Climate Hour: Here’s What Happened at COP28 and Why You Should Care

CSTEP conducted the second edition of Climate Hour on 15 December 2023. CSTEP’s climate experts discussed the main proceedings of COP28 and decoded their implications for India and the rest of the globe.

 

This was followed by an interactive quiz on climate policy and action where participants showed their prowess and won exciting prizes!

 

Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location: Virtual session

Are electric cars the silver bullet for meeting India’s greenhouse gas emission goals?

Decarbonisation of the transportation sector—the world’s second highest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—is critical to mitigate climate change. Most European and North American nations and China have settled on vehicle electrification as the best GHG reduction strategy.

The Government of India, too, has provided subsidies for electric cars (e-cars), but whether their adoption is the best way to decarbonise the transport sector requires further exploration.

‘Loss and damage’ fund talks leave developing nations at new disadvantage

As the climate crisis intensifies, two terms are in sharp focus: adaptation and ‘loss and damage’ (L&D).

Adaptation is the proactive response to climate change, the art of survival using which communities and countries make deliberate choices to prepare for and cope with climate-related challenges.

CEA guidelines to unify demand forecasting across states

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has recently released guideli­nes on medium- and long-term demand forecasting, aiming to address the non-uniformity in forecasting app­roa­ches used by various states and utilities. While these guidelines offer clarity on major aspects, some issues need to be resolved for effective implementation.

Towards Net Zero 2070 Through Sustainable Battery Storage Adoption in India

India's commitment to the EV30@30 initiative that targets at least30% of vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 translates into adding24 million two-wheelers, 2.9 million three-wheelers, and 5.4 million four-wheelers to its EV fleet by 2035. To meet this demand and reduce its reliance on global EV-component markets, India requires around 3,400-4,100 GWh of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by2035, estimates the International Council on Clean Transportation.

The Case for Action on Black Carbon

CSTEP and Clean Air Fund launched The Case for Action on Black Carbon, a policy brief highlighting the importance of reducing black carbon emissions across the globe, during a side event at COP28, Dubai. A panel discussion on why action on black carbon emissions is crucial for a sustainable future preceded the launch of the brief.

 

Read the policy brief here.

 

The eARTh Climate Fellowship

As part of the first edition of the eARTh Climate Fellowship, four fellows were selected and taken through a series of workshops educating them on the science of climate change and helping them present their ideas through various art forms such as visual art and storytelling.

 

Application of an Ultra-Low-Cost Passive Sampler for Light-Absorbing Carbon in Mongolia

Low-cost, long-term measures of air pollution concentrations are often needed for epidemiological studies and policy analyses of household air pollution. The Washington passive sampler (WPS), an ultra-low-cost method for measuring the long-term average levels of light-absorbing carbon (LAC) air pollution, uses digital images to measure the changes in the reflectance of a passively exposed paper filter. A prior publication on WPS reported high precision and reproducibility.