The Minister for Environment and Forests, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, on Wednesday termed the European Union’s emission tax on airlines as a “unilateral" decision.

She said in the backdrop of global efforts to tackle climate change challenges, the EU’s tax on international airlines was a “deal breaker”. The Minister was speaking at a TERI event here on Wednesday.

A future on Earth of more extreme weather and rising seas will require better planning for natural disasters to save lives and limit deepening economic losses, the United Nations said on Wednesday in a major report on the effects of climate change.

The U.N. climate panel said all nations will be vulnerable to the expected increase in heat waves, more intense rains and floods and a probable rise in the intensity of droughts.

There is an institutional gap in rural areas, and thus it is difficult to implement the green rating for integrated habitat assessment (Griha) scheme in those areas, said Nobel prize laureate Rajendra Pachauri, who is also director of The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri). He was talking to media persons on Wednesday after a meeting with Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) members on environmental issues and eco-housing.

The Sunderbans delta and Himalayan region of Darjeeling are two most vulnerable areas in West Bengal in terms of climate change and demand a separate attention, Dr R.K. Pachauri, Director-General of The Energy Research Institute, said here on Monday.

According to Dr Pachauri, there were plans to set up an energy resource centre at Baruipur to promote the use of renewable energy. Land for the resource centre had already been allotted by the erstwhile Left Front government.

A centre to monitor the impact of change in climatic conditions in different zones will be set up in the state soon. Stating this here yesterday, Chief Minister PK Dhumal said the state had earned a reputation for its initiative taken on the environment front and its efforts had been lauded by experts.
He said the centre was required to implement the policies directed towards protection of environment and mitigation strategies to minimise the impact of climate change.

he ICT sector, one of the biggest guzzlers of energy and commercial space in India, has a huge role to play in helping India meet the goals of climate change, says a new report.

“The ICT sector cannot bring about change, but it can be a key enabler,” said Mr Som Mittal, President, Nasscom, at the release of the report here on Thursday.

Leaders who wait for further evidence about the perils of greenhouse gases are flirting with escapism, the head of the UN’s Nobel-winning climate scientists says. “You cannot possibly keep waiting forever for new evidence of global warming to act,” Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Durban.

The 12-day marathon, ending on Friday, seeks to limit warming to 2ºCelsius, a commonly accepted danger threshold.

The Energy and Resource Institute (Teri), the reputed environment institute, has failed to determine the carbon footprint of the city.

The municipal administration has issued a notice to the institute to submit its report within two months, said additional municipal commissioner, Naresh Zurmure on Tuesday.

He was speaking to reporters after presenting the Environment Status Report (ESR) of Pune for 2010-11.

A day after The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) chairman RK Pachauri inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO) the plan is drawing flak from his contemporaries.

The Chairman of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate and renowned environment expert Dr. R.K. Pachauri would arrive in Bhopal on June 30.

Dr. Pachauri would arrive here at 11 am. The Director General of EPCO and Principal Secretary, Housing and Environment Iqbal Singh Bains would give a brief presentation about State Action Plan on Climate Change before Dr.