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In a diplomatic push to accelerate global climate action, European Union Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra urged China to take greater responsibility in reducing greenhouse gas emissions calling on the world largest polluter to scale back its growing reliance on coal. During high-level talks in Beijing, Hoekstra underscored the urgent need for global collaboration and emphasized that China actions in the coming months could significantly shape the outcome of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil later this year. The commissioner’s visit comes amid mounting international concern over China’s expanding coal infrastructure. A Greenpeace report recently revealed that China approved 11.29 gigawatts of new coal-fired power capacity in the first quarter of 2025 an amount that surpasses approval...

  In a heart-wrenching incident highlighting the deadly impact of extreme weather, lightning strikes claimed the lives of two women and left three others injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district on Saturday. The victims were working in agricultural fields when the sudden strikes occurred in separate villages. Police said 55-year-old Sudhna Devi was fatally struck by lightning in Samdha Khas village while tending to crops. Her relatives, Rita Devi, 42, and her 18-year-old daughter Antima, suffered serious burns and are currently undergoing treatment at a local community health centre. In a separate incident in Hathia Dih village, 19-year-old Sonam Saroj died on the spot after being hit by a lightning bolt. Her cousin, 20-year-old Sandhya Saroj, was injured and also admitted...

India has taken a major step toward aligning its financial system with climate goals by unveiling its draft Climate Finance Taxonomy, a structured framework aimed at defining what constitutes climate-aligned investments in the country. The draft, released in June 2025 by the Union Ministry of Finance’s Department of Economic Affairs, was developed in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, SEBI, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It is seen as a timely intervention in the effort to steer billions of dollars in finance toward India’s green transition, especially as the nation moves toward becoming a $10 trillion economy while remaining committed to its 2070 net-zero target. The taxonomy attempts to bring clarity and credibility to green finance a space ofte...

In a landmark diplomatic and development mission, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), concluded a five-nation African tour aimed at expanding cancer care and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology across the continent. Visiting Ethiopia, Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, and Liberia, Grossi reinforced the IAEA’s commitment to health, food security, energy access, and environmental resilience in low- and middle-income countries. At the heart of his visit was the scaling up of Rays of Hope, the IAEA’s flagship initiative launched in 2022 to close the cancer care gap in underserved nations. With cancer now a leading cause of death in Africa surpassing malaria and tuberculosis the initiative focuses on supporting countries in establishing...

In a renewed diplomatic push, European Union Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has called on China to take a leading role in the global effort to cut emissions, urging the world’s top carbon emitter to reduce its coal dependency and demonstrate climate leadership ahead of the COP30 summit in Brazil. Hoekstra made the appeal during high-level discussions in Beijing, as both sides attempt to deepen cooperation on environmental goals amid escalating concerns over the worsening climate crisis. Speaking at the end of the meeting, Hoekstra emphasized that the EU remains open to forging a joint climate declaration with China, but cautioned that such a partnership would depend on Beijing’s willingness to commit to concrete, ambitious emission reductions. “We are running out of time,” Hoekstra...

As Delhi finalizes its ambitious drainage masterplan, experts and urban planners have proposed a series of targeted suggestions to ensure the capital’s new system is future-ready and climate-resilient. With the existing network designed in 1976 and capable of handling only 50 mm of rainfall per day, the city has repeatedly found itself grappling with severe waterlogging and urban flooding during monsoons. One of the key recommendations is to design the new system based on modern rainfall projections, taking into account the growing frequency of extreme weather events. Planners suggest incorporating climate-responsive infrastructure capable of managing 100 mm or more rainfall in a single day. Experts have also called for the integration of real-time monitoring systems using IoT sensor...

In a landmark push to revive its freshwater ecosystems, Europe is dismantling river barriers at a record pace. According to the latest figures from Dam Removal Europe (DRE), 542 river barriers were removed across 23 countries in 2024 alone the highest annual tally since the continent-wide initiative began in 2020. This river barrier removal campaign is part of Europe’s broader commitment to make 25,000 kilometres of rivers barrier-free by 2030, a target set under the European Union’s Nature Restoration Law, adopted in July 2023. With one dam or obstruction for every kilometre of river, Europe faces an uphill task to restore natural flow and reconnect fragmented aquatic habitats. The surge in removal reflects growing global recognition of the ecological toll of river fragmentation. Th...

A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has sounded the alarm on a hidden threat exacerbated by climate change legacy toxic chemicals buried in river and coastal sediments that could resurface during floods, endangering public health and the environment. Titled Frontiers 2025: The Weight of Time, the report highlights how intensifying floods driven by tropical storms and heavier monsoons can mobilize long-banned pollutants from sediments, releasing them into soil, water, and food chains. These legacy pollutants include heavy metals like lead and cadmium, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as obsolete pesticides and synthetic industrial chemicals. These substances, banned decades ago, still persist in riverbeds and estuaries due to their non-biodegradab...

India’s forests, long considered natural carbon sinks, are losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, with photosynthetic efficiency falling by up to 12% in dense forest zones over the past two decades, according to a new study from IIT-Kharagpur. This decline threatens to undermine India’s climate strategy, which relies heavily on afforestation and forest expansion to meet emission reduction goals. The study, led by professor Jayanarayan Kuttippurath at IIT-KGP’s Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere, and Land Sciences, found that despite increasing “greenness” in forest areas, actual carbon uptake is weakening. The research reveals that forests in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and western Himalayas areas known for dense tree cover have seen some of the steepest drops in photosyn...

The United States has shut its southern border to livestock imports amid rising alarm over the spread of the New World screwworm fly in Mexico a flesh-eating parasite that once devastated American agriculture and is now inching closer to Texas. The parasite, notorious for its larvae that infest and consume the flesh of warm-blooded animals, has re-emerged in northern Mexico. Although Mexican authorities argue that the situation is under control with confirmed infestations down 19% since late June U.S. officials remain wary of the potential economic fallout should the screwworm cross into American livestock regions. To counter the threat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated $30 million to intensify efforts to breed and release sterile male screwworm flies. This well-estab...