All posts by : Prachi Jain

Soldiers, emergency workers, and volunteers in Wrocław, Poland, worked through the night to reinforce flood defences as the EU warned that simultaneous floods in central Europe and wildfires in Portugal show the reality of climate breakdown.

In Poland, over five times the average September rainfall in five days has led to widespread flooding, killing 22 people across Poland, Austria, Romania, and the Czech Republic. Emergency crews fortified riverbanks with sandbags as the Oder River continued to rise, while €395m in aid was allocated to rebuild damaged infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Portugal declared a “state of calamity” as wildfires raged, killing seven and destroying thousands of hectares of forest. Both disasters highlight the increasing severity of climate-induced extreme weather events across Europe. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is set to visit Wrocław to meet with political leaders to address the crisis. Read More

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Maciej Kulczyński/EPA

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investing $291 million, sourced from the Inflation Reduction Act, to help the aviation industry reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This funding is focused on advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other low-emission technologies through two critical grant programs.

The FAA’s FueAviation’sion’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) grants will allocate $244.5 million to 22 projects aimed at scaling SAF production, transportation, and storage while increasing accessibility. Another $46.5 million will go toward 14 projects focused on developing and applying low-emission aviation technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon pollution.

Despite SAF’s potential to be used with minor adjustments to existing aircraft and infrastructure, it currently accounts for less than 0.1% of all aviation fuel. This low supply, coupled with higher costs, presents challenges for airlines, as switching to SAF could drive up ticket prices. While the UK is set to implement an SAF mandate in 2025, requiring 2% of jet fuel demand to be met by SAF, airlines like Lufthansa and British Airways have already warned of higher fares due to the shift to cleaner fuels. Read More

News Credit: E+T (Engineering and Technology)

A new study by the University of Leeds reveals that 52 million tonnes of plastic entered the environment in 2020, with two-thirds stemming from uncollected waste. The research highlights that 1.2 billion people, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India, Nigeria, and Indonesia, lack access to proper waste collection.

These nations contributed over half of the world’s plastic pollution, with 30 million tonnes burned in the open, posing severe risks to human health due to harmful chemical additives in plastics. This study underscores the urgent need for global waste management reforms. Read More

News Credit: E+T (Engineering and Technology)

Heavy rains have turned tranquil streams into raging rivers across central Europe, causing deadly floods that have killed at least 15 people and devastated towns from Austria to Romania. This comes after similar flooding in Myanmar and Nigeria, where millions have been affected.

Climate scientists are not surprised by the intensity of the floods, citing that warmer air holds more moisture, leading to more extreme rainfall. Sonia Seneviratne of ETH Zürich noted that warmer seas, such as the Black and Mediterranean, contributed to the increased water vapour fueling the heavy downpours. The events highlight how unprepared the world remains for climate-induced disasters. Read More

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Action Press/Rex/Shutterstock

Southeast Asia faces significant climate threats, and digital solutions are crucial to enhancing resilience. A recent Google and Deloitte report highlights that digital transformation can help the region prepare for weather-related disasters, reduce economic losses, and strengthen climate defences. The report, Digital as a Key Enabler for Climate Action: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Perspective, stresses the interconnectedness of climate change and digital progress, particularly in developing APAC nations with fewer resources.

In 2022, nearly 13 million people in Southeast Asia were affected by floods, typhoons, wildfires, and extreme temperatures, and the region is recognized as the most hazard-prone globally. Southeast Asia’s dual challenge is adapting to climate change driven by emissions from advanced economies while also rethinking development strategies that exacerbate global warming.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) highlights digital transformation as essential to future-proofing cities and economies. Failing to embrace digital technologies will hinder disaster preparedness and socioeconomic progress. Weather-related disasters are projected to reduce Southeast Asia’s GDP by 11% by the end of the century, with markets facing severe economic losses if climate change remains unchecked. In the worst scenario, countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand could lose more than seven times their 2019 GDP by 2050. Read More

News Credit: Eco-Business

Picture Credit: Toomas Tartes, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Unsplash

A team from the University of Córdoba recently conducted a comparative study of sustainability reports from 100 agri-food companies in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, published in the Journal of Policy Modeling. Despite the European Union’s long-standing commitment to harmonizing regulations, the study reveals that sustainability reporting in the agri-food sector remains inconsistent, even ten years after the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU (NFRD).

