Thinning out, not cooling off: Climate crisis and the dip in global population
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Thinning out, not cooling off: Climate crisis and the dip in global population

Hindustan Times  

For over two centuries, the spectre of overpopulation has haunted global debates about food security, sustainability and the environment. A 2023 study by researchers at the University of Texas in Austin makes a convincing case that “contemporaneous fertility rates are, essentially, quantitatively irrelevant to our climate future.” According to the study’s findings, the difference in long-run temperature rise between population stabilisation and the UN’s population decline scenarios, over the next two centuries—given our current climate policies—is very small. “Private jets and the growing use of SUVs are some of the biggest contributors to emissions of the rich, which large sections of the population in the Global South do not have access to.” In fact, a 2023 article published by London’s Centre for Economic Policy Research argues that a declining population may actually hinder attempts at fighting climate change by increasing resource scarcity. Whether or not you agree with that idea—and many don’t—the consensus seems to be that population numbers are a lot less relevant to the climate change fight than other factors, such as intergovernmental cooperation, managing global conflict, technological investment, and low carbon development policies. “When it comes to climate change, population matters tremendously because demand will increase from coal, to food to roads,” says Mridula Ramesh, founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute and author of The Climate Solution – India’s Climate Change Crisis and What We Can Do About It.

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History of this topic

Climate change is now a real and pressing economic threat
2 hours, 27 minutes ago

Climate change is now a real and pressing economic threat

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Climate change is no longer just affecting lives. “We must reduce emissions because a country like India needs a stable climate to ensure growth. Cross-border tariffs Climate change may disrupt global trade and economic development around as developed economies in the European Union are coming up with measures like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a policy tool to …

2024 in review: India’s race for sustainable survival as climate crisis deepens
1 week, 1 day ago

2024 in review: India’s race for sustainable survival as climate crisis deepens

Live Mint  

The year is set to end as the hottest on record, marking the second consecutive year of unprecedented warming after 2023 claimed the same title. Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that that average global temperature in nine out of the first 11 months in 2024 was already 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The report said 2024 …

The climate future: We're entering a world of falling GDP and overheated seas
1 week, 4 days ago

The climate future: We're entering a world of falling GDP and overheated seas

Live Mint  

Sitting down to write this newsletter, I was thinking about a way to introduce it that would chime in with the fact that we are in December. According to the November data of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the average global surface temperature was 1.62 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels. View Full Image In May, a working …

How many of us is too many?: Mridula Ramesh writes on the population matrix
3 weeks, 2 days ago

How many of us is too many?: Mridula Ramesh writes on the population matrix

Hindustan Times  

Should we have more children? According to History Database of the Global Environment, a population land-use model, there were an estimated 19 million people on Earth 7,000 years ago, with 2.5 million living on the land that is currently India. This likely helped India support larger populations: over the next 3,000 years, population would rise by nearly eight times, to …

Mint Primer: Your two-minute guide to COP29... and dystopia
1 month, 1 week ago

Mint Primer: Your two-minute guide to COP29... and dystopia

Live Mint  

Nations, businesses and civil society are set to discuss ways to tackle the climate crisis at yet another Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, The 29th meet is in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 11-14 November. A massive $2.4 trillion a year—four times what is currently invested—is required for poor and emerging economies to cut greenhouse gas …

India’s population to peak at 1.7bn in 2060s, decline afterwards; China and Japan’s population to reduce significantly
5 months, 1 week ago

India’s population to peak at 1.7bn in 2060s, decline afterwards; China and Japan’s population to reduce significantly

Live Mint  

India’s population will most likely peak at 1.7 billion in the early 2060s and is projected to decline after that by 12 per cent. However, according to the World Population Prospects 2024 report released on July 11, the population is expected to decline to 10.2 billion people by the end of this century. The population is currently estimated at 1.45 …

India's population to peak in early 2060s to 1.7 billion before declining: UN
5 months, 1 week ago

India's population to peak in early 2060s to 1.7 billion before declining: UN

Hindustan Times  

By Yoshita Singh India's population to peak in early 2060s to 1.7 billion before declining: UN United Nations, India's population is projected to peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion and then decline by 12 per cent, but the country will remain the world's most populous throughout the century, the United Nations has said. "The population of India, …

