EU wants balancing package with adaptation, technology, finance, REDD plus and capacity-buildingAs the high-level segment of the U.N. climate change conference began here on Tuesday, the second period of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol (KP) has become a contentious issue. After Japan's statement on the opening day of the conference last week that it was not in favour of committing itself to a second phase, things had taken a downturn.The...

Pawan Goenka noticed something unusual last year—tractor sales were climbing even though India had its worst monsoon in more than three decades and farm output dropped 2.8% in the three months to December last fiscal. The umbilical cord that tied rainfall patterns and tractor sales seemed to have been ruptured. The president of auto and tractor maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd offers an interesting explanation to this puzzle: growing labour shortages...

After widespread dissatisfaction about the lack of transparency and oversight in critical judicial appointments, there are now signs that the government is trying to figure out how to roll back the collegium system by which judges select their own with no external inputs. The Supreme Court’s collegium, which is made up of the Chief Justice of India and four other senior judges, recommends appointments to the court after a mandatory...

companies could have a big impact in the fight against climate change, according to a United Nations report released today.“Waste and Climate Change: Global Trends and Strategy Framework” – prepared by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Environmental Technology Centre – says the waste sector is particularly well placed to cut its contribution to global man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) and even become an emissions saver.The report recommends reducing the amount...

Global agriculture contributes in the region of 17 percent to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, but according to the World Bank, climate smart agriculture techniques can both reduce emissions and meet the challenge of producing enough food for a growing world population."As much as agriculture is part of the problem, it is also part of the solution," said Inger Anderson, the World Bank's vice president on sustainable...