SciDev.Net

This paper, prepared for the Global Urban Summit, proposes a framework for building climate change adaptation and mitigation measures into India's urban renewal programmes. This involves multiple government stakeholders at national, state and city levels.

The author begins with a description of the urbanisation trends in India and outlines the climate risks facing the subcontinent, including changing rainfall patterns and the potential for more drought, flooding and extreme weather events like cyclones.

The author outlines the vulnerability of urban populations and suggests that reducing it requires a public policy shift towards mainstreaming climate change risk assessment, adaptation and mitigation measures into ongoing national hazard mitigation programmes, and linking them to urban renewal in the largest cities.

Specific measures highlighted by the author include making building data public, building flood defences, strengthening existing infrastructure to withstand disasters and relocating highly vulnerable populations.

This annotated bibliography of mostly online resources covers the relationship between biofuels and climate change.

The bibliography is divided into ten sections: Biofuels; GM trees; carbon sinks and trading; land use change — effects on atmospheric carbon; deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions linked to biofuels; biofuels and food production; biofuels production — what's the energy balance?; bio-regional energy; food miles; and other oil crops — search facilities.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

This article analyses Indian initiatives to mitigate climate change associated with a predicted rise in greenhouse gas emissions. It describes four scenarios for emissions, as modelled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and discusses India's vulnerability to the associated impacts of climate change. The article then goes on to describe ongoing national mitigation strategies — highlighting improvements made in petrol and diesel quality, forest conservation policies, the growing use of renewable energy sources and the research initiatives put in place by India's National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to study greenhouse emissions.

This collection of reports summarise the findings from a collaborative project between the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and India's Ministry of Environment and Forests that involved eight Indian research institutes. The reports look specifically at the predicted impacts of climate change on sea level, water resources, agriculture, forestry, energy and human health in India. Each report includes a section looking at the policy implications of the predicted impacts and/or the need for further research.

This collection of nine research articles, published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, presents the latest findings of a network of studies conducted by leading scientific institutes and researchers in India. They examine the likely national impact of climate change on issues such as water availability, tropical cyclone frequency, changes in forest type and malaria transmission rates. The collection also includes an analysis of current and predicted trends for greenhouse gas emissions from India, as well as commentary on mitigation strategies for ensuring sustainable development.

The World Bank provides assistance to India to reform the country's power sector at the state level. This site details these efforts — for example, Orissa, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are supported by a lending instrument of the bank called Adaptable Program Loan (APL). The document is also available as a pdf [152KB].

Before submitting its initial National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, India prepared various reports on climate change, vulnerability and adaptation. This executive summary outlines the findings of an Energy and Resources Institute project funded by Winrock International.

This briefing paper was written for members of the Indian parliament. It provides a basic introduction to the science of climate change, the impacts predicted for India, and considers linkages between global warming and the country's economy, and food and water security.

This paper was prepared for a COP-8 side event by the Indian delegation in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme. It is a case study of climate-induced impacts in India's Orissa state — based on household data — with links to food security and rural development.

Coping strategies to reduce vulnerability are important in areas prone to recurring floods and cyclones. The strategies vary from minor dietary changes and increased reliance on off-farm income, to major adjustments including disposal of assets and out-migration. The results of this work suggest that 96 per cent of the participating households have adopted at least one strategy to address drought, flood or cyclone vulnerability.

The report makes five key recommendations to reduce vulnerability to climate-induced natural disasters. First, that coping mechanisms should be supported by scientific crop research to reduce losses due to extreme events. Second, that as far as agriculture is concerned, temporary monetary reliefs should be replaced by a permanent solution. Third, that drought proofing should be prioritised over drought relief. Fourth, that the feed requirements for livestock in affected farming communities be addressed. Fifth, that governments and specialised non-governmental organisations create self-help groups to support local communities.

Electricity consumption in India has more than doubled in the past decade, and demand is continuing to outstrip supply. Despite large investment into the power generation sector, India suffers from an electricity deficit and peak supply shortages.

This paper has three parts, an overview of electricity in India; models, scenarios and results for future electric options in India; and conclusions. It examines the government's role in electricity generation, the source fuels used for generation, and problems associated with power distribution. The results of the model and scenarios lead to the conclusion that the near-exclusive government ownership, a supply-side orientation, and tariff distortions led to an unsustainable path before 1990. A more flexible energy and technology mix would provide a useful hedging strategy for sustaining demand in the future.

An excellent, comprehensive analysis, with useful background and various energy scenarios make this important reading for anyone interested in India's energy future.

This is the last of a four-part Foreign Policy Centre article titled "India as a new global leader" and argues that energy security will be a major challenge for India's future. It provides many examples of ongoing initiatives to meet the country's growing energy demand.

The first part of the article considers how democratic politics have influenced India's growth patterns. It then argues that India's energy vulnerability is greater than that of China, for example, because of a greater dependence on petroleum products shipped from the Gulf region. An analysis of India's energy sector shows that the country's natural gas demand is quickly outgrowing India's production capacity. Setting this in a context of foreign policy, the article then analyses the constraints on remedying this energy vulnerability.

