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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/politics/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Environmental issues underrepresented in West Bengal polls</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/environmental-issues-underrepresented-in-west-bengal-polls/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/environmental-issues-underrepresented-in-west-bengal-polls/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Apr 2026 14:54:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leopard]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27142625/AP141362749490-scaled-e1777280308770-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37882</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Elephants, Environment, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Politics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As phased polls continue across West Bengal’s 294 assembly constituencies, the election debate has centred on issues like citizenship, while largely sidelining environmental issues. In the first phase on April 23, the state witnessed record voting. The next phase is scheduled for April 29, and voting will be counted on May 4. Speaking about the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As phased polls continue across West Bengal’s 294 assembly constituencies, the election debate has centred on issues like citizenship, while largely sidelining environmental issues. In the first phase on April 23, the state witnessed record voting. The next phase is scheduled for April 29, and voting will be counted on May 4. Speaking about the representation of environment in elections, wildlife biologist and co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, Tiasa Adhya told Mongabay-India, “The ecological and environmental problems in West Bengal are the conversion of wetlands, decreasing freshwater flow in Sundarbans, indiscriminate sand mining, mining for minerals and ores, and conflict with elephants in both north and south West Bengal. These agendas have consequences for both nature and society and should come up strongly in policy manifestos. These are unprecedented times that require a change in the way we understand &#8216;development&#8217; and an increase in ecological literacy that is linked to human health and well-being.” Negative interactions between humans and wildlife are also a major concern in the state, said environmentalist and co-founder of Human and Environment Alliance League (HEAL), a non-profit based in Kolkata, Suvrajyoti Chatterjee “Negative interactions between humans and elephants cause a lot of fatalities in south West Bengal,&#8221; he told Mongabay-India. &#8220;Many places lack street lights, and the habit of open defecation among people causes fatalities. In north West Bengal districts also, deaths from elephant attacks are rising alarmingly. Those districts are also witnessing negative interaction with leopards. In Sundarbans, a lot of people die from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/environmental-issues-underrepresented-in-west-bengal-polls/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>No poll duty for forest staff, orders green tribunal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2026 17:31:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest department]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/06153115/AP17323472728867-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37624</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Elections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Politics, Protected Areas, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed a recent Assam government order directing the deployment of about 1,600 personnel from the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duty ahead of April 9 state assembly polls. On March 19, an order from the state&#8217;s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department directed forest personnel to assist the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed a recent Assam government order directing the deployment of about 1,600 personnel from the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duty ahead of April 9 state assembly polls. On March 19, an order from the state&#8217;s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department directed forest personnel to assist the state police during the elections between April 3 and return by April 10. The issue garnered attention when a group of retired bureaucrats and conservationists across the country wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the chief secretary of Assam seeking immediate withdrawal of the order. Amid the criticisms, Delhi-based advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal filed a petition before the NGT on April 1 and argued that the order is against the provisions of a 2024 Supreme Court order against the use of forest staff for election duty. It also states that diverting forest personnel from their primary duties of protection and conservation of biological resources goes against the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, in letter and spirit. During the hearing of the matter on April 2, NGT’s Eastern Zone bench stayed the March 19 order till further orders. A polling official conducts a training for government employees ahead of the Assam legislative assembly election in Guwahati, Assam on March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) Opposing the order Opposing the Assam government&#8217;s order, a group of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers and conservationists sent a letter to the Chief&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>LPG supply shock exposes fragility of India’s clean cooking strategy</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/lpg-supply-shock-exposes-fragility-of-indias-clean-cooking-strategy/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/lpg-supply-shock-exposes-fragility-of-indias-clean-cooking-strategy/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2026 20:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carbon emissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[firewood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[war]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/19172109/LPG_shortage_in_India_during_the_Iran_War_2026-e1773921271645-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37368</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Energy, Environmental Politics, Food, Fossil Fuels, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the streets of Bhalaswa, a neighbourhood in north-west Delhi, Rama is known as &#8220;cylinder wali madam&#8221;. For years, she has facilitated LPG connections for low-income residents, persuading them to put away their wood and coal-fired stoves and helping them secure subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a government scheme to promote the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the streets of Bhalaswa, a neighbourhood in north-west Delhi, Rama is known as &#8220;cylinder wali madam&#8221;. For years, she has facilitated LPG connections for low-income residents, persuading them to put away their wood and coal-fired stoves and helping them secure subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a government scheme to promote the use of LPG. For the last two weeks, however, she’s had to watch her efforts come undone as delays hit LPG supplies, triggered by the Israel-Iran conflict thousands of kilometres away. “The irony is, despite my nickname, I am struggling to secure an LPG cylinder myself,” Rama, a social worker, told Mongabay-India. To manage existing stocks, the government introduced a 25-day booking gap for cylinders in urban areas and 45 days in rural ones. A panicked surge in demand for cylinders has delayed disbursements to households, particularly in Delhi, Goa, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, where 15,000 cylinders were seized after being stockpiled. In the weeks since US and Israeli forces struck Iran, choking India&#8217;s LPG supply, firewood has replaced gas connections in certain restaurants, hostels, and households. Nearly 60% of India’s domestic LPG consumption is imported, 90% of which comes from the Middle East region. Chandni, a 32-year-old mother of four from Bhalaswa, and a recipient of the PMUY subsidy, enjoyed an uninterrupted gas supply for a year and a half till a month ago. When her refill never came, she returned to a fuel source that proved — in her opinion — more steady&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/lpg-supply-shock-exposes-fragility-of-indias-clean-cooking-strategy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>The environmental price of India&#8217;s new trade push [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-environmental-price-of-indias-new-trade-push-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-environmental-price-of-indias-new-trade-push-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2026 12:21:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Trade Organisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/27114641/AP25239165084841-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37064</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Never has the world been so concerned with discussions on international trade and tariffs as in the past six months. The last time there were such focussed discussions in the media and the public on trade was when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was agreed upon in April 1994. Even in those heady days, trade [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Never has the world been so concerned with discussions on international trade and tariffs as in the past six months. The last time there were such focussed discussions in the media and the public on trade was when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was agreed upon in April 1994. Even in those heady days, trade negotiation news was in the inside pages of newspapers, and not the lead story across all the countries in the world. In the past decades, national governments engaged in autopilot mode to develop and polish bilateral, multilateral and regional trade agreements, while the citizens went about their lives independent of these diplomatic exercises. All it needed was a capricious leader as the head of the biggest trading nation, and trade continues to hit headlines since months. This has been especially so in India, a country which stood to lose heavily due to the penal tariffs applied to goods exported from India to the US. With two back-to-back trade agreements — with the European Union and with the United States of America — the attention to trade news has almost been all pervading in the country. With the US Supreme Court recently striking down reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, another round of turmoil and confusion has been unleashed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and European Council President Antonio Costa after reaching free trade agreement between India and EU in New Delhi on Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/the-environmental-price-of-indias-new-trade-push-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India-E.U. agreement promises trade growth but could face green regulatory barriers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/india-e-u-fta-makes-big-promises-but-leaves-key-questions-unresolved/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/india-e-u-fta-makes-big-promises-but-leaves-key-questions-unresolved/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Feb 2026 15:11:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Trade Agreement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FTAs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Intellectual Property Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MSME]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Trade Organisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WTO]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/06110950/AP37310785476-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36764</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Mitigation, Environment, Environmental Politics, Green Business, Industry, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India and the European Union signed a trade agreement on January 27 that&#8217;s been projected as a major breakthrough “in a tumultuous time for global trade and supply-chain realignment,” as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described it. The free trade agreement aims to boost trade and investment between India and the European Union by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India and the European Union signed a trade agreement on January 27 that&#8217;s been projected as a major breakthrough “in a tumultuous time for global trade and supply-chain realignment,” as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described it. The free trade agreement aims to boost trade and investment between India and the European Union by reducing tariffs and trade barriers. The two major economies together account for about 25% of global GDP and nearly one-third of global trade. Both sides have presented the agreement as a win. India said in a press statement that almost all Indian exports will gain preferential entry into the E.U. Sectors such as textiles, leather, marine products, engineering goods, and agri-processed foods will benefit from the lower tariffs. It added that tea, coffee, spices, fruits, vegetables, and processed foods will strengthen their position in global markets, while sensitive sectors that are linked to several domestic livelihoods, such as dairy, cereals, poultry, and soymeal will be protected from foreign competition. India said that the trade agreement will open new opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), create jobs for women, artisans, youth, and professionals, and boost exports worth ₹6.41 trillion ($75 billion). The E.U., meanwhile, has said the deal will remove or reduce tariffs on its exports of agri-food products, opening up a large market to European farmers. It also said that sensitive sectors linked to jobs in the E.U., such as beef, chicken, rice, and sugar will be excluded from liberalisation. At the same time,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/india-e-u-fta-makes-big-promises-but-leaves-key-questions-unresolved/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Budget signals a shift in India’s