Cop-out

Author(s): Chandra Bhushan @Bh_Chandra 

Hopes were pinned on the latest UN climate summit at Lima. It was supposed to prepare the ground for a new climate deal that will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol at Paris in 2015. But the Lima talks pave the way for an inconsequential Paris treaty, which will make it nearly impossible to restrict global temperature rise to below 2C. An analysis byChandra Bhushan

Expectations were high at Lima that presented the last chance to get an ambitious climate agreement signed in 2015 (Source: OXFAM)

In the early hours of December 13, as I was leaving San Borja in Lima, the venue of the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the negotiators from 195 countries had just been handed over a draft text from the co-chairs for consideration. Twenty-four hours later, by the time my flight landed in Amsterdam, the deal was done and the final text was out. The text, titled Lima Call to Climate Action, this time was from the president of the COP.

In the last 24 hours of the Lima talks, co-chairs were sidelined, their draft decision was rejected, and the COP president Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who is also Peru’s environment minister, was asked by the Parties to prepare a new text, taking into consideration the views of different groups of countries. Ultimately, the Parties accepted the text proposed by the president.

In between the presentation of the two texts—one by the co-chairs and the other by the COP president—both developed and developing countries made compromises. They always do. But the question is who benefited and who lost from these compromises? Will these compromises help achieve an effective climate deal in Paris in 2015?

For the sake of clarity, Lima Call to Climate Action does not promise any new commitment from the Parties either on emissions cuts or on finance and technology transfer. It is nothing more than a template for the Parties to continue their negotiations at Paris, where a new global deal on climate change is to be signed to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol from 2020.

Dissension galore

From day one of the Lima talks, the fight was on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)—climate action plans that countries have agreed to submit before the Paris meeting. Lima COP was to finalise the kind of information that Parties should submit on INDCs so that their contributions could be compared and evaluated. The fight was on what all will go into the information and how the information would be used. (See ‘The Lima diary’) Developed countries insisted that INDCs were only about emissions cuts, or mitigation. Developing countries, on the other hand, wanted INDCs to include actions they would take in adapting to the changing climate as well as finance and technology support they would need from developed countries to undertake mitigation and adaptation. Developing countries also wanted the Lima text to reflect their desire to have strong commitments on “loss and damage” in Paris.

Delegates scramble for a copy of the revised ADP text (Photographs: Arjuna Srinidhi)

At the 19th Climate Conference in Warsaw in 2013, Parties had agreed to establish an international mechanism for “loss and damage” to help vulnerable developing countries cope with impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events. However, as per the Warsaw decisions, the discussion is scheduled to take place in 2016, a year after the Paris agreement. Developing countries, mainly the least developed and small island nations, however, want stronger commitments, especially financial, in Paris for loss and damage. They did not want this decision to be left for 2016 and, therefore, wanted the Lima text to reflect this.

This fight over what would go into INDCs took an ugly turn and almost derailed the talks in Lima. Developing countries accused the co-chairs—Artur Runge-Metzger from Germany and Kishan Kumarsingh from Trinidad and Tobago—of partisanship and doing the bidding of the developed countries, especially the members of the European Union.

There were other issues in INDCs as well. The vexing issue was related to the ex-ante review of INDCs. The EU had proposed that well before the Paris COP, countries should submit their INDCs, which should be formally reviewed for equity and ambition. It also wanted a review of how all INDCs add up to meet the goal of limiting global warming to less than 2oC.

In the beginning of the second week itself, India made it clear that it did not want any review of INDCs as it feared that such a review would be an unnecessary intrusion into its “national sovereignty”. In simple terms, India considers INDCs as domestic pledges and does not want anyone to say whether its pledges are equitable or ambitious or not. India was supported by the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC)—a group that includes developing countries as varied as Bolivia, Saudi Arabia and China.

The US also desired such a position. So none of the big polluters, except the EU, had any interest in the ex-ante review of INDCs.

Result: a compromised deal

To partly meet the demand of developing countries, the Lima text includes adaptation and loss and damage. For instance, it affirms (not decides) that the Parties will strengthen adaptation action under the Paris agreement in 2015.

