1. CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM (CBAM)
TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: Union Commerce and Industry Minister said that Central government will protect Indian industry from EU’s carbon law.
EXPLANATION:
- Minister of Commerce and Industry assured that the government will take all necessary steps to protect Indian industry from any adverse impact of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which mandates reporting of carbon emissions for certain exports to Europe.
What is the CBAM?
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- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an Initiative of the European Union(EU).It refers to a phenomenon where a EU manufacturer moves carbon-intensive production to countries outside the region with less stringent climate policies. In other words, replace EU-manufactured products with more carbon-intensive imports.
- CBAM involves imposing tariffs on imports from other countries that are seen to be using carbon-intensive methods of production.
- Its primary objective is to avert ‘carbon leakage’. However, the CBAM is expected to achieve three objectives. First, reduce the EU’s emissions; second, for the EU not to lose competitiveness in carbon-intensive goods; and third, to make the targeted countries reduce the carbon intensity of their exports.
- 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.”
- This mechanism, starting in 2026, will cover products such as cement, steel, aluminum, oil refinery, paper, glass, chemicals and electricity generation. The countries most affected will be Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, India and China (the UK, though outside the EU, has regulations similar to the EU’s). Only three of the 12 exporters to the EU have a mechanism for “pricing carbon”.
Problem in this mechanism:
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- The CBAM is a unilateral move, against the spirit of multilateralism.
- The problems of measurement means that it could be used for protectionism.
- There is a strong risk of so-called ‘carbon leakage’ – i.e. Companies based in the EU could move carbon-intensive production abroad to take advantage of lax standards, or EU products could be replaced by more carbon-intensive imports.”
Effect on other countries:
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- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had concluded that Russia, China and Turkey were most exposed to the mechanism.
- Considering the level of exports to the union in these sectors, it stated India, Brazil and South Africa would be most affected among the developing countries.
- Mozambique would be the most exposed least-developing country. Important to note, countries in the EU combined represent about 14% of India’s export mix for all products, steel and aluminum included.
India’s position: India has maintained that developed countries cannot push the burden of doing more to tackle climate change while they evade responsibilities themselves. At COP27, India said all fossil fuels needed to be phased down and not just coal, which has been targeted by the developed countries and which India is heavily reliant on.
2. BANDIPUR TIGER RESERVE’S ECO-SENSITIVE ZONE.
TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: Forest Department directs ESZ monitoring committee to take action against illegal cottages in Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
EXPLANATION:
- The Karnataka Forest Department has directed the Mysuru Regional Commissioner, who heads the Bandipur Tiger Reserve’s eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) monitoring panel, to act against illegal cottages built within the reserve’s ESZ.
What is an eco-sensitive zone?
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- The National Environment Policy, 2006 defines eco-sensitive zones as areas/zones, ‘with identified environmental resources having incomparable values which require special attention for their conservation’.
- The purpose of declaring an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) is to create some kind of “shock absorber” for specialised ecosystems such as protected areas which include national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
- The ESZs act as transition zones for areas requiring high protection to areas where development may be permitted.
- The 2002 Wildlife Conservation Strategy envisaged lands within 10 km of the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to be notified as ecologically fragile zones under Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment Protection Act 1986.
- The MoEFCC was to take steps to protect the environment by regulating and (if required) prohibiting industries, operations and processes.
How are ESZs notified?
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- Notifying ESZs around the protected areas is an important objective of MoEF&CC for sustainable development and for conservation of Wildlife and Biodiversity around Protected Areas. The statutory provisions for declaring ESZ include:
- Section 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
- A multi-disciplinary expert committee with tenure of five years considers ESZ proposals.
- Considering the above provisions, the ESZ notifications are published by the ESZ division of the ministry.
Significance of eco-sensitive zone:
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- The major objective is to regulate some activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in order to lessen their damaging effects on the delicate ecology that surrounds the protected areas.
- As “shock absorbers” for the ecosystem, these places regulate and monitor activity in and around protected zones.
- These areas act as a crossing point between areas with strong security and those with less robust security.
- These areas help to lessen conflict between animals and people.
- The protected areas are managed using the core and buffer management paradigm, which also benefits and protects communities.
Bandipur Tiger Reserve:
- It was founded in the 1930s as a wildlife refuge, and Project Tiger transformed it into a tiger reserve in 1973.
- It is located in the tri-junction of the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in two adjacent districts of Karnataka (Mysore and Chamarajanagar).
- Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu is located to the northwest of Bandipur Tiger Reserve; Kabini Reservoir divides the two.
- Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is in the south.
- Kerala’s Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, in the southwest.
- Rivers Moyar and Kabini flow through this region to the north and south, respectively.
- Climate: Three seasons are markedly noticed in the Reserve, the dry, the wet and the cold.
