International Day for Biodiversity: The Sooner We See the Web of Life, the Better

The world has been witnessing a series of virus spillovers from wild species to humans. The spate of infectious diseases in recent decades –  Chikungunya, Ebola, yellow fever, swine flu, bird flu, SARS, Nipah, Zika – all can be traced to biodiversity loss and the subsequent close interactions between wild species and human beings. Data reveals that infectious diseases have, in fact, tripled every decade since the 1980s, with nearly 60% of these originating in wild animals.

Up-to-date Emission Inventories Will Guide India on Climate Goals

The recent Leaders’ Summit has signaled a strong comeback by the United States into the climate fold. Other major economies like Canada and Japan too have ramped up their climate targets, indicating a global thrust towards emissions reduction. With this build-up of momentum, India will also be pushed to revise its climate commitments. Given the ongoing efforts to revive the economy damaged by the pandemic, this is an opportune time for India to both take stock of its emissions and devise new pathways for a sustainable future.
 

Mitigation co-benefits of carbon sequestration from MGNREGS in India

Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme a large social security programme being implemented in India, with an average annual investment of US$ 7 billion. The bulk of the activities under this programme are focused on natural resources such as land, water and trees, which provide adaptation benefits. In this study an attempt is made to estimate the carbon sequestration achieved and future potential, as a co-benefit, from MGNREGS. 

Floating Solar in India: The Now and How of It

To keep pace with India’s RE commitments, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) invited expressions of interest from prospective developers in 2017 to implement 10 GW of floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems by 2022. However, as of July 2019, India has been able to add only about 2.7 MW. Currently, large-scale projects worth ~1.7 GW are under development, which are expected to contribute significantly to the 2020 target. This includes the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC’s) 100 MW plant in Telangana, India’s largest FPV project.

Sustainable alternative futures for agriculture in India—the energy, emissions, and resource implications

India’s falling aquifer levels, erratic monsoons, arable land constraints, stagnating crop yields, growing food demand, and rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessitate that strategic interventions be planned and implemented to maintain food security in the country.

India's Electric Vehicle Transition Over the Years

‘Lovebird’, the first electric vehicle (EV) in India, was launched in 1993 by Eddy Current Controls. Equipped with a lead–acid battery, which took eight hours to charge fully, the two-seater car had a driving range of 60 km per charge. Zero subsidies, the lack of electric power and networks, and the inability of the car to climb a gradient above 15 degrees were some major drawbacks back then. The technology, infrastructure, and policy support for EVs is much better today, but the price is still as high as it was in the 90s when compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. 

The Current EV Policy Ecosystem in India

In India, the electrification of the transportation sector is considered a vital strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution. Therefore, the central and state governments have introduced policies, financial schemes, guidelines, and standards to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles (EV). In addition to its favourable impact on the environment, transition to electric mobility can also expedite India’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) goals to reduce GHG emission intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 33-35% by 2030, from 2005 level.

Li-Removal Mechanism and Its Effect on Oxygen Stability Influencing the Electrochemical Performance of Li1.17Ni0.17Mn0.67O2: Experimental and First-Principles Analysis

The high capacity of Li-rich layered cathode materials is always accompanied by the removal of oxygen from the crystal structure. These oxygen vacancies alter the structural stability, which subsequently deteriorates the electrochemical performance. The electronic origin of oxygen stability with partial delithiation has not been extensively studied so far in the presence of multiple d-orbital elements. Current work presents the experimental and density functional theory based study of the Li-rich phase, Li1.17Ni0.17Mn0.67O2.

Mobile-Monitoring Campaign for Air Pollution Studies in Bengaluru

Stationary monitoring is the most commonly adopted method to understand the air pollution levels in India. However, these stations fail to capture local variations in concentration levels. In areas where the emissions and concentrations levels exhibit fine-scale spatial variability, understanding local sources will be key for policymakers to implement effective measures. Sensors installed in mobile platforms have been used to generate evidence at a more granular level.