The text also recalls and welcomes the progress made in Lima on Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, but makes no other commitments.

Major compromises were, however, made on INDCs.

• INDCs remain primarily about mitigation but countries have the option to include adaptation component. The final text does not mention finance or technology transfer in relation to INDCs.
• There has been a major dilution of the provision of information that Parties will submit on INDCs. In the text proposed by the co-chairs, it was a decision paragraph. It stated that the Parties shall provide a certain set of information on their INDCs that will allow clarity, transparency and understanding as well justify how their INDCs are fair and ambitious in light of their national circumstances. In final text, however, it has been converted into an agreement paragraph. That is, Parties, instead of deciding, will now only agree on what information to submit. The list of information to be submitted, though remains the same as the text of the co-chairs, has been made optional. Instead of “shall” it has become “may include”. This gives option to Parties to submit information of INDCs as they think appropriate. For instance, some may think it is inappropriate to justify their INDCs for fairness or ambition, while the others may not.
• Parties can now communicate their INDCs by October 1, 2015. Earlier there was a proposal for Parties to submit their contributions latest by May/June 2015 so that it could be analysed and reviewed by all.
• There is no ex-ante review of INDCs; not even a non-intrusive and facilitative dialogue, as proposed by the co-chairs, for clarity, transparency and understanding of the contributions of different Parties.
• However, all the INDCs will be published on UNFCCC website and a synthesis report will be prepared by November 1, 2015, on the aggregate effect of INDCs communicated by all Parties.

Obligations of rich countries diluted

The text produced by the co-chairs did not mention Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), which puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases. The final text contains an explicit commitment for an ambitious agreement in 2015 that reflects the principle of CBDR but weakens it by adding “in light of different national circumstances”. Todd Stern, lead US climate negotiator, has gone on record to say that he and Xie Zhenhua, Chinese chief negotiator, had thrashed out this deal on CBDR on the last night in Peru. They took the line—CBDR, in light of different national circumstances—from the recent US-China climate pact and inserted it into the final Lima text.

Indigenous people joined environmental activists, students and women's groups in a demonstration in the Peruvian capital

Countries like India have claimed satisfaction over the inclusion of CBDR in the final text. But its linking with national circumstances will have far reaching implications for developing countries. For one, they will not be able to demand strong emissions cuts from developed countries nor demand finance and technology support from them. The inability of the US Senate to pass an ambitious climate deal can now be justified as “national circumstances”. The EU can use recession as an excuse when its commitment on finance or technology transfer will come up for negotiation.

Developed countries managed to evade a stronger decision on the issue of increasing their emissions cut ambition from now till 2020, both in the texts of co-chairs and COP president. They avoided any decision on providing means of implementation, including technology, finance and capacity building support for developing countries so that they too could increase their mitigation ambitions from now till 2020.

So, now it is up to Paris to decide whether the world will do more to cut emissions between 2016 and 2020, or remain content with the highly inadequate pledges of developed countries. One must keep in mind that developed countries made no commitment on finance and technology transfer for the post-2020 period either.

Who won, who lost

It is clear that developing countries got some choice words, but no money or technology from the developed countries. The big polluters among the developing countries managed to avoid any serious commitment to reduce emissions by diluting the INDCs.

Developed countries, however, gained substantially. They made no commitments to reduce emissions in the pre-2020 period more than what they have already committed (and they have committed very little), nor did they promise money and technology to help developing countries to increase their mitigation commitments during the period. With weak provisions on INDCs, they managed to avoid mitigation as well as financial commitments for the post-2020 period.

It is important to understand that one of the success criteria for the Lima COP was how much money developed countries would put on the table for the Green Climate Fund—a fund set up to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

By the time the marathon talks finished in Lima, developed countries had pledged only $10 billion as climate finance for developing countries for the next four years. The ridiculousness of the number can be gauged from the fact that if $2 were levied as a tax on every international flight ticket, it would generate $2.5 billion a year. The biggest win for developed countries was that they managed to dilute and compromise the principle of CBDR, the cornerstone of climate negotiation. But in this win, the planet has lost big time.

