11,000 Scientists Declare Climate Emergency across the Globe, Warn of Unavoidable Human Suffering

News Network
November 6, 2019

Nov 6: More than 11,000 scientists warned Tuesday of "untold suffering" due to global warming, even as another team said Paris carbon-cutting pledges are "too little, too late".

The European Union, meanwhile, confirmed that last month was the warmest October ever registered, fast on heels of a record September and the hottest month ever in July.

Three-quarters of national commitments under the Paris climate accord to curb greenhouse gases will not even slow the accelerating pace of global warming, according to a report from five senior scientists.

The sobering assessment came a day after President Donald Trump formally notified the United Nations of the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate pact, triggering concerns of how other nations might react.

"With few exceptions, the pledges of rich, middle-income and poor nations are insufficient to address climate change," said Robert Watson, who chaired both the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN's science body for biodiversity.

"As they stand, the pledges are far too little, too late."

In parallel, more than 11,000 scientists sounded a five-bell alarm in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, noting that the world had failed to act on global warming despite the accumulation of evidence over 30 years.

"We declare, clearly and unequivocally, that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency," the statement said.

Emissions of the gases warming Earth's surface must drop 50 percent by 2030 and to "net zero" -- with no additional carbon entering the atmosphere by mid-century -- if the Paris treaty's goal of capping warming at 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius is to be met, the IPCC concluded last year.

And yet 2018 saw unprecedented global carbon pollution of more than 41 billion tonnes, two percent higher that 2017, also a record year.

Global temperatures have increased 1 C above pre-industrial levels -- enough to boost the impact of deadly heatwaves, floods and superstorms -- and are on track to rise another two or three degrees by the end of the century.

"Failing to reduce emissions drastically and rapidly will result in an environmental and economic disaster," said James McCarty, a professor of oceanography at Harvard University, and co-author of the analysis of voluntary Paris pledges to reduce carbon pollution.

Just over half of greenhouse gas emissions from power, industry, agriculture and deforestation -- the main drivers of global warming -- came from four nations last year: China, the United States, India and Russia.

Accounting for 13.1 percent of the total, the US has turned its back on the Paris deal.

"China and India could say 'damn it, we're going to demonstrate to the world that we are climate leaders'," Watson told AFP.

- EU gets passing marks -

"Or they could say 'if the US is not going to do it, we're not going to either'. It could go either way."

China has said it will lower carbon intensity and peak emissions by about 2030.

But the size and staggering growth of its economy will likely overwhelm such marginal improvements, the scientists said.

At 29 percent of the global total, China alone pumps out more CO2 than the next three nations combined, though about 13 percent of those emissions are generated by exports destined for rich nations, recent research has shown.

India, which is ramping up both renewable energy and carbon-intensive coal-fired power, accounted for seven percent in 2018, and Russia -- which has made no pledge at all -- added 4.6 percent.

The efforts of the world's top four emitters was deemed "insufficient", according to the report.

All told, nearly three-quarters of 184 registered pledges were judged inadequate to stop climate change from continuing to accelerate in the next decade.

All but a handful are unchanged since being submitted in 2015 and 2016.

Among major economic blocs, only the European Union, with its 28 member states, got a passing mark.

"The EU is clearly in the lead in trying to address the climate crisis," Watson said.

The emissions of the world's poorest nations have been and continue to be negligible, but steps must be taken today to shape their energy futures.

"Sooner or later, they will start to grow, and we don't want them to become dependent on cheap fossil fuel energy," Watson noted.

"They need financial and technical assistance."

Under the Paris treaty, developing nations are to receive $100 billion annually from next year to help curb climate change and cope with its impacts.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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News Network
March 14,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 14: “Hindutva is my commitment and development is my priority,” said Indian army veteran and entrepreneur Captain Brijesh Chowta after the BJP high command announced a ticket to him from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

Known as a BJP stronghold, Nalin Kumar Kateel has served as the MP of this constituency for the past 15 years.

Soon after the announcement was made, 42-year-old Chowta, who is also the BJP state secretary from Dakshina Kannada constituency, sought the blessings of his parents and went to Shree Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple and visited the war memorial to offer tributes.

A BSc graduate from St Aloysius College, he completed his executive business Management program from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore.

He was commissioned into the 7th battalion of the 8 Gorkha Rifles and served in counter-insurgency operations in Assam and Manipur and was part of Elite Ghatak team. He also served as the adjutant to the battalion. He has been associated with the BJP since 2013. He is the president of Mangaluru Kambala and organiser of Mangaluru Lit Fest.

“Humbled and grateful to our party seniors led by our commander-in-chief PM Narendra Modi for giving me this opportunity to be our party’s candidate and representative of his work and vision in Dakshina Kannada. I pledge to continue to work with even greater rigour for the welfare of our region and people driven by the mantra of ‘Nation First’. I humbly bow down to all our karyakartas & everyone who stood by me & toiled with me to make this happen. Our task has just begun, as we work towards making Dakshina Kannada the number one in the state,” Captain Chowta said on X.

Kateel welcomes change 

Meanwhile, sitting Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has welcomed the party’s decision to field Capt Brijesh Chowta as the BJP candidate for Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

He said the change aligns with the party’s strategy of fostering new talent to broaden its base and activities. He hoped that he will win by a margin of more than 3 lakh votes.

Soon after the list was announced on Wednesday, the three-time MP told reporters that he has brought projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore during the last 10 years, under the Modi government.

He thanked the party for giving him a big responsibility of leading the party in the state. “I have worked honestly,” he said.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Russia says it is "extremely hard to believe" that Daesh could have staged the recent hugely deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that the country's intelligence and security officials have blamed on Ukraine and its Western backers.

Four gunmen burst into the Russian capital's Crocus City Hall on Friday and began shooting at the people, who were attending an event. The Takfiri terrorist group has allegedly claimed responsibility for the massacre that killed at least 143.

Speaking on Wednesday, however, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cast that claim into serious doubt.

"In order to ward off suspicions from the collective West, they urgently needed to come up with something, so they resorted to ISIS (Daesh), pulled an ace out of their sleeve, and literally a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Anglo-Saxon media began disseminating precisely these versions," she said.

The chief of the Russian internal intelligence (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov has suggested that not only Ukraine, but also the United States and Britain might have been behind the shooting.

The Russian Federal Security Service has also said the gunmen planned to travel to Ukraine, where they were to be welcomed as "heroes." The FSB said Western intelligence services aided the attackers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also suggested that Ukraine stood to derive benefit from the attack and that Kiev might have played a role.

He has said that someone on the Ukrainian side had prepared a "window" for the gunmen to escape across the border before they were captured in western Russia on Friday night.

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