Archive for December 3rd, 2015

Maneka contradicts Modi, says Chennai flood is because ‘India is destroying climate’

First Post: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the ‘not our fault’ high ground when the world’s top three carbon culprits met in Paris but back home his own party’s top minister is taking a different line. Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, well known for her commitment to the green cause, said today in an interview to NDTV that India is a major culprit whose actions on climate have led to the Chennai floods Within one week of the Parliament’s winter session starting in New Delhi,...

‘Loss and damage’ creeps in from the cold at UN climate talks

Reuters: When Hurricane Katrina brought storm surges crashing into New Orleans in August 2005, Beverly Wright lost all her family photographs, going back to her great grandparents, in the flood. "You cannot replace all of the memorabilia, or pictures you cherish and pass on from person to person," said the executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. "There are things that cannot be replaced monetarily." She gave this as an example of "loss and damage" from climate change,...

France expresses solidarity with flood-hit Chennai

DNA: France on Wednesday expressed solidarity with people affected by the worst ever floods in Chennai and its suburbs and said the "unprecedented" magnitude of the flooding confirms that time is running out and "concrete and urgent" action needs to be taken against climate disruption. "Flooding in India's Chennai region has taken a tragic toll. I want to express France's solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy. The unprecedented magnitude of the flooding confirms yet again that we no longer...

New research finds that global warming is intensifying wildfires

Guardian: The fire season in northern California during 2014 was the second longest in terms of burned areas since 1996. An increase in fire risk in California is attributable to human-induced climate change. The authors, Jin-Ho Yoon and colleagues make the point that California has been under drought conditions since 2012 and that the drought worsened recently. As is obvious, drought exacerbates the threat from wildfires. Last year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection saw many more...

Jokowi leaves COP21 talks as questions remain over Indonesia haze reforms

Mongabay: Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings said it would invest $100 million over 10 years to expand protection and restoration of carbon-rich peat lands in central Sumatra. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo returned to Jakarta on Wednesday from crucial climate talks in Paris with Indonesia’s commitment to combatting forest fires and reducing greenhouse gas emissions still in the balance. “We will later announce real actions to which we will commit. This will include peat restoration, a review...