A bumpy road to Paris

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, described the new definition of CBDR as an “important breakthrough”. “It’s very clear that from now on when you speak about the responsibility and capacity of countries to address climate change there will be a third point, national circumstances, that need to be included.” This statement of Figueres is the most important outcome of the Lima COP.

Developed countries managed to dilute the differentiation between them and the developing countries further by linking CBDR with national circumstances, and thereby reinterpreting the Convention. Under UNFCCC, actions that countries would take on addressing climate change are based on equity and CBDR. They, in turn, are based on the responsibility of a country in causing climate change and its capability in solving it. By bringing national circumstances in the equation, developed countries have put themselves at the same level as developing countries. Developing countries had so far used “national circumstances”—such as poverty reduction and achieving certain level of development—not to take absolute emissions reduction targets. Developed countries can now use similar arguments—high level of mitigation costs, recession and low growth rate—to justify their inaction. Now, no country will take ambitious action and the world collectively will fail to meet the climate goals.

ADP co-chairs Kishan Kumarsingh (left) of Trinidad and Tobago and Artur Runge-Metzger of EU face the heat from developing country negotiators

Similarly, INDCs have been so compromised in Lima that an effective deal in Paris is now nearly impossible.

Under the Lima formulation, every country will now decide what it wants to do to reduce its emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. As their actions will now reflect “national circumstances”, they will not compulsorily be asked to explain how their efforts are fair and ambitious; if they want they can explain on their own volition. They will also not face any rigorous assessment process ahead of the Paris summit. No questions asked, none answered is the final decision from Lima. But this final decision has left the world with a fait accompli. Just before the Paris COP, when it would become clear to everyone that the INDCs of countries are a big let down and are not adding up, there would be nothing that the Parties could do to rectify the situation in Paris as there will be neither time nor any process to jack up the ambition of countries. Paris will become a lame duck COP.

Implications for India

India, which played a key role in dilution of INDCs and went along with China and the US in reinterpreting CBDR, has lost big time. The reinterpretation of the principle of CBDR means that the burden of tackling climate change will decisively shift to developing countries like India, making their efforts towards poverty reduction and sustainable development difficult and expensive. The weak INDCs, with no promise of finance or technology from developed countries, means that India should now be ready for a much weaker climate agreement, which will augur ill for the country in many ways.

Firstly, the world will continue on its trajectory of 4oC warming leading to increase in extreme weather events like extreme rainfalls as India witnessed in Uttrarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya in the past two years. Monsoon will become more unpredictable, affecting agriculture and livelihoods of more than half of the Indian population, especially marginal farmers (see ‘Mapping climate change in India’ on p35). The worsening climate will create new poverty traps and make poverty eradication more difficult. In fact, India will start losing developmental gains due to climate change.

Secondly, by 2030, big polluters in the world would have appropriated most of the available carbon space, leaving nothing for most developing countries, including India. A weak climate deal in Paris means that in 2030, the US and China will have per capita emissions of 12 tonnes—four times more than that of India. After 2030, countries like India will be asked to go to an emergency emission reduction plan which will be highly detrimental to the economic development of the nation.

COP20 has further widened the trust gap between the developed and developing countries. The Lima agreement only postpones the inevitable: big fight next year in the run up to the Paris meeting and eventually a weak Paris deal risking the lives and livelihood of billions of poor people across the world.