climate and energy priorities</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 14:06:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adaptation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Annual budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Critical Minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy storage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Municipal Bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rural economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supply chain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban area]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/03113134/AP25247548851789-scaled-e1770098800708-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36715</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Coal, Energy, Environmental Politics, Green Energy, Hydroelectric power, Industry, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In her ninth consecutive Union budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention “climate” even once. She mentioned “environment” but in the context of infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and dedicated freight corridors. This reflects the overall thrust of the budget, which focused more on infrastructure expansion, reducing import dependence, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In her ninth consecutive Union budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention “climate” even once. She mentioned “environment” but in the context of infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and dedicated freight corridors. This reflects the overall thrust of the budget, which focused more on infrastructure expansion, reducing import dependence, and strengthening domestic manufacturing, while remaining muted on environmental concerns. Experts say external factors, including climate finance constraints, economic conditions, and geopolitical tensions, may be influencing this tone that the budget has taken. A similar tone was also seen in the Economic Survey tabled on January 29, which analyses the state of the economy and sets the context for the budget which then announces the government&#8217;s actual spending and policy proposals. The Survey noted that capacity constraints and a widening gap between ambition and operational reality have marked the global climate agenda. It highlighted climate finance as a key challenge and said India should approach the transition as part of a broader energy system strategy linked to growth and security. Rohit Azad, Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, said external constraints, such as climate finance, cannot justify inaction. “Climate change is going to affect India far more than the Global North, given our tropical climate and high levels of poverty. Livelihoods will be impacted, and disasters will become harder to manage. It is in our own interest to act,” he said. Azad also pointed to global political shifts. “There is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>What India risks by dismantling its rural safety net [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-india-risks-by-dismantling-its-rural-safety-net-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-india-risks-by-dismantling-its-rural-safety-net-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jan 2026 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGNREGA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rural economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/27134402/AP24173849816545-crop-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36644</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy and Rural Futures]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Environment, Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Politics, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was the summer of 1988, and the fourth consecutive year of drought in Rajasthan. A few months before the summer, I had joined the communication wing of an NGO called Action for Food Production (AFPRO). I was just out of college, raw, energetic and full of impractical idealism. My boss wanted me to learn, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was the summer of 1988, and the fourth consecutive year of drought in Rajasthan. A few months before the summer, I had joined the communication wing of an NGO called Action for Food Production (AFPRO). I was just out of college, raw, energetic and full of impractical idealism. My boss wanted me to learn, and sent me to the Aravallis of Rajasthan. AFPRO was launched in 1966, as a response to the Bihar famine of the year, and with the aim to improve water resources management in villages across the country. In 1987, it established a field unit in Udaipur, Rajasthan, to implement watershed development work and strengthen regreening efforts in the Aravallis. Those were the heady days of global discussions on desertification, which later culminated in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The multi-year drought focused attention on the tree felling that had happened in the Aravallis over years. Many development NGOs working in the region were focusing on the regreening of the hills, along with soil and water management measures to help communities tide over the immediate crisis. Their aim was to prevent such a disaster in future. There was the strong understanding that regreening the Aravallis would help prevent the spread of the Thar Desert into the plains of northern India. After all, Delhi too is located at the edge of the hill range. What I saw in the hills of Udaipur district in May 1988 was bleak — dry riverbeds, barren farms stretching&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/what-india-risks-by-dismantling-its-rural-safety-net-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Soaring expectations met with sinking outcomes at climate summit</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/soaring-expectations-met-with-sinking-outcomes-at-climate-summit/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/soaring-expectations-met-with-sinking-outcomes-at-climate-summit/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Nov 2025 15:50:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Soumya Sarkar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP30]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/24151216/54940520873_f1a9fe04a0_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35732</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Climate Change, Climate Science, Energy, Environmental Politics, Fossil Fuels, Politics, Technology, and United Nations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The disappointment at the end of the Brazil climate summit, COP30, was palpable. As negotiators filed out of the humid makeshift halls along the Guajará Bay after two tense weeks, many admitted privately what others said aloud — the world had arrived in the gateway city of the Amazon hoping for a decisive push on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The disappointment at the end of the Brazil climate summit, COP30, was palpable. As negotiators filed out of the humid makeshift halls along the Guajará Bay after two tense weeks, many admitted privately what others said aloud — the world had arrived in the gateway city of the Amazon hoping for a decisive push on climate action, but COP30 ended with more caution than courage. Nearly 200 participating countries agreed on new work programmes, fresh roadmaps and long-delayed financial goals, yet the central expectation of a clear global plan to curb fossil fuels dissolved in the final hours despite running into overtime. What remained was a set of incremental steps which, taken together, still fell far short of the pace required to avert dangerous planetary warming. The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, captured that mood in blunt terms. He welcomed the signals of progress in Belém but warned that the outcome “is still far from where the science says we should be.” COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago conceded in the closing plenary that “some of you had greater ambitions,” acknowledging that several important discussions “are not reflected in these texts we just approved.” Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), echoed the same fear, urging governments to follow through because the gap between promises and real-world action was widening. “In this new era, we must bring our process closer to the real economy, to deliver concrete results faster,” Stiell said in the closing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/soaring-expectations-met-with-sinking-outcomes-at-climate-summit/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>China challenges India’s domestic manufacturing incentives, alleging unfair trade practices</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/china-challenges-indias-domestic-manufacturing-incentives-alleging-unfair-trade-practices/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/china-challenges-indias-domestic-manufacturing-incentives-alleging-unfair-trade-practices/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2025 17:15:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[battery technologies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electric vehicle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy storage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Trade Agreement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PLI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Production linked incentives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unilateral trade measures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WTO]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/29140939/AP25216315934082-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35255</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[China has approached the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that India’s renewable energy incentives under the ‘Make in India’ initiative discriminate against foreign goods, particularly those of Chinese origin. According to a WTO communication circulated to members on October 20, China has requested consultations with India over these measures that it alleges are affecting trade. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[China has approached the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that India’s renewable energy incentives under the ‘Make in India’ initiative discriminate against foreign goods, particularly those of Chinese origin. According to a WTO communication circulated to members on October 20, China has requested consultations with India over these measures that it alleges are affecting trade. Consultations allow parties to discuss the matter and seek a resolution. If the issue remains unresolved after 60 days, the complainant may request the establishment of a dispute panel. China’s complaint lists three programmes under the ‘Make in India’ initiative — the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, and the automobile and auto components industry, as well as the scheme to promote manufacturing of electric passenger cars in India (EV Passenger Cars Scheme). The three schemes are designed to promote domestic manufacturing of key components in the renewable energy and automotive sectors. The PLI scheme, launched in 2020, aims to strengthen India’s manufacturing capabilities by offering financial incentives to eligible companies based on their incremental sales. Initially covering three sectors, it has since expanded to 14, including electronics, clean technology, steel, textiles, and automobiles. So far, it has attracted investments worth ₹1.76 trillion across these sectors, according to a statement by the government earlier this year. The total sales by PLI beneficiaries have crossed ₹16.5 trillion as of mid-2025. Shantanu Singh, a Public International Law lawyer, says the PLI scheme, at the centre of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/china-challenges-indias-domestic-manufacturing-incentives-alleging-unfair-trade-practices/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Protests for Indigenous land rights turn deadly</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2025 16:41:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/02162324/AP23046393149125-edited-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34889</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ladakh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, Glaciers, Himalayas, Nature-based Climate Solutions, People, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Liaquat Ali, 27, never expected his hometown to descend into violence and turmoil over the span of a year. Last year, Ali was one of dozens who walked over 800 kilometres on foot from Ladakh to New Delhi to bring greater attention to demands for statehood and other constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. The peace march [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Liaquat Ali, 27, never expected his hometown to descend into violence and turmoil over the span of a year. Last year, Ali was one of dozens who walked over 800 kilometres on foot from Ladakh to New Delhi to bring greater attention to demands for statehood and other constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. The peace march was led by environmentalist and scientist Sonam Wangchuk – a vocal advocate for the application of the sixth schedule in Ladakh, which empowers majority tribal constituencies to formulate their own laws on land use, customs, and development. Ending the march on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary was a deliberate choice. Today, Wangchuk is jailed under one of India’s most stringent anti-terror laws after a hunger strike he led turned violent, and the license to receive foreign funding to his organisation was abruptly cancelled shortly thereafter. Wangchuk had acted in ways that were “prejudicial to the State and detrimental to the maintenance of peace,” the Ladakh administration alleged in a press release. Police opened fire and killed four protestors after a group of unidentified people set the BJP’s office in Leh ablaze on September 24. Wangchuk called off his strike and appealed for peace. “It’s depressing to think that this is what it’s come to,” said Ali, speaking to Mongabay India from Kargil district. “Yes, some protestors acted out of frustration, but the police’s response was inhumane,” he said. The incident on September 24 is the first violent turn the years-long protests for statehood have taken in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>U.S. tariffs set to threaten India’s traditional craft revival</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/us-tariffs-set-to-threaten-indias-traditional-craft-revival/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/us-tariffs-set-to-threaten-indias-traditional-craft-revival/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Sep 2025 17:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shweta Thakur Nanda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[textiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional crafts]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/26113717/1.