World Population Day: A case of people versus population
5 months, 1 week ago

World Population Day: A case of people versus population

The Hindu  

July 11 has been observed as World Population Day since 1989 after the global population crossed the five billion mark. This writer wrote the article, “Myths about Population Growth”, which was published in this daily on World Population Day — when India crossed the 100 crore mark. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries with a per capita income …

Climate turbulence ahead: Time to fasten our seatbelts
6 months, 1 week ago

Climate turbulence ahead: Time to fasten our seatbelts

Live Mint  

For most well-off urban residents, the effects of climate change have mostly been viewed from afar as a problem confronted by villagers. Among its disturbing findings was that “cities are not cooling down at night at the rate they used to" 20 years ago, and that “all cities have registered significant increase in their built heat island effect," a reference …

Random Forays: Climate change- understanding what we can do
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Random Forays: Climate change- understanding what we can do

Hindustan Times  

Aren’t we feeling smothered by the searing heat which has melted all previous records this summer? Though everyone cannot plant mini forests, there are organisations like Eco Sikhs which are assisting those desirous of planting volumes of trees. At the recent launch of advocate Jatinder ‘Jay’ Cheema’s book titled “Climate Change- The Policy, Law and Practice”, the aspect of individual …

Getting ready for heatwaves
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Getting ready for heatwaves

Hindustan Times  

A crushing heatwave that began more than a week ago has become unbearable since Monday. In Delhi, power consumption surpassed records and desperate families mobbed water tankers after their taps ran dry. A 40-year-old labourer who lived in a room with no air cooling died at a hospital during the week and the administration imposed fines on wasteful use of …

Need to hasten climate action as temps break records
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Need to hasten climate action as temps break records

New Indian Express  

The unprecedented rise in temperatures across north India—especially in Delhi, which recorded a historical high of 52.9°C on Wednesday—has given a glimpse into the dire future caused by human-induced climate change. The increased emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide produced by human activities are creating the effect of trapping heat and raising temperatures on …

Climate change impacts millions in India. But as the country votes, some politicians skirt the issue
7 months ago

Climate change impacts millions in India. But as the country votes, some politicians skirt the issue

Associated Press  

BEED, India — Almost 970 million Indians are voting in general elections amid sweltering heat and unpredictable weather extremes exacerbated by human-caused climate change, leading to loss of livelihood, forced migration and increasingly difficult living conditions for millions across the country. Issues related to religion, caste and employment still determine most Indians’ political preferences, but Koll said that at local …

Weatherman signals a nasty summer ahead for India
8 months, 1 week ago

Weatherman signals a nasty summer ahead for India

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI : Climate change will accelerate the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, India’s top weatherman warned, on the backdrop of the country witnessing a far higher number of intensely heavy rainfall and heatwave days, fewer colder days and increasing thunderstorms in recent times. “We are noticing extreme behaviour in weather," India Meteorological Department director-general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said …

Cause and Effect | At COP28, world leaders are at a crossroads
1 year ago

Cause and Effect | At COP28, world leaders are at a crossroads

Hindustan Times  

World leaders converging on Dubai for the COP28 summit have their task cut out for them: To agree on emissions cut and a phase-out of fossil fuels; operationalising the loss and damage fund; and to ensure action on the new and updated nationally determined contributions. The world is currently headed for 2.5 to 2.9°C warming over the pre-industrial period, said …

India historically contributed to 5% warming: UNEP
1 year, 1 month ago

India historically contributed to 5% warming: UNEP

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: Current and historical emissions are highly unequally distributed globally, the United Nations Environment Programme said on Monday referring to India’s example. The bottom 50% of the world population contributed only 12% of total emissions Per capita territorial GHG emissions vary significantly across countries. The bottom 50% of the world population contributed only 12% of total emissions,” UNEP’s Emissions …

Absolute decoupling yet to happen between carbon emission, GDP growth globally, says RBI deputy governor
1 year, 1 month ago

Absolute decoupling yet to happen between carbon emission, GDP growth globally, says RBI deputy governor

The Hindu  

While the growing recognition of the adverse effects of climate change had led to some recent actions that were weakening the correlation between carbon emissions and GDP growth globally, an absolute decoupling was yet to happen, Michael Debabrata Patra, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India said at the New York Fed Central Banking Seminar organised by the Federal Reserve Bank, …