The Lima diary   Lima has resulted in a biased deal as rich countries shrugged off historical responsibility for climate change The Lima climate talks began on December 1 on a positive note. In his opening speech, COP President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said he wanted the summit to provide "a clear and solid foundation for the new global agreement". But the optimism faded away when negotiations over the new climate treaty that will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol from 2020 began. The negotiations are held under the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) where its contact groups hold discussion. At Lima, the documents under discussion included a "draft text", which included elements relating to the 2015 Paris agreement, the intended nationally determined contributions (INDC), which would be countries' actions to curb climate change, the pre-2020 climate actions till a new agreement is in place; and a "non-paper" on "elements for a draft negotiating text". The Parties, however, disagreed over the working method of the contact groups. Countries, including Bolivia, China and India, demanded that the texts be displayed on a screen "as a simple and fair" working method. The African group remarked that such methods only erode trust. It took the co-chairs two long days to put up the texts on screen. The finance sessions of ADP saw more resistance when developing countries pointed out that the draft text and the non-paper did not address the issue of "adequacy" of funds. CBDR, or common but differentiated responsibility, was the other point of disagreement. The rich countries were bent on diluting CBDR, as drafted under UNFCCC in 1992, which recognises their historical responsibility to address climate change and gives concession to developing countries. With no comprise in sight, the negotiation on "non-paper" was stopped. The negotiators focussed on finalising the "draft text". The last days of the summit were marked by confusion and revision of texts. At the high-level ministerial meeting on December 10, the divide between developed and developing countries was clearer than ever as countries refused to budge from their stated positions. The next day, ADPco-chair Arthur Runge-Metzge asked how the Parties intended to take the negotiation forward, as their was no breakthrough in sight. G-77 and China replied that "they were working on a proposal which needed time". The session was suspended while Parties and observers waited for the proposal. There was a rumour that a "secret" draft text, rigged in favour of developed countries, got leaked on the official website and was removed. This triggered accusations and counter-accusations. There was no official confirmation about the leaked text. When the contact group re-convened later that day, the proposal drafted by G-77 and China was rejected due to strong opposition from developed countries. On December 11, as the summit was drawing to a close, Pulgar-Vidal instructed the co-chairs in the evening to produce a revised text by 9 pm. He urged the Parties to arrive at a "consensus on the substance of the text, not on commas and full stops". His comments were widely applauded. He roped in lead negotiators of Norway and Singapore to help the Parties reach a consensus. The contact group convened for the third time in the day at around 10:30 pm, with the co-chairs presenting the revised text. But the revised text had no provision for CBDR and was criticised by the developing countries for not being inclusive. As an agreement could not be reached on December 12, the final day, a revised draft text was released just past midnight and the session was suspended. With little hope in sight, it seemed that the climate talks would fall in disarray. On the morning of December 13, developing countries rejected the text, calling it "unbalanced". The COP president was called upon to restore the balance and make sure that the demands of developing countries are met. He assured them that the process will be taken forward "with the spirit of trust". Closed door meetings, consultations and deliberations ensued, as delegates started leaving the venue. Finally, the text, titled "Lima Call to Climate Action", was handed over at 11.30 pm. It included CBDR, but it was to be decided by every country's "national circumstances". It also had INDCs, but they too were to be decided by individual countries. The pre-2020 ambitions found a passing mention. The parties were given about an hour to go through the text. They agreed and the deal was sealed. By VijetaRattani and ArjunaSrinidhi from Lima

CO2 emissions from energy use stabilised for first time in 40 years

Author(s): Shekhar Chandra @ 

Report says 2014 was a ‘record year’ for renewables as their penetration and improvements in energy efficiency led to stabilisation of emissions

Photo: Ankur Paliwal

Renewable energy continued to grow in 2014 against the backdrop of increasing global energy consumption, particularly in developing countries, and a dramatic decline in oil prices during the second half of the year, according to REN21’s Renewables 2015 Global Status Report.

REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) is an international non-profit association based at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Paris.

Despite rising energy use, for the first time in four decades, global carbon emissions associated with energy consumption remained stable in 2014 while the global economy grew, the report shows. This stabilisation has been attributed to increased penetration of renewable energy and to improvements in energy efficiency. The report states, “For the first time in 40 years, economic and CO2 growths have got ‘decoupled’ marking a record year for renewables.”

Renewable energy provided an estimated 19.1 per cent of global final energy consumption in 2013, and capacity and generation continued to expand in 2014. The most rapid growth and the largest increase in capacity occurred in the power sector, led by wind, solar PV and hydropower.

Growth was driven by several factors, including renewable energy support policies and the increasing cost-competiveness of energy from renewable sources. In many countries, large-scale renewables are broadly competitive with conventional energy sources. At the same time, growth continues to be tempered by subsidies to fossil fuels and nuclear power, particularly in developing countries.

Although Europe remained an important market and centre for innovation, activity continued to shift towards other regions. China led the world again in new renewable power capacity installations in 2014, and Brazil, India and South Africa accounted for a large share of the capacity added in their respective regions. An increasing number of developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America became important manufacturers and installers of renewable energy technologies.