-A-male-Artisan-making-a-handtufted-carpet-in-Bhadohi-Pic-courtesy-Aslam-Mahboob-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34796</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Economics, Environmental Politics, Industry, Politics, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It is late afternoon, and Chowk, one of the oldest markets of Lucknow, is bathed in the golden hues of dusk. Amid hurried footsteps drumming on cobblestones, the cries of vendors and the thick aroma of kebabs, a narrow by-lane leads to veteran embroiderer Zafar Ali’s weathered yet quiet kaarkhana (workshop) of chikankari and zardozi. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It is late afternoon, and Chowk, one of the oldest markets of Lucknow, is bathed in the golden hues of dusk. Amid hurried footsteps drumming on cobblestones, the cries of vendors and the thick aroma of kebabs, a narrow by-lane leads to veteran embroiderer Zafar Ali’s weathered yet quiet kaarkhana (workshop) of chikankari and zardozi. Sitting cross-legged on the cement floor, Zafar bends over an adda, a wooden frame stretched taut with fabric. With a hooked needle, he guides metallic threads through the cloth, bringing blossoms and vines to life. “When tariffs go up, we are the first to be hit. If the businessman doesn’t get orders, he won’t place orders with me. My livelihood dries up then,” says Zafar, referring to the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on textile imports from India. Zardozi and chikankari are artisanal hand embroidery techniques. While metallic threads, stones and pearls are used to create opulent designs in zardozi, intricate white thread work is done on light-weight fabrics in chikankari. “When a shock like this comes, buyers start shifting, orders start drying up and things fall apart,” says 33-year-old Zafar. In Srinagar, over 1,300 km away from Lucknow, Pashmina and handicraft manufacturer and exporter Mujtaba Kadri echoes a similar sentiment. “The U.S. is a primary market for us. Since the 50% tariff has come into effect, there is hardly any order. The previous shipments have gone, and there is no fresh order.  Right now, the business environment looks uncertain,” he rues. A similar situation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/us-tariffs-set-to-threaten-indias-traditional-craft-revival/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Blended finance can help power India’s climate future [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/blended-finance-can-help-power-indias-climate-future-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/blended-finance-can-help-power-indias-climate-future-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2025 13:45:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suresh Seshadri]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greenhouse gas emissions]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/05/28090103/Rayalaseema_thermal_power_station_2022-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32805</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Today, India is at a crucial inflection point. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, it must continue to expand its infrastructure, generate jobs, and improve the quality of life for more than a billion people. At the same time, it is under intensifying pressure to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, protect vulnerable communities from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Today, India is at a crucial inflection point. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, it must continue to expand its infrastructure, generate jobs, and improve the quality of life for more than a billion people. At the same time, it is under intensifying pressure to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, protect vulnerable communities from climate impacts, and uphold its global climate commitments. Achieving these twin goals of development and decarbonisation is no longer optional — it is existential. Already, climate change is affecting everyday life across India. Heat waves are longer and more frequent. Floods and droughts are more severe and less predictable. Rising sea levels are threatening coastal settlements, while erratic monsoons are hitting farmers hard. Several assessments suggest climate-related risks could shave off around 2.6% of India’s GDP annually by 2100 if emissions continue unchecked. In response, India has laid out an ambitious climate agenda. It has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2070, install 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by the same year, and meet 50% of its energy needs from non-fossil fuel sources. These targets represent a bold shift toward a cleaner, more sustainable growth trajectory. But translating these promises into real-world results will require unprecedented levels of investment — particularly in clean energy, resilient infrastructure, low-carbon transport, green manufacturing, and nature-based solutions. According to the Climate Policy Initiative, an independent non-profit research group, India will need more than $10 trillion in investment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/blended-finance-can-help-power-indias-climate-future-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Including military in climate action incentivises cooperation over conflict, says water expert [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/including-military-in-climate-action-incentivises-cooperation-over-conflict-says-water-expert-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/including-military-in-climate-action-incentivises-cooperation-over-conflict-says-water-expert-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2025 08:58:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/05/13180452/1280px-An_aerial_view_of_the_flood_affected_villages_in_Bihar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32608</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental Politics, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the first time in history, India held the Indus Water Treaty – a 1960 water sharing agreement with Pakistan – in abeyance amid border tensions following a terror attack that killed 26 people in the state of Kashmir. Though both countries have agreed to a ceasefire after days of military action, India has said [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the first time in history, India held the Indus Water Treaty – a 1960 water sharing agreement with Pakistan – in abeyance amid border tensions following a terror attack that killed 26 people in the