Cement, Energy and Environment

i .l I majority support in the senate last year. The US government's latest move to push a modified bill (it reduced emissions target to 17 per cent) by getting the opposition on board also failed. Republican senator Lindsey Graham who drafted the new bill along with Democrat leader John Ker~ and independent senator Joseph Lieberman withdrew his support to the bill on April 24, two days before the bill was to be unveiled in the senate. In Australia, the government deferred its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on May 4. The scheme requires polluters to buy scheme requires polluters to buy licences to emit carbon; it was to be launched in July. The scheme aims at cutting emissions by five to 15 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020. Policy experts see the development as a fallout of the failed US energy bill. Raman Mehta of the non-profit ActionAid India: "The non-commitment of the US would undermine the willingness of developed countries to act. This might even lead to an increased global pressure of countries like China and India for binding measures," he added. The biggest impact of the halt of the US climate bill would be on the Cancun summit in December, said Sanjay Vashist, director of Climate Action Network, South Asia. "I expected little from the US on climate change bill. It has never kept its commitment," said Su~a Sethi, former principal advisor (energy) to Planning Commission of India. Courtesy: Down to Earth, May 16-31, 2010, P19. SIKKIM TO SET UP PANELS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN The Sikkim government is set to notify working groups for preparation of a state-level action plan on climate change with support from GTZ. The working groups for preparing an action plan on eight thrust areas affected by climate change will be notified soon by the state government. Eight thrust areas have been identified for preparation of the state-level action plan for climate change. These areas are forests, wildlife, eco-tourism, water resources, energy efficiency, urban habitats, water resources, and communities vulnerable to climate change at the gram panchayat level. The action plan will give top priority to water resources in both urban and rural areas, and those areas vulnerable to climate change at the gram panchayat levels. Courtesy: TERI(The Energy Resources Institute) Newswire, 16 -31May, 2010, P19 2010: HOTTEST YEAR IN INDIA TILL DATE Why there were no April showers this year • By May 31, 250 people across India reportedly died of heat stroke. 2010 has been the warmest year so far since record keeping began in 1901 . • Mean temperatures for March and April were also the highest till date. For March, it was 26.3'C (2'C above normal), and for April, it was 29.1 ' C (2'C above normal) • An anti-cyclone that hovered over northwest and central India during March, April and May is said to have blocked the western disturbances from the Mediterranean Sea that usher in pre-monsoon showers • The clock-wise motion of the anti-cyclone may have helped hot westerlies penetrate deep into the count~ • Cyclone Laila that hit the western coast on May 17 cut off the cool easterlies that bring showers to the eastern coast. • The after-cycle of last year's EI-Nino increased temperatures globally, including India. Sources: India Meteorological Department, National Atmospheric Research Laboratory at Tirupati. Courtesy: Down to Earth, June 16-30, 2010, P20. CLIMATE CHANGE FAILED TWO CROP CYCLES Threat A top govt body says there is evidence of climate impact on agriculture New Delhi: India is among many developing countries whose agriculture has been impacted by climate change but the count~ has the capacity to adapt to changes, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the top government farm research body, said on 2.6.2010. For the first time, the ICAR said there was empirical evidence to show that change in weather patterns affected at least two cropping cycles in recent years. ''The impact of changing climate on Indian agricultu re is inevitable but we have the capacity to initiate mitigation and adaptation measures," Swapan Kumar Dutta, ICAR's deputy director general of crops, told. 41