Renewables represented approximately 59 per cent of net additions to global power capacity in 2014, with significant growth in all regions. Wind, solar PV, and hydropower dominated the market. By year’s end, renewables comprised an estimated 27.7 per cent of the world’s power generating capacity, enough to supply an estimated 22.8 per cent of global electricity.

The heating and cooling sector has high potential, but growth in the sector has been slow. About half of total world final energy consumption in 2014 went to providing heat for buildings and industry, with modern renewables (mostly biomass) generating approximately 8 per cent of this share. Renewable energy was also used for cooling, a small but rapidly growing sector.

The transport sector was driven by biofuels with e-mobility growing rapidly.

The number of countries with renewable energy targets and policies increased again in 2014, and several jurisdictions made their existing targets more ambitious—including a rising number with 100 per cent renewable energy or electricity targets. As of early 2015, at least 164 countries had renewable energy targets, and an estimated 145 countries had renewable energy support policies in place.

Feed-in and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) policies remain the most commonly used support mechanisms. Feed-in policies have been enacted in 108 jurisdictions at the national or state/provincial level. RPS policies are most popular at the state and provincial levels; they are in place in at least 27 countries at the national level and in 72 states/provinces.

Cities continued to lead the way, setting and achieving ambitious targets and helping to drive the trends of national and regional governments. By early 2015, several jurisdictions had 100 per cent renewable energy or electricity targets in place, with the vast majority of targets at the city or local level. Many municipalities have already achieved such targets.

Global investment in renewable energy and fuel in 2014 was $270 billion. Including hydropower, the investment figure stood at $301 billion. Off-grid solar PV attracted approximately $64 billion in investment in 2014. Of this, investment in India was $7.4 billion.

Distributed renewable energy is the way forward to achieving universal energy access. More than 1 billion people or 15 per cent of the global population still lack access to electricity. With a total installed capacity of roughly 147 GW, all of Africa has less power generation capacity than Germany.

Moreover, approximately 2.9 billion people lack access to clean forms of cooking. Distributed renewable energy technologies are helping to improve these numbers by providing essential and productive energy services in remote and rural areas across the developing world.

Renewable technologies are playing a large role—via individual household systems and by powering a rapidly growing number of mini- and micro-grids—largely because renewables are cheaper and more convenient than conventional options.

Renewables have become vital elements of rural electrification and clean cooking policies in many countries. Peru was one of the first countries to prepare and implement a reverse auction for distributed renewable energy, finalising a contract in 2014. Several countries—including Chile, Myanmar and Sri Lanka—initiated new programmes in 2014 to expand energy access through renewables. Ecuador, Guatemala, Bangladesh and India launched initiatives to advance clean cooking.

Modi government sets revised solar mission target at 100 GW

Author(s): Aruna Kumarankandath @CSE_Aruna 

The revised capacity has been divided into 40 GW for rooftop solar electricity generation and 60 GW for large and medium-scale grid-connected projects

The Centre had announced the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in 2010 (Credit: Jonas Hamberg)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his approval for increasing the national solar mission capacity from the current 22 gigawatt (GW) to 100 GW by 2022.

In a bid to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase the capacity of renewables, the Centre had announced the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in 2010 for developing 20-GW capacity solar grids and 2-GW capacity off-grid solar applications.

In a departure from earlier occasions, the official announcement followed the detailed plan of how the government plans to achieve the new target (upgrading to 100 GW), unlike earlier occasions when only targets were announced.

Division detail

The 100 GW solar power capacity has been divided into rooftop solar electricity generation (40 GW) and large and medium-scale grid-connected solar projects (60 GW).
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) officials, it is expected that the total investment for upgrading to 100 GW solar power capacity will cost around Rs 6,00,000 crore ($94 billion).

A statement issued by the Cabinet read, “(The) Government of India is providing Rs 15,050 crore as capital subsidy to promote solar capacity addition in the country. This capital subsidy will be provided for rooftop solar projects in various cities and towns, for viability gap funding-based projects to be developed through the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and for decentralised generation through small solar projects.”