state of Kashmir. Though both countries have agreed to a ceasefire after days of military action, India has said the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) will remain in abeyance. Suspending the treaty as a punitive measure introduces a new dynamic in India’s conflict with Pakistan – one whose long-term impacts could become more unpredictable with climate change. Across the world, conflicts are emerging at a time when extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense due to global warming. Conflict also increases pressure on natural resources, often exacerbating scarcity and degrading the environment. Ashok Swain, Professor and Head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University, Sweden, draws the links between climate change and conflict in his new book Climate Security, published by Sage Publications. Across eight chapters, Swain argues that climate action should be put on an equal footing with national security issues when governments make policy decisions. Multilateral processes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which produced the Paris Agreement, are “far from being sufficient,” Swain writes in his book, because despite the commitment to limit global warming to well below two degrees above pre-industrial levels, “countries continue to ignore that environmental degradation and climate change take away basic&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/including-military-in-climate-action-incentivises-cooperation-over-conflict-says-water-expert-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Interview] On using comics to unpack agricultural concepts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/interview-on-using-comics-to-unpack-agricultural-concepts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/interview-on-using-comics-to-unpack-agricultural-concepts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2024 13:29:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arti Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[comics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/08/29012826/FF-170c-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29209</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Do you sometimes sit back and think about the food served on your plate? How did it reach you and who are the people who made it possible? Why is more than 15% of the Indian population undernourished? Such pertinent questions related to food and the ‘Right to Food’, which is guaranteed in the Indian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Do you sometimes sit back and think about the food served on your plate? How did it reach you and who are the people who made it possible? Why is more than 15% of the Indian population undernourished? Such pertinent questions related to food and the ‘Right to Food’, which is guaranteed in the Indian Constitution, are addressed in the new graphic novel, Food &amp; Farming, by Orijit Sen, Vidyun Sabhaney, and Harsho Mohan Chattoraj. The 240-page graphic novel published by Left Word Books, explores aspects of farming and food security through two characters — Soni and Lucky — who travel to various parts of the country. Soni and Lucky interact with farmers, foragers, Anganwadi workers, community leaders, teachers, food vendors, ration shop owners, supermarket attendants, transport workers, and many others, to understand about topics ranging from the Public Distribution System (PDS), National Food Security Act and the school mid-day meals programme, to farmers’ struggles, and the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The idea for the book came from the web-comics series that was published by the authors in 2022 as an outcome of the farmers’ protests in north India against the three agriculture reform bills. The series was commissioned by Focus on the Global South, a policy think-tank that provides analysis and builds alternatives for just social, economic, and political change. This initiative aimed to raise awareness about the farming and food distribution system. “The storyline has been woven around verifiable facts and studies,” co-author Vidyun Sabhaney, a writer and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/interview-on-using-comics-to-unpack-agricultural-concepts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/interview-on-using-comics-to-unpack-agricultural-concepts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>India will go to vote amid sweltering heat; experts call for public awareness to mitigate impacts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/04/india-will-go-to-vote-amid-sweltering-heat-experts-call-for-public-awareness-to-mitigate-impacts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/04/india-will-go-to-vote-amid-sweltering-heat-experts-call-for-public-awareness-to-mitigate-impacts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Apr 2024 15:29:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change impact]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme weather events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/04/05143205/27488266306_a677491336_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=27216</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Elections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environmental Politics, Extreme Weather Events, Health impacts, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India is gearing up for its six-week general election, scheduled to begin later in April. But it must also brace for an especially hot summer, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. The coincidence of the heatwave season with the general election is an opportunity to rethink public preparedness in the face of escalating heat, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India is gearing up for its six-week general election, scheduled to begin later in April. But it must also brace for an especially hot summer, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. The coincidence of the heatwave season with the general election is an opportunity to rethink public preparedness in the face of escalating heat, experts say, as climate impacts are set to worsen over the subcontinent. The general elections have consistently taken place during the summer months since the early 2000s. Anomalous land surface temperatures also started to rise around the turn of the century, and have risen so high as to make the past decade the warmest on record, the IMD’s data shows. This year, the IMD projects more frequent heat wave days will occur between April and June than usual, with temperatures soaring to 44 degrees celsius over most parts in May. Historically, extreme weather has been taken into account when scheduling elections if it is likely to impede the voting process itself. But the rising frequency and intensity of heatwaves could introduce a different set of risks that need better public messaging, especially when the impacts can be deadly, say experts. A large public gathering in Maharashtra last year, where Home Minister Amit Shah was a guest, resulted in the deaths of 13 people due to heat stroke. Large crowds in rallies are vulnerable to heat stress. Photo by Akashk663/Wikimedia Commons. “Elections during heatwaves are an eye-catching demonstration of what climate impacts can look like when&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/04/india-will-go-to-vote-amid-sweltering-heat-experts-call-for-public-awareness-to-mitigate-impacts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/04/india-will-go-to-vote-amid-sweltering-heat-experts-call-for-public-awareness-to-mitigate-impacts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Paddy, politics and environmentalism in Kerala</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-paddy-politics-and-environmentalism-in-kerala/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-paddy-politics-and-environmentalism-in-kerala/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Dec 2023 15:47:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Girigan GopiM. ManjulaVipindas P.