This informative, well-written report is valuable reading for those interested in energy and foreign policy.

This official report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), published by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, is a comprehensive document on climate change in India.

The report assesses India's vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, and also provides a greenhouse gas emission inventory from 1994 — something the country is not obliged to include under the UNFCCC. The report also documents India's initiatives on sustainable development, and includes an analysis of the constraints and capacity needs of the country.

Despite its rapidly growing economy, India maintains the stance of a developing country in international climate change negotiations, reluctant to commit to emission reduction strategies. This speech is an early and important example of how India's stance has been expressed and shaped during the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations leading to the Kyoto Protocol. It was delivered by former Minister of Environment and Forests Saifuddin Soz in 1997 to COP-3 in Kyoto.

Soz outlines two key messages. Developed countries must accept adequate commitments to reduce their emissions, and developing countries should be assisted in building their capacity through transfer of financial and technological resources from developed countries. Almost a decade later, these messages are as pertinent as ever.

This paper provides an interesting historic perspective on the reasons for Brazil's position in international climate negotiations that is rarely found in this format. Written for the Danish Institute for International Studies, the author provides an in depth assessment of Brazil's foreign policy as it relates to climate change, starting as early as 1988. This document is useful reading for anyone interested in the early years of climate change negotiations and the positions of developing countries.

This paper examines the main approaches to developing an equitable international climate change regime. The first section introduces the main Brazilian stakeholders and the activities related to the Climate Convention, and reviews the national debate on climate change, environment and development. Section II discusses the connections between Brazil's climate change mitigation and sustainable development strategies, illustrating some programmes leading to greenhouse gas emissions mitigation. Section III identifies important barriers to integrating climate change into national sustainable development strategies. The core part considers approaches to harnessing synergies between climate change and sustainable development policies, and illustrates the key issues in building an equitable burden-sharing climate regime. As part of this, it considers the Brazilian Proposal made at COP-3.

The paper's key conclusions include that Brazil's main source of emissions is deforestation to create more farmland, that renewable energy production and improved energy efficiency have significantly contributed to avoiding emissions, and that the Brazilian Proposal may be a useful starting point for developing international mitigation policy.

Through much of the past climate change negotiations, there has been little interaction between the Brazilian government and non-governmental organisations. In 2002 however, Brazilian NGOs formed a network because they were not satisfied with how the government dealt with important climate concerns, especially the link between deforestation and global warming.

The network, called the Climate Observatory, aims to become a vehicle for influencing government views and policies on climate change. A first priority was to direct more attention to deforestation, an important yet controversial issue, both in Brazil and the international arena. In 2002, the network had 26 members from all over Brazil, and the effects of the network have included a broader participation of NGOs in the climate change debate in Brazil.

This is the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment to date of climate change impacts and vulnerabilities in the Latin American region. Key impacts are set in the context of ecosystems, every sector of the economy, and particularly the forestry sector.

Following a review of the regional climate, the chapter considers five key concerns: natural ecosystems, agriculture and plantation forestry, sea level rise, water resources, and human health. Climate change is an additional stress on biodiversity in the region's forested, mountainous, and mangrove ecosystems. Agriculture and plantation forestry are projected to suffer as crop models project decreased yields in several crops (e.g. maize, wheat, barley, grapes), even when the direct effect of carbon dioxide (CO2), fertilisation and moderate adaptation measures are considered. Human health concerns stem from heat and cold waves and changes in the distribution of vector borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue.

An executive summary provides a quick reference.

This report analyses Brazil's options for meeting electricity demand through to 2015. The report provides a demand forecast and detailed assessment of available power supplies. The authors suggest that Brazil's energy policy may secure its exceptional role as an environmental leader among developing countries.

Because Brazil generates over 90 per cent of its electricity from hydrodams, its per capita carbon emissions are less than half the world average. Many of its new power plants, however, will probably use natural gas. Government and industry decision-makers are greatly concerned about meeting Brazil's future demand at least-cost — including to the environment. Current reforms in the power sector, designed mainly to cut costs, have catalysed privatisation, eliminate tariff equalisation across regions, and supply contracts between power generation and distribution utilities.

Three policy cases — advanced technologies, local environmental controls, and carbon elimination — illustrate that without alternative policies, Brazil will move towards natural gas fired power plants, causing greenhouse gas emissions to rise rapidly.

Brazil's Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC was published by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The document has three parts. The first section introduces institutional arrangements that support and deal with climate change in Brazil, and outlines the national and regional development priorities that underlie decision-making.

The second section provides a national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from Brazil's economic sectors from 1990 to 1994. It also details the uncertainties in the estimates, particularly relating to land use, land use change and forestry.

The final section explains the measures underway to implement the UNFCCC: sustainable development, research and systematic observation, education/training/public awareness, and measures addressing climatic effects. There are sections describing national and regional capacity, and how climate change will be integrated into medium- and long-term planning.

This long policy-driven document provides a thorough insight into how Brazil is approaching climate change. Note: The file is very large.