Bundling mechanism

Apart from capital subsidy, which is similar to what previous government had also done in the first phase of JNNSM, Rs 90,000 crore would be created using the bundling mechanism with thermal power. In common parlance, bundling refers to selling electricity in bundles, for instance, the sale of one unit of solar power bundled with four units of thermal power.

The energy ministry defines bundling mechanism as the “bundle of relatively expensive solar power with power from the unallocated quota of the Government of India (Ministry of Power) generated at NTPC coal-based stations, which is relatively cheaper, and sell it to the distribution utility at the weighted average price”.

The World Bank had in its report, Paving the Way for a Transformational Future: Lessons from Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Phase I, states that “bundling of solar power with cheaper conventional power reduces the tariff impact of solar power on the distribution utilities”.

Moving ahead

Large public-sector companies, independent power producers and state governments will have to contribute to achieve the ambitious target of 100 MW capacity addition.

The Centre also plans to leverage bilateral and international donors, including Green Climate Fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as 100 GW of solar power would replace coal-based power plants and reduce Co2 emissions.

Doubts over energy access

Experts feel that ambitious targets are always a good way to promote development in any sector, given that the benefits of increasing solar power reach all. The positive sides of solar power are energy security, climate protection, reduction in pollution and health benefits. The 100-GW objective should provide a direction for developing domestic solar manufacturing in India as well.

But there is a glitch in the government’s policy. Unfortunately, the focus of the capacity addition is only for grid-connected projects and has less to do with providing power to 300 million people, who still do not have access to electricity in India.

Jasmeet Khurana of Bridge to India said, “These projects can ideally be located near towns and village clusters. This will help provide reliable power supply to such areas, minimise transmission losses and in the medium-to-long-term minimise the need for new investments in transmission infrastructure for anticipated growth in consumption.” Bridge to India is a Delhi-based solar power consultancy.

Under the current scenario, solar development has also not been considered as part of the 24/7 power supply. Usage of decentralised renewable power generation for energy access has not been accounted for in the governemnt’s scheme. All the expansion made in the solar field has been on account of large-scale projects feeding grids. But this does not guarantee energy access to millions.

“The biggest social and economic impact of renewable energy will be providing clean energy to the energy deprived. But there are no incentives focused on developing decentralised energy-access solutions,” Chandra Bhushan, consulting editor of Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment, said.

World’s major groundwater basins found to be depleting

Author(s): Shreeshan Venkatesh @ 

Study concludes that we are using groundwater reserves at a fast pace without knowing when they might run dry

Indus basin in northwest India and Pakistan is one of the world’s most overstressed groundwater reserves (Photo for representational purpose by Vikas Choudhary)

A study conducted by the University of California, Irvine, indicates that about a third of all major groundwater basins on Earth are under stress due to unsustainable human consumption.

Of 37 major aquifer systems studied, 21 have surpassed sustainability tipping points of depletion. Thirteen of these are significantly stressed as their groundwater levels are falling, but they are receiving little or no recharge.

The research was conducted based on data collected from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites between 2003 and 2013. The study was published in the journal Water Resources Research.

Groundwater aquifers are typically located underground, in soils or deeper layers of rock. The depth and thickness of these aquifers make it economically unviable to drill through and study them.

The team of researchers, hence, used renewable groundwater stress (RGS)—the proportion of groundwater usage to availability—to conclude that significant portions of the world’s population are consuming groundwater at a fast pace without knowing when the basins might run dry.

Findings of the study

Depending on the RGS ratio, 37 of the largest global aquifer systems have been classified under four categories—unstressed, variable stress, human-dominated variable stress and overstressed. Groundwater basins have been evaluated as positive (gaining) or negative (depleting) in terms of both usage and availability.

Dry areas, where populations depend heavily on groundwater sources, were found to have the most overburdened aquifer systems. The Arabian aquifer system, which supports over 60 million people, is the most overstressed system in the world, according to researchers.

In the Indian subcontinent, where water security is already becoming an acute problem, the Indus basin aquifer of northwest India and Pakistan has been deemed the second most overstressed basin. The Murzuk-Djado basin in northern Africa is listed as the third.