The shape of climate justice in a warming India
1 year, 2 months ago

The shape of climate justice in a warming India

The Hindu  

The G-20 summit that was held in Delhi agreed on tripling renewable energy capacity and a voluntary doubling of the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. Such an approach evades concerns of climate justice within India, particularly its effect on inequality across levels class, caste and region. Inequality matrix It is now well documented across the world that climate …

India, the world's most populated country, is on track to achieve its climate goals: report
1 year, 4 months ago

India, the world's most populated country, is on track to achieve its climate goals: report

Salon  

A new report submitted by the Indian government to the United Nations offers a glimmer of hope when it comes to the fight against climate change: Over the past 14 years, the world's most populous nation has reduced its carbon emissions by a larger-than-expected 33%. According to the report filed to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, India is …

Large population does not automatically contribute to more emission: UN official
1 year, 5 months ago

Large population does not automatically contribute to more emission: UN official

India Today  

There is a need to rectify the notion that countries with large populations contribute more to emissions, a senior United Nations Population Fund official said, underlining that developing nations face the worst impact despite being some of the lowest producers of greenhouse gases. Speaking to news agency PTI, United Nations Population Fund Director of Technical Division Dr Julitta Onabanjo said …

India’s climate crisis susceptibility and the way forward
1 year, 6 months ago

India’s climate crisis susceptibility and the way forward

Hindustan Times  

The climate crisis poses an increasingly complex challenge worldwide, with profound implications for ecosystems, economies, and societies. India's vulnerability to climate crisis necessitates a long-term approach to build resilience and adapt to the changing climate. By adopting measures that enhance resilience in sectors such as agriculture, water management, and infrastructure, India can mitigate the adverse impacts of the climate crisis …

Eco-anxiety and India’s young
1 year, 8 months ago

Eco-anxiety and India’s young

The Hindu  

It was December 21, 2012, and 14-year-old Shaarvari Shreenath was convinced that the world was ending. “It’s a lazy response to the climate crisis; it doesn’t allow a deeper engagement with the here and now,” he says. Holding up a mirror to people’s anxieties “Apocalyptic content has always existed in comic books and video games,” says Aniruddho Chakroborty, a film …

India’s heat is underestimated, harming progress, study says
1 year, 8 months ago

India’s heat is underestimated, harming progress, study says

Associated Press  

BENGALURU, India — The full extent of the damage from India’s sizzling heat that’s causing more deaths, illnesses, school shutdowns and crop failures is underestimated by lawmakers and officials in the country and slowing the nation’s development, a study Wednesday said. Extreme heat is placing 80% of India’s 1.4 billion population in danger but assessments of how vulnerable the country …

Rich nations must scale up emission cuts: India at meet
1 year, 8 months ago

Rich nations must scale up emission cuts: India at meet

The Hindu  

April 15, 2023 02:12 pm | Updated April 16, 2023 12:22 am IST - New Delhi Meeting the global target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 will require developed nations to scale up their emission reduction efforts, India said at the G7 Ministers Meeting on Climate Energy and Environment in Japan's Sapporo on Saturday. This will create opportunities for …

Countries historically responsible for climate change cannot stall India's development, says Environment Minister
1 year, 8 months ago

Countries historically responsible for climate change cannot stall India's development, says Environment Minister

The Hindu  

India is moving towards renewable energy but countries historically responsible for climate change cannot ask it to stop its development, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on March 28. Countries historically responsible for climate change cannot decide how India uses its resources to fulfil the energy needs of its population, he said. However, at 2.4 tCO2e, India's per capita greenhouse …

Climate scientists deliver final warning: Time is running out
1 year, 9 months ago

Climate scientists deliver final warning: Time is running out

Live Mint  

Consider this the final warning: Climate scientists stated unequivocally today that rising greenhouse gas emissions have to be checked immediately. The Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report is a culmination of a cycle of reports that started in 2018, which states clearly that in order to limit the effect of global warming to minimum, the world has to cut emissions by …

Climate-proofing India’s socio-economic trajectory
1 year, 10 months ago

Climate-proofing India’s socio-economic trajectory

Live Mint  

With existing socio-economic challenges, India needs a people-first development paradigm to move towards a climate-secure future, and become a leading voice on climate action for the Global South. With programmes around green fuel, climate-friendly farming, green buildings, low-carbon mobility, and policies for efficient energy use across various economic sectors, the 2023-24 Budget lays a strong foundation for green growth – …

Op-Ed: The world population hit 8 billion — but with a peak in sight. What lessons does that have for climate change?
2 years, 1 month ago

Op-Ed: The world population hit 8 billion — but with a peak in sight. What lessons does that have for climate change?