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmentalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/12/04145257/Paddy_fields_in_India-768x415.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=25507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Food, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The unassuming paddy fields have been the hotbed for politics for decades in the state of Kerala, and continue to be so even contemporarily. These fields has witnessed some of the fiercest class struggles and militant trade unionism in the name of food and livelihood security, environmental protection and development. A basis for many of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The unassuming paddy fields have been the hotbed for politics for decades in the state of Kerala, and continue to be so even contemporarily. These fields has witnessed some of the fiercest class struggles and militant trade unionism in the name of food and livelihood security, environmental protection and development. A basis for many of these struggles has been state land use legislations on paddy lands. The Land Utilization Order of 1967 was cited to legitimise the Save the Rice Field Agitation (SRFA), launched by the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union (KSKTU) in 1997. This agitation was around conversion of paddy fields. The farmers, especially the small holders, raised concerns of economic viability of paddy farming and the social irrelevance of the order, following overall improvement in food situation in the state. KSKTU brought in the food, livelihood and environmental protection angle to the debate to protest conversion of paddy fields. The political buy-in for the KSKTU position was evidenced in a subsequent legislation brought in by the left government in Kerala. The landmark, Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, was implemented with the stated purpose of ensuring food security and sustaining the ecological system in the state of Kerala. The legislation emphasised the environmental/ecological relevance of paddy lands to the state. The penalty for non-compliance includes imprisonment for 6 to 11 months and a fine in the range of $610 to $1,220. It’s another story that the State subsequently has diluted many key provisions in the Act.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-paddy-politics-and-environmentalism-in-kerala/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Editor&#8217;s review 2022: A warmer Arabian Sea, energy transition and a search for economic value</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/12/editors-review-2022-a-warmer-arabian-sea-energy-transition-and-a-search-for-economic-value/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/12/editors-review-2022-a-warmer-arabian-sea-energy-transition-and-a-search-for-economic-value/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Dec 2022 10:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2022]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Editor's review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme weather events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/12/23092401/kerala-g5fdecc6df_1920-e1671767815723-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=21088</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Conservation, Environmental Crime, Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Green Business, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After two years of fear, illness, deaths and economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was a year that brought rays of sunshine. When India, like the rest of the world, was trying to make the best of the brightness, the shadows of the war in Ukraine and its fallout on fuel and food [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After two years of fear, illness, deaths and economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was a year that brought rays of sunshine. When India, like the rest of the world, was trying to make the best of the brightness, the shadows of the war in Ukraine and its fallout on fuel and food availability dampened the story. In headline terms, two watershed developments marked the year for the country. First, scientific studies confirmed that the Arabian Sea temperature was warming to levels that could induce cyclones. This forebodes the disturbing fact that the southwest monsoon &#8211; which picks up its moisture from the Arabian Sea &#8211; could also become a string of extreme weather events (EWEs) in the coming years like the northeast monsoon, that has its genesis from the Bay of Bengal. The adverse impacts are already becoming visible with the southwest monsoon losing its reliability of rainfall patterns with more frequent cyclonic rains. Second, the government-announced transition from fossil fuel-based energy generation to renewable energy, gathered strength during the year. In terms of economics, India boasted of the third richest person in the world during 2022, while on the Global Hunger Index the country dropped from position 101 to 107. On the GDP front, the year marked a return to growth after the pandemic. The World Bank estimates India’s GDP to grow by 6.9% in financial year 2022-23. This is a sign of hope after the precipitous drop of 23.9% during the April-June quarter of 2020&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/12/editors-review-2022-a-warmer-arabian-sea-energy-transition-and-a-search-for-economic-value/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Mizoram youth protest against the national highways widening project</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/mizoram-youth-protest-against-the-national-highways-widening-project/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/mizoram-youth-protest-against-the-national-highways-widening-project/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Nov 2022 12:56:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pollution Control Board]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rivers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water pollution]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/11/15092903/IMG-20221016-WA0011-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20601</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Mizoram]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Politics, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmental activists in Mizoram have slammed the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) for not following