).
- Emission reductions needed: A 30% cut to limit warming to 2°C and a 55% cut to limit to 1.5°C.
- Current net-zero targets could limit global warming to around 2.2°C by century’s end.
- The reduction of methane emissions from the fossil fuel, waste and agriculture sectors could help close the emissions gap and reduce warming in the short term.
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented 5.4 % drop in global fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2020.
- A strong rebound in emissions is expected in 2021.
7.Which of the following organisation launched the First Movers Coalition partnership?
- World Bank
- IMF
- UNEP
- World Economic Forum
Answer: D
Explanation:
First Movers Coalition (FMC):
- It is a public-private partnership launched by World Economic Forum in partnership with US and over 30 global businesses.
- It brings together global companies, with supply chains across carbon-intensive sectors, to invest in innovative green technologies so they are available for massive scale-up by 2030 to enable net-zero emissions by 2050.
8.Which of the following organization releases the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin?
- UNEP
- World Meteorological Organisation
- Internation Maritime Organisation
- IUCN
Answer: B
Explanation:
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently released Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
9.Which of the following country releases the panchamitra Climate Change Action Plan?
- India
- Indonesia
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
Answer: A
Explanation:
India’s Panchamrita:
Prime Minister of India laid out India’s climate change action plan (panchamrita) at the 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.
- ‘Panchamrita’ is a traditional method of mixing five natural foods — milk, ghee, curd, honey and jaggery. These are used in Hindu and Jain worship rituals. It is also used as a technique in Ayurveda.
- Under ‘Panchamrita’, India will:
- Get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030
- Meet 50% of its energy requirements till 2030 with renewable energy
- Reduce its projected carbon emission by one billion tonnes by 2030
- Reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030
- Achieve net zero by 2070
10.Which of the following represents the difference between actually implemented adaptation and a societal set goal, related to tolerated climate change impacts?
- Emission Gap
- Adaption Gap
- Net Zero Emissions
- Negative Emissions
Answer: B
Explanation:
Adaptation Gap:
- It is defined as the difference between actually implemented adaptation and a societal set goal, determined largely by preferences related to tolerated climate change impacts, and reflecting resource limitations and competing priorities.
- Adaptation is the process of reducing countries and communities’ vulnerability to climate change by increasing their ability to absorb impacts and remain resilient.