Rich world cheated poor countries of $30 billion climate funds

A report released on the eve of climate change talks in Doha has suggested that rich countries have largely cheated the developing nations of the $30 billion funds they had committed to transfer to the poor ones between 2010 and 2012.

The fund has largely been a green-wash - recycling and renaming existing funding as 'climate funding' and giving loans instead of grants, the report said.

The developed world in 2009 had promised to fast-track funding of $30 billion between 2010-2012 and an annual transfer of $100 billion starting 2020. The money was not aid or a loan. It was reparation for having contributed largely to climate change.

It was meant to go to the poorest countries to help adapt to the inevitable climate change. The funds were supposed to be new and in addition to the overseas development aid (ODA) money that the rich world already gives. It was supposed to be largely for adaptation and with flexibility for the poor countries to use based on their priorities.

Research by Oxfam now suggests the developed countries have deceived the world and largely given loans or recycled existing promises as part of the ODA commitments as contribution to the fast-track funds.

Only one-third the total funding provided till date appears to be new money and only 24% of it was in addition to existing aid commitments. Only 43% of this went as grants, the rest were given as loans on which the developed countries will actually earn interest. A mere 21% of this was spent on adaptation to climate change.

Oxfam said while releasing the report, "It reveals that many of the contributions so far are more of a 'false start' than a fast start. Developed countries have yet to make any concrete financial commitments for the period 2013 to 2020. Oxfam's research suggests that levels of public climate finance are set to fall in 2013 compared to the past three years. At the very moment that finance must be scaled up to meet the $100 billion per year Copenhagen promise, rich countries look set to scale down."

The Doha talks starting on Monday are expected to see developing countries demand more accountability and clarity from the developed world on how they shall upscale their promised funds. The rich world is keen to let private investments largely be the solution but the developing countries want public funds as the central source, helping attract private investments in clean energy and adaptation. But the continued fiscal ill-health of the developed countries has become an excuse used often to evade obligations.

Cyclists set out for green GDP

A group of environmental activists set out from here on a 2,000km awareness yatra on Tuesday to press for the introduction of what they are calling gross environmental product (GEP), a measure similar to GDP for monitoring India's natural resources.

The 11-member team will travel on bicycles from Siliguri in north Bengal to Dehradun in Uttarakhand, covering the distance in 40 days. They will hold meetings along the way to spread the word on why India needs to track its natural resources such as water, air, soil, forests etc.

"Only a stable ecology can lead to a stable economy. Just as the government releases GDP figures, it should also come out with an annual GEP, which would be a tabulation of how each of our natural resources was spent in that year," said Anil P Joshi, who is leading the yatra. The group, consisting of activists aged 19 to 72, would be travelling through Patna, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Mathura and Delhi, interacting with people to popularize the demand for GEP. "Our mission is to create mass awareness about the need to formulate an ecological growth measure so people know about the health of India's environment," said Joshi, a Padma Shri-awardee who runs a Dehra Dun-based NGO, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization.

GEP is somewhat similar to the concept of a 'green GDP' — gross domestic product after being adjusted for environmental costs of economic activity — which the Union environment ministry hopes to roll out by 2015.

The team would cross 55 districts and more than a 1,000 villages to reach the Himalayas. "Our other motto is save the Himalayas. For ages, this mountain range has been providing life to 65% of Indians. Today, Himalayan ecology is threatened and we wish to raise awareness about what this means for people living in the plains," Joshi said.

Indian species on most threatened list

They may disappear even before we get to know them. Four Indian species feature in a list of the '100 most threatened' species in the world. The list consists of critically endangered animals, plants and fungi that don't serve any obvious purpose for humans and are, therefore, not priority for government conservation efforts. Titled, "Priceless or Worthless," the list was compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Zological Society of London and released on Tuesday.

The 'Great Indian Bustard', one of the heaviest flying birds, 'Gooty tarantula', a poisonous spider known for its vibrant blue colour, 'Batagur buska', an endangered turtle and the 'White Bellied Heron' are all on the brink of extinction, according to the list, released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in South Korea. 'Priceless or Worthless,' highlights the plight of species that have been endangered but haven't received adequate attention from governments. Conservationists fear the neglect will continue as none of them provide humans with obvious 'benefits.' For the first time, more than 8,000 scientists from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) came together to prepare such a list.

The four species lack the charisma of bigger endangered animals like tigers. But The disappearance of the four species is of concern as all four they once occurred in great abundance in India. The Gooty Tarantula (also metallic tarantula or peacock tarantula), was plentiful in Ooty, Tamil Nadu.

