India's key sectors like water, forest, health and agriculture will be affected in a major way due to the increase in net temperature by 1.7- 2.2 degree celsius in another 20 years in the four climate hotspots. The "Climate Change and India: a 4x4 assessment" report, which was released today providing an assessment of impact of climate change in 2030, also predicts an increase in precipitation (rain, snow and storm) in...

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh today said the use of sports utility vehicles and BMWs in India was “criminal” and called for changes in diesel pricing to discourage people from riding fuel-guzzlers. He said India’s SUV market was growing on subsidised diesel, the owners benefiting from the subsidies intended mainly to help farmers. “The growth of large-size vehicles like SUVs is a growth of concern.... The use of vehicles such as SUVs and...

In India (and elsewhere) we have several people’s struggles which are protesting against displacement and trying to protect their sustainable life-styles and livelihoods based on farmlands, pastures and forests, rivers and coastal areas. These struggles involve farmers, forest-produce gatherers (tribals particularly), pastoral people, fisherfolk and others with related livelihoods. These traditional livelihoods have been passed on from generation to generation, but are now increasingly threatened on a scale never seen...

“The main instrument for global food security is national food production. Every country has an obligation to provide food for its own population. Trade alone cannot solve the fundamental challenges regarding hunger,” believes Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food Lars Peder Brekk. When agriculture is Norway’s second biggest national industry and provides for half of the Norwegian people’s needs, it’s no wonder that he sees eye to eye with India...

Spewing summit The Copenhagen summit will generate more carbon emissions than any previous climate conference, equivalent to the annual output by 2,300 Americans or 660,000 Ethiopians. Delegates, journalists, activists and observers from almost 200 countries have gathered at the December 7-18 summit and their travel and work will create 46,200 tonnes of CO2, most of it from their flights to Copenhagen. This would fill nearly 10,000 Olympic swimming pools. The calculation includes...