NO MORE hot air ... please!" "Come hell and high water." Such snarky titles are unusual for UN documents. But the titles of the latest editions of the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP's) two annual publications― the Emissions Gap report and the Adaptation Gap report-reflect the global frustration with climate affairs. Released ahead of the UN climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (coP29), that began on November 11, the reports not only offer a grim look at the planet's future but also reveal the lax efforts by countries to reduce their emissions and meet climate goals.
This story is from the December 01, 2024 edition of Down To Earth.
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This story is from the December 01, 2024 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CLIMATE SHAPES SPECIES
Gradual changes in a population that lives in a region with environmental shifts give rise to new species
LEAFY GOODNESS
Leaves of the bottle gourd can be a healthy green addition to the plate
'Story of human origin is still not figured out or over'
Fifty years ago, the discovery of a partial skeleton amid the barren desert landscape of northern Ethiopia transformed our understanding of where humans came from, and how we developed into Homo sapiens. \"Lucy\" was first spotted on November 24, 1974, by the American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his student assistant Tom Gray. Named after the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, a popular song in the their team's camp at the time, it was immediately clear she was a female, because of her small adult size, and that she had walked upright, unlike chimpanzees. Lucy was also very old-at almost 3.2 million years, she was anointed as the then-earliest known (distant) ancestor of modern humans. Over the following decades, rather fittingly given her name, she became a \"paleo-rock star\", going on a US tour from 2006 following a deal with the Ethiopian authorities.
Deadly discharge
Residents of an industrial cluster blame effluent and sewage treatment plants for discharging poorly treated water that contaminates the area, causes skin diseases
US drug regulator faces Trump heat
FAILED REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is making more news now than during his doomed attempt to get the party nomination for president. Ramaswamy's decision to throw in the towel and back Donald Trump after his campaign went nowhere showed acumen, the kind he is famous for in the investment world.
Distorted picture
India's groundwater recovery may be misleading, as new assessment methods inflate annual recharge figures and discontinue on-ground verification
A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR
Expect some stiff targets, radical policy measures and rapid innovations as polycrisis reaches a crescendo this year
Commons in crisis
A landmark 2011 Supreme Court ruling to protect shared resources deepens struggles for India's marginalised communities
Europe faces Russian natural gas supply cuts
UKRAINE'S PRIME Minister Denys Shmyhal said on December 16, 2024, that its gas transit agreement with Russia will expire on January 1, 2025, and will not be renewed. The agreement was to allow transit of natural gas to Europe amid the RussiaUkraine conflict.
Preserving a voice
Non-profit in Madhya Pradesh documents Korku language, makes education accessible for the tribal community