environmental laws and regulations, while undertaking highway projects in the state. These projects have led to environmental damage, say the activists, including polluting the state’s water bodies. NHIDCL, which comes under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Environmental activists in Mizoram have slammed the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) for not following environmental laws and regulations, while undertaking highway projects in the state. These projects have led to environmental damage, say the activists, including polluting the state’s water bodies. NHIDCL, which comes under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is currently carrying out widening work on four national highways in the state &#8211; NH-09 (Seling- Zokhawthar), NH- 102B (Keifang-Manipur), NH-302 (Lunglei-Tlabung) and NH-54 (Aizawl-Tuipang). Map by Technology for Wildlife Foundation. On July 19, more than 2,000 people participated in a rally against these projects in Mizoram’s capital city Aizawl. It was led by the Youth for Environment Justice Mizoram (YEJM), spearheaded by social activist Vanramchhuangi, popularly known as Ruatfela Nu. In its memorandum to the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), the YEJM demanded an immediate stay order for highway projects of NHIDCL. The memorandum read: “The Mizo indigenous people have survived throughout history in this rough terrain and location owing to our rivers. The enormous siltation which has destroyed agricultural lands and polluted our main water subsistence is a result of disregard and negligence of Environmental Laws and regulations by NHIDCL and all governmental stakeholders involved at every level.” It demanded that NHIDCL restore the damage to the environment and that developmental projects with reliable Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) be done through a credible agency, and only then be given forest and environment clearance. The birth of an environmental movement&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/mizoram-youth-protest-against-the-national-highways-widening-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Kolkata’s climate action plan needs to be more gender-sensitive</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-kolkatas-climate-action-plan-needs-to-be-more-gender-sensitive/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-kolkatas-climate-action-plan-needs-to-be-more-gender-sensitive/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2022 10:06:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manoranjan Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transport]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/11/03131607/1200px-Post_Cyclone_Amphan_situation_of_Shyambazar_in_Kolkata_54-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20424</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environment and Her]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Governance, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves, floods, flash droughts and cyclones are increasingly becoming regular events in India. The cities facing such climate events have been experiencing high economic losses and loss of lives due to climate induced extremes. Climate change induced health hazards along with high levels of air pollution in most Indian cities, has become a cause of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves, floods, flash droughts and cyclones are increasingly becoming regular events in India. The cities facing such climate events have been experiencing high economic losses and loss of lives due to climate induced extremes. Climate change induced health hazards along with high levels of air pollution in most Indian cities, has become a cause of major concern at each level of city administration. Therefore, Indian cities have been preparing city-level Climate Action Plans with a sense of urgency. However, the realisation of making city-level climate action plan is not enough. A pragmatic place-specific strategy is needed, rather than prescribing broad universalised plans. The city of Kolkata, which is regularly affected by seasonal floods, sea-level change, cyclones, published a climate action plan in 2016. The plan is essentially a demonstration of mitigation strategies in terms of reducing the undesirable impacts of climate change and emission pathways. When a large city such as Kolkata, publicises its action plan, other cities in the region usually follow the techno-scientific approach of the published report from a big city. The purpose of this commentary, therefore, is to critically evaluate the contents and inclusivity of gender in the climate action plans of Kolkata. Gender in climate governance The issue of gender is an integral part of climate governance. But are we considering the sensitivity of gender issue seriously in our city climate action plan? How serious is our city planner in framing a gender-sensitive climate policy? Can we prioritise gender-sensitive adaptation and mitigation strategies over technological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-kolkatas-climate-action-plan-needs-to-be-more-gender-sensitive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Experts call for more effective water sharing agreements between India and Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Sep 2022 16:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/27125421/teesta-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20025</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Politics, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river, and water management experts have derided it as “a drop in the ocean.” There are 54 rivers that flow between the two countries, and Kushiara River is one of the minor waterways. In a recent visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river, and water management experts have derided it as “a drop in the ocean.” There are 54 rivers that flow between the two countries, and Kushiara River is one of the minor waterways. In a recent visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which both governments agreed to withdraw the equivalent of 4.3 cubic meters (153 cubic feet) per second of water from the Kushiara during the off-monsoon season from November to May. “Bangladesh will irrigate 5,000 hectares [12,400 acres] of arable land with this water,” said Malik Fida A. Khan, a member of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), a technical body that advises the Bangladesh government on the management of transboundary rivers and water. Transboundary water experts in Bangladesh, however, say the new agreement is a “drop in the ocean” and that India should consider the interests of downstream Bangladesh when it comes to sharing of water from the major rivers flowing from the Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal. India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river. Photo by Abu Siddique/Mongabay. “I personally do not consider the MoU for Kushiara a special one,” said Ainun Nishat, a former technical member of the JRC and professor emeritus at Bangladesh’s BRAC University. “Both countries are already withdrawing water from the middle of the river — which is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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