-AFP Global carbon dioxide missions hit a new record last year at 34 billion tonnes, with China still topping the list of greenhouse gas producers, a German-based private institute said Tuesday. The Renewable Energy Industry Institute (IWR) said that the total amounted to 800 million tonnes more than in 2010, with China accounting for 8.9 billion tonnes -- far more than the US tally of 6.0 billion tonnes. The study found that after...

-The Economic Times Along with your tablet, smartphone and car keys, get ready to pack a gas mask. And if you thought the recent smog in Delhi and the more-than-usual pollution levels (20% higher) in the last fortnight were due to the burning of residual crop in Punjab and Haryana, you are wrong. After a steady improvement since the late-1990 s, the air in Delhi — and all other Indian cities —...

-Business World Wind, water and the sun can help India cut dependence on coal and gas For India, energy security has never seemed more real, more urgent than now. Forty per cent of the country’s 1.2-billion populace is yet to have access to electricity. Even those getting grid supply suffer poor quality of power. Towns see power cuts more than half the day. The country’s energy deficit, according to the Central Electricity...

Since early November, Delhi and large parts of North India have been enveloped in a thick, grey smog, sparking concerns and a debate on what is leading to the rising levels of air pollution. A January 2012 paper by Ridhima Gupta from the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi is drawing linkages between the quality of air in the capital and agricultural practices during harvest season on farms in the neighbouring state...

-The Economic Times It's extreme weather season in Asia again. Deadly cyclones, blinding rain, floods and mudslides are becoming the norm from Nepal to Fiji. The world's policymakers must reflect on extreme weather patterns while budgeting their nations' finances. In Thailand last year's floods caused losses of $46.5 billion. Reconstruction costs will reach at least $50 billion, according to the government and UN's assessments. In Pakistan widespread flooding two years ago affected 20...