LA Times  

In the 1960s and ‘70s, global population growth was a huge concern. Today’s climate emergency is reminiscent of the past population growth crisis: Both represent existential challenges requiring sustained global efforts. While researchers couldn’t pinpoint exactly what level of world population would be sustainable, they determined that slower growth would allow public and private sector institutions to keep pace with …

Climate Questions: Is it too late to stop climate change?
2 years, 1 month ago

Climate Questions: Is it too late to stop climate change?

Associated Press  

BENGALURU, India — Global average temperatures have risen and weather extremes have already seen an uptick, so the short answer to whether it’s too late to stop climate change is: yes. At the time of the report’s release, Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London, said achieving the 1.5-degree goal “is still possible from a physical science …

Heat-Related Deaths Increased By 55% In India, Says Lancet Study
2 years, 1 month ago

Heat-Related Deaths Increased By 55% In India, Says Lancet Study

News 18  

Warning that health is at the mercy of fossil fuels, from 2000-2004 to 2017-2021 heat-related deaths increased by 55 per cent in India, the 2022 Lancet Countdown report said on Wednesday. In the run-up to the UN Climate Conference in Egypt, the new findings presented in the seventh annual global report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change …

Climate migration: Indian kids find hope in a new language
2 years, 3 months ago

Climate migration: Indian kids find hope in a new language

LA Times  

Jerifa Islam stands outside her home in a poor neighborhood in Bengaluru, India, in July. A flood in 2019 in the Darrang district of India’s Assam state started Jerifa Islam, her brother Raju and their parents on a journey that led the family from their Himalayan village to the poor neighborhood. But the calamity started Jerifa and her brother, Raju …

69% Indians see severe effects of climate change: Survey
2 years, 3 months ago

69% Indians see severe effects of climate change: Survey

The Hindu  

Around two-thirds of people in India say climate change has already had a severe effect in the areas where they live and it is likely that their families will be displaced from their homes in the next 25 years, according to a new survey conducted for the World Economic Forum. On an average, more than half of all adults surveyed …

69 pc people in India seeing severe effects of climate change: Survey
2 years, 3 months ago

69 pc people in India seeing severe effects of climate change: Survey

Deccan Chronicle  

NEW DELHI: Around two-thirds of people in India say climate change has already had a severe effect in the areas where they live and it is likely that their families will be displaced from their homes in the next 25 years, according to a new survey conducted for the World Economic Forum. On an average, more than half of all …

Heat Waves, Droughts And Floods: No More A Developing World Problem
2 years, 3 months ago

Heat Waves, Droughts And Floods: No More A Developing World Problem

News 18  

Last month, temperature levels crossed 40 degrees in Great Britain. Backing out from Shared responsibility It is only in recent times that the global north has started to see such direct and massive impacts of climate change. Effects of Climate Change Almost the entire globe has been seeing an increase in hotter days and heat waves. Although India has not …

India’s climate imperative
2 years, 5 months ago

India’s climate imperative

The Hindu  

In the absence of COVID-19, climate change-induced disasters would have been India’s biggest red alert in recent years. The heatwave that scorched Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and New Delhi this year; torrential downpours in south India in 2021; and the super cyclone Amphan that battered West Bengal and Odisha in 2020 are symbols of man-made climate change. Labour losses from …

DC Edit | India must plan better to cope with population rise
2 years, 5 months ago

DC Edit | India must plan better to cope with population rise

Deccan Chronicle  

India is to surpass China as the most populous country in 2023, at least four years earlier than last forecast. The greying of the population is another burden that Indian society would have to bear as life expectancy stands at a healthy 72+ even if a slight dip may have been caused by the pandemic. Rising life expectancy and low …

Global population to hit 8 billion, but growth slows: UN
2 years, 5 months ago

Global population to hit 8 billion, but growth slows: UN

Al Jazeera  

The UN says the rise in population underlines the need to address issues such as the climate crisis. The global population is expected to reach eight billion on November 15, the United Nations has forecast, with India set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country next year. The UN noted on Monday it had taken hundreds of thousands …

A squeeze on climate goals
2 years, 6 months ago

A squeeze on climate goals

Hindustan Times  

At the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021, member countries reaffirmed the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 °C. This, says an International Energy Agency report, could impact the profitability of the renewable energy industry and …

Climate change experts say India's heatwave offers the world a terrifying glimpse into the future
2 years, 7 months ago

Climate change experts say India's heatwave offers the world a terrifying glimpse into the future

ABC  

Every year, more than a billion people sweat their way through India and Pakistan's dreaded heatwaves, which usually begin in late May. "There is overwhelming evidence in the scientific community that climate change is playing a role in causing temperature extremes to be more frequent, more intense and more elongated," Professor Mondal said. Power grid overloaded amid sweltering heat The …

Explained | What are the takeaways from the latest IPCC report on climate change?
2 years, 8 months ago

Explained | What are the takeaways from the latest IPCC report on climate change?

