Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Environmental Groups Blast G20 Summit

Environmental groups say world leaders have failed to address the climate issue at the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada. The executive director of Greenpeace USA, Phil Radford, summed up the G20 summit from his perspective.

"It is like a meal where you ask your friends to come and bring a dish," he said. "Some countries came with things that were half-baked.  Some countries like Canada came with food that was rotten and then others showed up with nothing at all," said Radford. World leaders met in Toronto, Canada for a two-day summit with the primary focus being the world economy. ... Read more..

'We have not used any carbon space'

India will push for an atmospheric space that can be equally partitioned with various countries via a global carbon budget during the next six months in the run up to the climate change conference at Cancun later this year.

'We have not used any carbon space'

India will push for an atmospheric space that can be equally partitioned with various countries via a global carbon budget during the next six months in the run up to the climate change conference at Cancun later this year.

India to take up a lead role on global carbon budget

India will take up a leadership role on the issues of global carbon budget and seek support from various countries in equitable access to atmospheric space in the run up to the Cancun climate change meet, union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said Monday.India cannot and will not accept any agreement which does not have its fundamental principle of “equity and equitable access to Global Atmospheric Space,” he said at the two-day conference on ‘Global Carbon budgets and equity in climate change,´ at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

So near yet so far: the EU and India

The way ahead The European Union has been a trusted partner in India’s development efforts, contributing funds to tackle poverty, improve healthcare and provide access to good education in India. In recent years, co-operation has increased to such areas like civil aviation, solar energy, research on nuclear fusion and ITeS (IT enabled services).

Higher yields cut greenhouse gases, study says

Don’t blame the tractor, fertilizers or herbicides for excess greenhouse gas emissions. A new study, published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , claims gains in agricultural yields from 1961 to 2005 have instead saved the earth from more than a billion of tons in greenhouse emissions.

Wind and labor leaders unite to push for jobs and clean energy

Clean energy advocates and labor leaders are calling on the U.S. to step up its commitment to wind energy and wind-related manufacturing — or risk losing thousands of jobs to China, Europe and India.

CDM developers confident of post-2012 market - poll

Nearly 70 percent of clean-energy project developers in India believe there will be a post-2012 successor to the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol climate pact with binding emissions targets, according to a poll. And nearly 60 percent expect markets in the United States, Japan and Australia will accept tradeable carbon offsets from their projects, the poll by Emergent Ventures India (EVI) said.

India will lead 'global carbon budget' debate: Jairam Ramesh

Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that India will take the lead on global carbon budget, and will initiate a debate at the next Climate Summit to be held in Cancun, Mexico, this year. Ramesh said this while addressing a conference on 'Global Carbon Budgets and Equity in Climate Change' in Mumbai. In his keynote address, he said that the global climate accord must include the principle of a climate budget

Samsung India Announces First Solar-Powered Mobile Phone

Imagine living in a poor rural area or urban slum with sporadic or no electricity: the reality is, you would still need a cell phone. Today, Samsung India launched the first solar-powered phone, the Solar Guru, which allows users to charge the phone anywhere the sun is shining — and in India, that’s most places. The Guru is the first solar mobile phone to hit the market, and, at $60, it’s designed to be affordable as well.

Water Trickles Back into Village, Thanks to Solar Desalination

Ismail Achar never thought a day would come when his island village would be reduced to a barren tract of land with hardly a drop of water to drink. After all, his village, Jat Mohammad, is situated along the Indus delta in Sindh province in south-eastern Pakistan, which is considered one of the longest rivers in the world.

The good, bad and the ugly about carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is fast gaining popularity as a way to counter global warming. However, its effectiveness and consequences are not yet fully understood. Now, a Niels Bohr Institute researcher is providing an insight into these issues. Large scale use of carbon sequestration could help to avoid extreme global warming that would otherwise occur in the near future unless fossil fuel emissions are reduced significantly.