THE GREEN BULLETIN
GCESD Newsletter
Fourth Issue, 12th October - 18th October.
ASEAN Agreement on Haze? As Clear as Smoke
The 1997 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, a legally binding agreement among the 10 member countries of the ASEAN organisation comprising of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The haze agreement was the world’s first regional arrangement that binds a group of states to tackle transboundary pollution from land and forest fires. A regional agreement on managing transboundary haze caused by fires raging in Indonesia’s forests and peatlands appears all but buried in the embers of frustration of its neighbouring countries. The agreement is said to be legally binding, but ASEAN has no court to try the offenders.
For more information please visit: http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/10/asean-agreement-on-haze-as-clear-as-smoke/
Korea’s Hoesung Lee succeeds R.K. Pachauri as Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) chair
Korean professor in the economics of climate change, energy and sustainable development, Hoesung Lee (69) was elected to head the Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change, the UN Climate Science Panel at its 42nd session underway in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Lee succeeds the previous chairperson R.K. Pachauri of India who had stepped down, following the sexual abuse scandal in which he was allegedly involved.
For more information please visit:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/06/un-climate-science-panel-elects-new-leader
Pay for causing pollution, Supreme Court to trucks entering Delhi
Declaring that controlling Delhi's pollution has become the "requirement of the day", the Supreme Court agreed to formalise in a judicial order a series of directions to impose 'environment compensation charge' on all light and heavy duty commercial vehicles entering the National Capital. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India passed a formal order and directed the Delhi government to issue a separate notification in this regard.
For more information please visit: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/pay-for-causing-pollution-sc-to-trucks-entering-delhi/article7742628.ece
Antarctic ice sheets face catastrophic collapse without deep emissions cuts
Study finds that a global temperature increase of 3C would cause ice shelves to disappear, triggering sea-level rise that would continue for thousands of years. A team of researchers have found that steep cuts to emissions during the next decade are the only way to avoid a catastrophic collapse of Antarctic ice sheets and associated sea-level rise. Ahead of COP [Conference of the Parties, the Paris summit], this new study is a useful reminder that future climate warming might trigger extreme and irreversible ice losses from Antarctica over centuries.
For more information please visit:
Cecil the lion: Zimbabwe will not charge US dentist over killing
Zimbabwean environment minister says Walter Palmer’s big-game hunting trip was legal and he could not be charged. Zimbabwe will not charge American dentist Walter Palmer for killing a prized lion in July because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt
For more information please visit:
150 countries pledge to curb carbon emissions
Some 150 countries representing around 90% of the world’s carbon emissions have now filed pledges to curb them, dramatically increasing the chances of a deal at the Paris climate summit in December. Globally, countries have signed off on the creation of a $100bn-a-year green climate fund, which should disburse climate aid by 2020.
For more information visit : http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/13/150-countries-pledge-to-curb-carbon-emissions
UN drops plan to help move climate-change affected people
Australia’s opposition to the creation of a body to help people escaping the ravages of climate change appears to have paid off, with the idea dropped from the draft agreement for the crucial UN climate talks in Paris. A previous draft of the deal to be thrashed out by nations included a “climate change displacement coordination facility” that would provide “organised migration and planned relocation”, as well as compensation, to people fleeing rising sea levels, extreme weather and ruined agriculture. However, this reference has been removed in a revised text ahead of the December climate conference negotiations as Australia opposed the plan for a group to assist migration, and it has been left off the draft agreement for UN climate talks in Paris
For more information visit: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/07/un-drops-plan-to-create-group-to-relocate-climate-change-affected-people
Dengue, another climate alert
What does farmer’s despair over crop failure have in common with dengue fever, which is ravaging Delhi and other cities of India? Seemingly nothing. But dig a little deeper and you will find that in both cases variable and erratic weather is at the root of these tragic events. There is another connection: lack of governmental policy, action and, quite frankly, callous neglect that has made both events even more horrific and painful.