Source: Quantifying Renewable Groundwater Stress with GRACE report

In an accompanying study, also published in Water Resources Research, researchers have highlighted that the total reserves of usable groundwater remain poorly known and that actual groundwater volume is likely far less than earlier estimates. The study has noted that depletion of groundwater is leading to substantial ecological damage in the form of declining water and land quality and depleting rivers. The authors have also stressed on the possibility of socio-economic and political disturbances and conflicts that may arise out of water stress.

Need a revolution to save the Earth from climate change: Pope

Author(s): Rajit Sengupta @ 

The Vatican head warns that the planet is beginning to look like an immense pile of filth

The Pope blames fossil fuels and deforestation for global warming (Credit: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston)

The Pope has asked the world’s rich to pay for taking concrete steps on climate change, warning that the failure to do so will cause “undeniable risk” to humanity.

In a sharply worded manifesto, he said climate change “represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day” and blamed “intensive use of fossil fuels” and “deforestation for agricultural purposes” for the same.

“Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods… Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain,” reads the manifesto.

“The foreign debt of poor countries has become a way of controlling them, yet this is not the case where ecological debt is concerned. In different ways, developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future.”

“The developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programmes of sustainable development,” reads the 180-page encyclical on the environment.

Citing a “very solid scientific consensus” that indicates that the world is witnessing “a disturbing warming”, Pope Francis called for a “bold cultural revolution” to halt humanity’s spiral into self-destruction. “There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”

The Argentinean pontiff also applauds scientists for finding solution to man-made problems, and lashes out at those who intervene in the service of “finance and consumerism”.

“In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment,” the encyclical reads.

He calls access to safe water a “basic and universal human right” and says depriving the poor of access to water is akin to denying the right to a life.

The Pope’s statement on July 18 came in the form of an encyclical, a letter traditionally addressed to the more than 1 billion Catholics across the globe. An encyclical is among the church’s most authoritative teaching documents. But Francis has set his sights beyond the circle of his church as he addresses the encyclical “every person living on this planet”. While not present at the conference, the Pope last week had said that he hopes his message will be embraced with an open spirit.

Interestingly, this is not the first time he has raised concerns over climate change. His statement made in January this year sparked a worldwide controversy and even divided conservative and liberal Catholics, particularly in the United States.

“I don’t know if it is all (man’s fault) but the majority is, for the most part, it is man who continuously slaps down nature,” he had told reporters during a flight from Sri Lanka to Manila.

CURRENT AFFAIRS JUNE/20 & 21/2015

        CURRENT AFFAIRS JUNE/20 & 21/2015

1.  CHINA AND AUSTALIA SIGNED FTA:

i.   China and Australia have signed free Trade agreement.

ii.  The agreement was signed by China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and Australia’s Trade Minister Andrew Robb at Canberra in Australia.

2.  INDIA , TANZANIA SIGNED 6 MOUS:

i.   India and Tanzania have signed 6 MoUs during the visit of president of Tanzania to India.

ii.  The agreement was inked between Prime Minister of India and President of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikete.

About Tanzania: Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wildness areas.

      Capital – Dodoma

      Currency- Tanzanian Shilling

      Prime Minister- Mizengo Pinda

3.  350^TH FOUNDATION DAY OF SHRI ANANDPUR SAHIB CELEBRATED;

i.  Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated the 350^th foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib.

ii.  Shri Anandpur Sahib, the holy city of Punjab was founded by the 9^th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Teg Bahadur in 1665.

iii.  Shri Anandpur Sahib is the new name of Chak Nanki.

4.  WEATHER ALERT SERVICE ‘NOWCAST’ LAUNCHED:

i.  Union Government of India has launched weather alert service, ‘NOWCAST’.

ii. Union Agriculture minister ‘Radha Mohan Singh’ launched the Service.

iii. Radha Mohan Singh also launched Insurance Web-Portals for Farmers.

5. TWO COMMITTEES FOR FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION OF GST:

i.  Union Minister of finance has formed two committees for facilitating implementation of GST.

ii.  GST Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha and is pending with Rajya Sabha.

iii.  Committees will be headed by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Ministry of Finance.

Note: Arvind Subramanian is current Chief Economic Advisor.