Environment

Kanpur: The Delhi government has accepted an MoU with IIT Kanpur for a source apportionment and forecasting study on air pollutants in Delhi.

Earlier, the Delhi Cabinet had approved the project called 'Real-time source apportionment and forecasting for advance air pollution management in Delhi.'

According to a senior DPCC official, the cost on the study has been estimated to Rs 12 crore.

Beijing, Oct 12 (PTI) Calling for ambitious, pragmatic and balanced global environmental protection targets, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday announced a USD 233 million fund to support biodiversity protection in developing countries

Xi was addressing a UN conference- Leaders' Summit of the 15th meeting of Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity- via a video link in Beijing

Chandigarh, Oct 12 (PTI) The Chandigarh administration Tuesday imposed a complete ban on the sale or use of firecrackers of any kind to prevent the risk of spread of COVID-19 due to polluted atmosphere, according to an official order.

The order said these directions will come into force with immediate effect and will remain in effect until further notice.

The decision was taken after an extensive consultation with health, environment experts and other stakeholders, the order said.

11 Oct 2021; MEMO: Traffic was being diverted away from Lebanon's Zahrani oil facility this morning after a fire broke out at a gasoline storage tank, a security source told Reuters.

The areas surrounding the fire, which was still not under control, were being cooled to prevent it spreading, the source said. There was no immediate official comment or reports of casualties at the Zahrani oil facility on the Mediterranean coast.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Delhi government has to depend on costly gas- based power as well as spot purchase at high market rate as the NTPC has halved power supply to the city from the usual 4000 MW, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.

Most of the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC) plants are running at 55 percent capacity as their coal stocks are enough for one-two days, he claimed.

Delhi purchases most of its power from NTPC but supply has been halved, Jain told reporters.

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) With states from Delhi to Andhra Pradesh sending warnings of a developing power crisis due to shortage of coal, the central government on Sunday pressed all resources at its command to ensure power plants have enough feedstock to generate electricity.

BEIJING, Oct 10 (APP): The 330 MW Thar Energy Limited (TEL) Power Project in Thar Block-II being completed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Sindh province was making steady progress, said a senior Chinese official.

The TEL power plant was a 330MW mine-mouth lignite-fired power project being built by Thar Energy, which was owned by Hub Power Company (Hubco), China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), and Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC).

9 Oct 2021; AA: Turkey urged G20 countries on Friday to take further action against climate change. 

G20 countries that have 70% of the world population and most of the global economic opportunities should act for the solution, Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Sentop said in a news conference in Rome.

Reiterating that the Turkish Parliament already ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, he said countries that contribute more to pollution should bear more liability.

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Climate activist Disha Ravi on Saturday claimed the government was "diluting" environmental laws by proposing amendments to the Forest Conservation Act and that this "trend" started with the changes made to Environment Impact Assessment rules last year.

The 23-year-old activist, who was arrested in February in connection with a 'toolkit' on farmer protests, also said indigenous people, tribals and environmental defenders are hurt every single day for the very work that will protect everyone.

09 Oct 2021; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Council today recognised access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate hardship and climate change, Reuters reports.

The vote passed comfortably, despite criticism in the lead-up from some countries, notably the United States and Britain.