For more information please visit: http://www.cseindia.org/content/dengue-another-climate-alert
Equity remains absent from draft climate change agreement
The first draft of the new climate change agreement, presented to governments by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is seen as an important milestone before countries meet in Paris in December to finalise the deal. However, the draft does not include the concept of equity which is likely to emerge as the main bone of contention in the negotiations. Developing countries argue that the west has created more emission and hence, it should take greater responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emission.
For more information please visit: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/equity-remains-a-miss-in-the-draft-of-climate-change-agreement-51402
The Feds Just Got Sued for Letting Nestlé Bottle Water in California’s Drought Country
A group of environmental organizations sued the US Forest Service, claiming that it allowed Nestlé to illegally divert millions of gallons of water from California's San Bernadino National Forest to use for Arrowhead brand bottled water while the state struggles through a historic drought. Nestlé has had rights to bottle water from the forest's Strawberry Creek for decades, but a investigation in March of this year found that the company's permit to use a four-mile pipeline that transports the water to the bottling plant expired in 1988.
For more information please visit: http://www.motherjones.com/bluemarble/2015/10/nestle-lawsuit-arrowhead
Can the Milan Expo Bring Food Systems Into the Global Spotlight?
The Milan Expo is the 2015 Universal Exhibition, the modern equivalent of the World's Fair. This year, the goal is to bring people together to explore a common theme: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” The Expo isn’t Epcot and it’s not a scholarly conference with pavilions representing 140 different countries. But the question of whether or not it is moving the needle regarding food and sustainability is much harder to answer. The Expo’s intended legacy is dialogue and shared commitment to moving forward together. Alongside the event, 98 thematic groups have called on individuals and institutions alike to assume responsibility in ensuring global food security in a six-page participatory document called the Charter of Milan.
For more information please visit: http://civileats.com/2015/08/13/can-the-milan-expo-bring-food-systems-into-the-global-spotlight/
We're About to Cause the Worst Coral Die-Off in History
Scientists have confirmed the third-ever global bleaching of coral reefs is under way following a massive and persistent underwater heat wave and warned it could see the biggest coral die-off in history.By the end of this year 38% of the world’s reefs will have been affected. About 5% will have died forever. The only two previous such global events were in 1998 and 2010, when every major ocean basin experienced bleaching.
For more information please visit: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/08/worlds-oceans-facing-biggest-coral-die-off-in-history-scientists-warn
Toyota Plans To Stop Selling Traditional Gasoline Cars By 2050
Toyota, under ambitious environmental targets, is aiming to sell hardly any regular gasoline vehicles by 2050, only hybrids and fuel cells, to radically reduce emissions.
The automaker promised to involve governments, affiliated companies and other "stakeholders" in its push to reduce average emissions from Toyota cars by 90 percent by about 2050, compared with 2010 levels. As part of its environmental vision, Toyota also promised to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from production lines during manufacturing in 2030 to about a third of 2001 levels.
For more information please visit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/toyota-to-stop-selling-traditional-gasoline-cars-by-2050_561e5a7be4b0c5a1ce61380a?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green§ion=india&adsSiteOverride=in
Charge for Plastic Bags in Britain Draws Applause, Anger and Humor
Starting this week, the British government introduced a 5 pence charge for plastic bags for most groceries, clothes and other purchased items. And while it did not lead to a nationwide mutiny, as some had warned, it did create some tension in cashier lines. The British government imposed the charge, which started on Monday, as a way to reduce pollution and waste. When bags are not flying in the breeze, entangled in trees or floating down waterways, they are taking up space in landfills — and it can take 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. Last year, major supermarkets in England handed out roughly 7.6 billion single-use plastic bags, about 140 per person. Charging for them is not only meant to encourage people to use cloth or other renewable bags, they said; it also could save and make money.
For more information please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/world/europe/plastic-bag-charge-england.html?ref=earth
GNLU Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (GCESD)
Ground Floor, Administrative Block
Gujarat National Law University
Attalika Avenue, Knowledge Corridor, Koba, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382007.
Email: gcel@gnlu.ac.in
Website: http://www.gnlu.ac.in
Location: Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Phone: 079-23276611