This directive, introduced to standardize how European companies report on sustainability, aimed to ensure that businesses could be effectively measured, monitored, and compared across social, economic, governance, and environmental factors. However, the directive’s flexibility, allowing companies to choose their preferred reporting standards, has led to significant variation in the quality and content of sustainability disclosures.

The research team, comprising Carlos Anguiano, Melania Salazar, Rossana Tornel, and Macario Rodríguez, found that the lack of a unified reporting model has hindered the goal of achieving transparency and comparability across the sector in Europe’s leading agri-food countries. Despite the directive’s audits and sanctions for non-compliance, the absence of a mandatory reporting framework has left the sustainability landscape fragmented, raising concerns about the effectiveness of regulatory efforts in driving meaningful environmental and social progress. Read More

News Credit: Phys.Org

Image: Comparison of the quantity of information disclosure by country and status (voluntary vs mandatory). Credit: Journal of Policy Modeling (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2024.01.008

As climate change stresses the rainforests where cocoa beans thrive, companies are exploring innovative ways to meet the growing demand for chocolate. Scientists and entrepreneurs are working on methods to grow cocoa beyond the traditional tropical regions, from Northern California to Israel, and even developing cocoa substitutes.

California Cultured, a plant cell culture company, is pioneering the growth of cocoa from cell cultures in West Sacramento. By placing cocoa bean cells in a vat with sugar water, they can reproduce quickly, reaching maturity in just a week—far faster than the traditional six to eight months. This process also uses less water and reduces the need for intensive labour.

Cocoa trees typically grow in regions near the equator with warm weather and abundant rainfall, including West Africa and South America. However, climate change is expected to dry out these lands, leading scientists and entrepreneurs to find new ways to make cocoa crops more resilient and pest-resistant.

They are also developing chocolatey-tasting alternatives to cocoa to keep up with the massive demand, which saw U.S. chocolate sales surpass $25 billion in 2023. With demand expected to outpace supply, companies are betting on cell-based cocoa and alternatives made from ingredients like oats and carob to satisfy chocolate lovers worldwide. Read More

News Credit: AP

Picture Credit: Internet

Scorching temperatures across Europe have claimed tens of thousands of lives in recent years, with those living in poverty disproportionately affected. According to Julio Díaz Jiménez, a professor at Madrid’s Carlos III Health Institute, the impact of a heatwave varies dramatically depending on living conditions: “A heatwave is not the same when you’re in a shared room with no air conditioning, as when you’re in a villa with a pool.”

Díaz Jiménez’s research, examining 17 districts in Madrid, revealed that heatwaves significantly increased mortality in only three districts—those with below-average household incomes. People with lower incomes often endure overcrowded, poorly ventilated housing, limited access to healthcare, and work in high-risk sectors like agriculture and construction, which increase their vulnerability to extreme heat. Even when air conditioning is available, many cannot afford to use it. Earlier this year, Save the Children reported that one in three children in Spain were unable to stay cool at home, posing severe risks to their physical and mental health. Read More

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Miguel Pereira/Getty Images

Scientists have uncovered more than 1,700 viruses from deep within a glacier on the Tibetan Plateau, most of which are new to science. These viruses, extracted from a 1,000-foot ice core in the Guliya Glacier, date back 41,000 years and span three major climate shifts. Researchers found that viral communities differed significantly between cold and warm periods, suggesting a potential link between viruses and climate change.

Warming may have eliminated some viruses while introducing new ones from distant regions like the Arctic. These ancient viruses could provide insights into how life evolved through past climate changes and help understand whether ancient ecosystems were carbon sinks or sources. Although some dormant viruses released from melting glaciers might pose risks, the viruses from the Guliya glacier do not threaten humans, according to the study published in Nature Geoscience. Researchers emphasize the importance of studying these viruses before glaciers disappear. Read More

News Credit: Yale Environment 360

Picture Credit: unknown