According to the list, there are just 50 to 249 adult birds left of the Great Indian Bustard that was very common in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. "At least through this list the bird may get some attention. In 1969-70, there were around 1,200 to 1,300 GIBs but with hunting and change in agricultural methods, it's disappearing," says Pramod Patil of Pune-based Great Indian Bustard Foundation.

US university unveils new solar energy technology

Scientists at an American university have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nano-particles to convert solar energy directly into steam that could be used for sanitation and water purification in developing countries.

The new "solar steam" method is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water, said inventors from the Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

The new technology has an overall energy efficiency of 24%. Photovoltaic solar panels, by comparison, typically only have an overall energy efficiency around 15%, said the university.

The inventors said they expect the first uses of the new technology will not be for electricity generation but rather for sanitation and water purification in developing countries.

"This is about a lot more than electricity," said LANP director Naomi Halas, the lead scientist on the project.

"With this technology, we are beginning to think about solar thermal power in a completely different way," said Halas.

The efficiency of solar steam is due to the light-capturing nanoparticles that convert sunlight into heat. When submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the particles heat up so quickly they instantly vaporize water and create steam.

Halas said the solar steam's overall energy efficiency can probably be increased as the technology is refined.

"We're going from heating water on the macro scale to heating it at the nanoscale," Halas said.

"Our particles are very small - even smaller than a wavelength of light - which means they have an extremely small surface area to dissipate heat. This intense heating allows us to generate steam locally, right at the surface of the particle, and the idea of generating steam locally is really counter-intuitive."

Rice graduate student Oara Neumann videotaped a solar steam demonstration in which a test tube of water containing light-activated nano-particles was submerged into a bath of ice water. Using lens to concentrate sunlight onto the near-freezing mixture in the tube, Neumann showed she could create steam from nearly frozen water.

Steam is one of the world's most-used industrial fluids. About 90 percent of electricity is produced from steam, and steam is also used to sterilize medical waste and surgical instruments, to prepare food and to purify water.

Most industrial steam is produced in large boilers, and Halas said solar steam's efficiency could allow steam to become economical on a much smaller scale.

Another potential use could be in powering hybrid air-conditioning and heating systems that run off of sunlight during the day and electricity at night.

International conference on bear conservation begins tomorrow in New Delhi

Wildlife experts from several countries will assemble here tomorrow to discuss the opportunities and challenges of conservation of bears.

The International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA), being held for the first time in India, is the largest conference focused on conservation and research of all eight bear species found in the world.

The conference is held alternately in the Americas and Eurasia on an 18-month rotation.

Officials said bear experts from 35 countries will present their latest research findings on the animal at the conference being hosted by the Union Environment Ministry in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Central Zoo Authority and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

The conference will provide opportunities to share learnings and build collaborations for conservation and welfare of all species of bears found worldwide, they said.

"India is unique in having four of the eight species of bears in the world," said S Sathyakumar, scientist, WII.

"With this conference, a new chapter has been initiated in Indian wildlife conservation. Not just are we hosting an international conference on bears for the first time in south Asia, this also brings a much-needed action plan and focus for similar other species in addition to our popular flagships," he said.

About 180 research papers will be presented during the five-day conference.

The participants include 350-400 persons including members of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, IUCN-SSC Bear Specialist Group, bear experts, field researchers, students and managers of bear populations and habitats.

"There is so much research being done on bears across the world. The IBA conferences provide a platform for the researchers to share their findings, so that these can be put into use to save bears," said Vivek Menon, Executive Director, WTI.

Environment education to be compulsory in all diploma courses at Haryana ITIs

In response to an order passed by a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Haryana State Board of Technical Education has decided to incorporate the subject of Environment Education as a compulsory subject in various diploma courses offered by the board.
This was in a public interest litigation filed by Advocate H C Arora.
In its order dated September 10, a division bench had directed the Haryana State Board of Technical Education, Panchkula, to take a decision, by treating the petition filed by Arora as a representation.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court also directed the Haryana State Board of Technical Education, Panchkula, to pass an appropriate order for incorporating the subject of Environment Education as a compulsory subject in all diploma courses in the ITIs all over Haryana.
Vide a letter dated October 18, the Secretary of the Haryana State Board of Technical Education, Panchkula has informed Advocate H C Arora that ‘as per orders of the High Court, it has been decided to incorporate Environment Education as a compulsory subject in the various diploma courses offered by the board’.
This decision has been taken by the Board in association with the Curriculum Development Centre of the National Institute of Technical Teacher Training and Research (NITTTR).