Current Affair 1:

‘Just Transition declaration’ adopted at COP26

 

The Just Transition Declaration , agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland, recognizes the need to ensure that no one is left behind in the transition to net zero economies – particularly those working in sectors, cities and regions reliant on carbon-intensive industries and production.

It reflects the ILO’s 2015 Guidelines for a Just Transition , which outline the necessary steps towards well-managed environmentally sustainable economies and societies, decent work for all, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty.

Signatories to the Declaration are the United States, United Kingdom, all 27 EU member states, Norway, Canada and New Zealand.

India has not signed the declaration yet.

Current Affair 2:

Deepor beel in its last stage

 

Rapid urbanisation around Deepor Beel, the only Ramsar site in Assam, has led to habitat fragmentation of elephants, who have for years used the wetland for bathing in its water, feeding on its aquatic plants, and relaxing.

Guwahati city’s draining system is linked to Deepor beel, and three rivers – Basistha, Bahini, Bharalu – confluence at the wetland. Apart from this, a 24-hectare garbage dumping ground lies to the east of the lake in Boragaon. The city generates around 550 tonnes of waste every day, and improper disposal measures have been taking a toll on the beel.

This has affected the beel‘s aquatic plants, and the water has become toxic, which has led to elephants spending less time in the beel. Earlier, elephants would arrive and stay for two-three nights, but lately, they don’t stay beyond a few hours.

Deepor beel is in its last stages if the government does not take appropriate steps to conserve it.

 

Current Affair 3:

What is glacial lake outburst flooding and how does it affect the Himalayas?

 

GLOF is the term scientists use to describe the incident when the water levels of glacial lakes breach their boundaries, causing large amounts of water to flow into nearby streams and rivers. These also create flash floods. Experts attribute GLOFs to climate change and the increase of anthropogenic footprints on glaciers.

A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a release of meltwater from a moraine- or ice-dam glacial lake due to dam failure.

GLOFs have three main features:

• They involve sudden (and sometimes cyclic) releases of water.
• They tend to be rapid events, lasting hours to days.
• They result in large downstream river discharges (which often increase by an order of magnitude).

Why are glaciers in the Himalayas shrinking?

There are 2,000 glacial lakes in the Himalayas of which over 200 are vulnerable to outbursts.

According to scientists:

There are varied reasons for the increase of GLOF threats in the Himalayas. Glaciers in the Himalayas are shrinking very fast at the rate of 20 metre per year due to global warming. This increases the threat of a GLOF.  Some glaciers may vanish in a few decades. In Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, most water requirements are met by glaciers. We need a proper strategy to preserve glaciers, so we don’t face water crises in the future.

 

Glaciers are retreating due to climate change and increase in the anthropogenic footprint in the glaciers.

How does a GLOF impact the surrounding areas?

There are normal glaciers which are also called land terminating glaciers and they just release water, but do not pose any threat as a GLOF. But there are some glaciers which have a frontal region and  also a bowl-shaped depression with accumulated water. When the volume of water in the lake increases; the confining moraine wall (accumulation of debris or material left by a moving glacier), is unable to contain the huge body of water and bursts, thus resulting in sudden release of water.

Current Affair 4:

What is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism?

 

The novel Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) proposes a levy on imports of specific products. It is an initiative of European Union.

It is a climate measure that should prevent the risk of carbon leakage and support the EU's increased ambition on climate mitigation, while ensuring WTO compatibility.

Designed in compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and other international obligations of the EU, the CBAM system will work as follows:

EU importers  will buy carbon certificates corresponding to the carbon price that would have been paid, had the goods been produced under the EU's carbon pricing rules. Conversely, once a non-EU producer can show that they have already paid a price for the carbon used in the production of the imported goods in a third country, the corresponding cost can be fully deducted for the EU importer. The CBAM will help reduce the risk of carbon leakage by encouraging producers in non-EU countries to green their production processes.

Who will fall under the scope of the CBAM?

In principle, imports of goods from all non-EU countries will be covered by the CBAM.

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