The Hindu  

The story so far: In its latest assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has laid out several scenarios on the steps that ought to be taken to keep temperatures below 2°C. According to the scientists, limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by …

‘It’s now or never’: IPCC warns emissions must start to decline by 2025
2 years, 8 months ago

‘It’s now or never’: IPCC warns emissions must start to decline by 2025

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists working for the world’s leading authority on climate change have warned that less than …

How India fares on climate action, in charts
2 years, 9 months ago

How India fares on climate action, in charts

Live Mint  

Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the second part of its Sixth Assessment Report. Large differences exist among Indian states in their climate change mitigation and adaptation, multiple data points show. SDG 13 on climate action includes metrics such as installed renewable energy capacity, CO2 reduction due to LED bulbs, disaster preparedness, human lives lost due to …

Rich countries can’t wash their hands off with net-zero targets
2 years, 9 months ago

Rich countries can’t wash their hands off with net-zero targets

Live Mint  

The sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change comes in four parts, three of them by three different working groups, while the fourth integrates the findings of the three working group reports into a synthesis. If the developed countries carry out the expenditure on sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere the expensive way and on carrying …

Indranil Banerjie | Global climate calamity is here: Does anybody care?
2 years, 9 months ago

Indranil Banerjie | Global climate calamity is here: Does anybody care?

Deccan Chronicle  

Hindu mythology recounts several events of mass extinctions and similar catastrophes. In its latest report on the approaching catastrophic climate change, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, has warned all of us on this planet that it is now certain that the world is headed for disastrous times, including rising oceans that will submerge vast parts of …

India stares at water scarcity, extreme heat stress: Report
2 years, 9 months ago

India stares at water scarcity, extreme heat stress: Report

Hindustan Times  

The Ganga, Indus, Amu Darya and other river basins in Asia could face severe water scarcity by 2050 due to climate crisis and related impacts that act as stress multipliers, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned on Monday. Overall, South Asia is among the most vulnerable regions in the world when it comes to severe climate impacts due to …

The climate crisis worsens
2 years, 9 months ago

The climate crisis worsens

Hindustan Times  

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ’s report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, released on Monday, is an unvarnished account of the expanding footprint of the climate crisis on the world. Mass mortality events on land and ocean; first climate-driven extinctions; loss of hundreds of local species; death and disease due to extreme heat are some of the …

The numbers game: The Hindu Editorial on COP26 United Nations climate meeting at Glasgow
3 years, 1 month ago

The numbers game: The Hindu Editorial on COP26 United Nations climate meeting at Glasgow

The Hindu  

The 26th United Nations Conference of Parties in Glasgow, Scotland may not have a significant outcome as yet in sight. Prior to the summit, there was a frantic attempt by leaders of western countries, particularly the United States and summit host the United Kingdom, to have most countries agree on a mid-century net zero goal, or when emissions dip to …

Climate crisis to shrink GDP of vulnerable nations 20% by 2050
3 years, 1 month ago

Climate crisis to shrink GDP of vulnerable nations 20% by 2050

The Independent  

The economies of some of he world’s most vulnerable countries could suffer huge losses even if we keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a report has warned. It found that most vulnerable countries could suffer an average 64 percent hit to their economy by 2100 under current climate policies The study also suggests countries could see their GDP reduced …

India & Climate Change: Implications of setting a net zero target
3 years, 1 month ago

India & Climate Change: Implications of setting a net zero target

Hindustan Times  

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5 C report highlights the criticality of achieving a net zero greenhouse gas future. We present the implications of these alternative scenarios for the required sectoral transitions across the electricity, transport, building, and industrial sectors in India and provide insights into India’s climate policy. Nuclear-based electricity generation capacity must increase to 68 GW by …

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