Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #29
This edition features a Supreme court ruling in a case to protect the Great Indian Bustard that has become a landmark judgement on climate change in India.
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As always, I am bringing to you 5 stories
2 Sunny ones that give us hope
3 Stormy ones that are a cause for alarm
🌞 Sunny news 🌞
1. Indian Supreme Court says “Right against adverse effects of climate change” is a fundamental right
Background on the case
The case in question was not directly related to climate change. It was a petition to the Supreme court to protect the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican, both of whom are on the verge of extinction. These birds are mostly found in Rajasthan. The petitioners asked for a restriction on overhead transmission lines as the birds were getting caught up in the power lines and dying.
In April 2021, SC had ordered restrictions on the setting-up of overhead power transmission lines in an area covering about 99,000 square kilometres.
However, this restricted setting up of new wind and solar plants in that area (Rajasthan is one of the most suitable areas for solar and wind power generation)
The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Ministry of Power, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy approached the SC, seeking modification this ruling given the importance of solar and wind power to meet India’s renewable energy goals.
What has happened now?
In a March 2024 order, that was made public last week, the SC has modified its 2021 order on account of the importance of renewable power in combatting climate change.
Highlights from the March 2024 SC statement:
India’s commitment to transition away from fossil fuels is not just a strategic energy goal but a fundamental necessity for environmental preservation.
“Articles 21(Right to life) and Article 14 (Right to equality) are important sources of the right to a clean environment and the right against the adverse effects of climate change.”
“There is no single or umbrella legislation in India on climate change. However, this does not mean that the people of India do not have a right against the adverse effects of climate change”
Why does this matter?
This is not the first time, the SC has ruled to protect the environment. There have been previous rulings where the court has said that citizens have the right to clean air and a clean environment
It is however the first time the SC has recognised protection against the havoc caused by climate change as a distinct fundamental right in itself
The SC also recognises the lack of an overarching legal framework on climate change in India and recognises climate change litigation happening in other parts of the world.
This judgement thus paves the way for legal accountability of actions that undermine meeting climate targets and is expected to significantly influence jurisprudence on climate governance in India.
Sources to read further:
2. Swiss grannies win case on climate change!
Some background:
In June 2023, a group of senior Swiss women filed a case against their government, saying the government had not done enough to protect them from the effects of climate change. (I had written about it in my newsletter here)
So what’s happening now?
This week, the European court of human rights ruled in favour of the Swiss women.
The Court ruled that Switzerland had "failed to comply with its duties under the Convention concerning climate change"
Why does this matter?
This is the first time the European court has ruled on climate change
The ruling is binding and can trickle down to influence the law in 46 countries in Europe including the UK.
Sources to read further:
⛈️ Stormy news ⛈️
3. Climate change has slowed the earth’s rotation!
The impacts of climate change indeed keep getting stranger. This time it’s literally affecting how we keep time by making the earth spin slower!
What is happening?
The melting of polar ice caps are slowing down the earths rotation
This is so significant that the addition of a leap second to our timekeeping has been delayed by 3 years.
What is a leap second? - Leap seconds are added every few years to keep our clocks (based on atomic time) in sync with the earths rotation.
It’s only 1 second. Why does this matter?
The delay in the addition of a leap second by itself is not a challenge.
However, this is yet another sign of the profound ways in which climate change is affecting the planet and the risks it brings.
Sources for further reading:
4. Tropical cyclones are becoming so strong that we may need to create a new category!
Some background
The Saffir Simpson (SS) scale introduced in the 1970s is used to measure the strength of tropical cyclones.
It has 5 categories with increasing wind speeds. Cyclones with speeds greater than 252 kmph fall under category 5 - the highest category.
Why do the categories matter?
Categories are important because they determine the nature of disaster management response and the level of caution amongst citizens. A higher category cyclone indicates higher destruction potential and will mean citizens are more cautious and administrations take greater measure to be prepared.
What is happening now?
Scientists are suggesting a category 6 with wind speeds exceeding 309 kmph
Why do they feel the need for a new category?
Long term data has shown that frequency of intense tropical cyclones has increased.
For every degree of warming, an increase in wind speeds of 12 kmph is observed, resulting in a 40% increase in destruction potential
Tropical cyclones with wind speeds exceeding the category 5 threshold are becoming common
Hence, scientists are suggesting a category 6 with wind speeds exceeding 309 kmph. 5 storms in the last 9 years have exceeded the hypothetical 309 kmph mark.
Sources for further reading
5. Latin America is seeing its worst dengue outbreak ever thanks to global warming
What is happening?
Latin America is experiencing its worst outbreak on record of dengue fever – a virus that has infected over 1.4 million people in the region this year.
The recorded cases this year are almost three times bigger than last year.
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay have been the worst hit.
How is this related to climate change?
Experts say climate change is at least partly to blame, with rising temperatures allowing mosquitos to survive the winter in larger numbers.
Sources to read further:
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Amazing newsletter! So informative and to the point.
Great newsletter!