- Vegetation Types: Principal Forest Types- The forests of the Tiger Reserve are varied and rich. To the east most portions lie in the scrub forests of Moyar. While the vegetation in the central portion of the Tiger Reserve viz., Kaniyanapura, Bandipur part of Beerambadi is dry deciduous, the vegetation in the western part of the reserve viz., Ainurmarigudi, Begur and Beerambadi is moist deciduous. The vegetation, therefore, changes from scrub type to moist deciduous type from east to west.
3. EXERCISE BRIGHT STAR-23
TAG: GS 3: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
THE CONTEXT: Indian Air Force refuels Egyptian Rafale fighter aircraft.
EXPLANATION:
- An IL-78 tanker of the Indian Air Force refuelled Mig 29 M and Rafale fighter aircraft of the Egyptian Air Force as part of Exercise Bright Star-23.
- The Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sumedha arrived at Port Alexandria, Egypt to participate in ‘Exercise Bright Star-23. This multinational Tri-Services military exercise will see participation from 34 countries.
- For the first time, IAF is participating in Exercise BRIGHT STAR-23 which will also see participation of contingents from the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Qatar.
What is Exercise Bright Star-23?
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- Exercise Bright Star-23 was conceptualized as a training exercise between the US and Egypt during the Camp David Accord of 1977. The first edition of the exercise was conducted in Egypt in 1980 and it was expanded to include more nations in the year 1995.
- Exercise Bright Star-23 is a tri-services joint military exercise that is led by US CENTCOM and the Egyptian Army. “Exercise BRIGHT STAR- 23 will provide a unique opportunity to the Indian Army to share best practices and experiences with other armies besides enhancing the defense cooperation. Indian Army looks forward to an enriching professional experience from the Exercise.”
- The objective of the exercise is to practice planning and execution of joint operations. Besides leading to the formation of bonding across borders, such interactions also provide a means to further strategic relations between participating nations. IAF contingents to flying exercises abroad are thus no less than Diplomats in Flight Suits.
4. THE PLANETARY BOUNDARIES
TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: As per a new study, the world has breached six of the nine planetary boundaries necessary to maintain Earth’s stability and resilience.
WHAT ARE PLANETARY BOUNDARIES?
- The planetary boundaries concept presents a set of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.
- These nine planetary boundaries were first proposed by former centre director Johan Rockström and a group of 28 internationally renowned scientists in 2009.
- Since then, their framework has been revised several times.
Nine planetary boundaries beyond which we can’t push Earth Systems without putting our societies at risk are:
- climate change,
- biodiversity loss,
- ocean acidification,
- ozone depletion,
- atmospheric aerosol pollution,
- freshwater use,
- biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus,
- land-system change, and
- Release of novel chemicals.
- The breaching of individual boundaries does not imply immediate disaster but raises the risk of setting processes in motion that are likely to change the overall environmental conditions dramatically and irreversibly on Earth to one that no longer supports civilisation.
EVOLUTION PLANETARY BOUNDARIES FRAMEWORK:
- In 2009, three planetary boundaries were crossed namely climate change, biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows.
- In 2015, land-system change planetary boundary was added making the total of 4.
- In 2023, six of the nine planetary boundaries has been breached.
- This is the third iteration of the framework carried out by 29 scientists from eight different countries.
The six boundaries include:
- climate change,
- biosphere integrity (genetic diversity and energy available to ecosystems),
- land system change,
- freshwater change (changes across the entire water cycle over land),
- biogeochemical flows (nutrient cycles),
- novel entities (microplastics, endocrine disruptors, and organic pollutants)
5. THE GLOBAL STOCKTAKE SYNTHESIS REPORT
TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: The United Nations climate secretariat made public a ‘synthesis report’ to discuss progress achieved by countries in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement of 2015.
EXPLANATION:
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) released the Global Stocktake synthesis report, which offers the most comprehensive overview of climate action since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015.
WHY IS IT CALLED THE ‘GLOBAL STOCKTAKE’ REPORT?
- The synthesis report ties into a larger exercise called the ‘global stocktake, which is expected to take place once in five years.
- The global stocktake (GST) has prepared the synthesis reports for the technical assessment component of the GST.
- In 2015, countries committed in Paris to keep global temperatures from rising beyond 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and as far as possible below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- They also agreed to periodically review, or take stock of efforts, made by individual countries in containing greenhouse gases and transitioning their fossil-fuel dependent energy systems to renewable sources.
- The first report this year is expected to significantly influence discussions in November when country representatives converge in Dubai for the 28th edition of the UN climate Conference of Parties (COP) in November.
KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT:
- The report lays out 17 ‘key findings’ that overall suggests that the world is not on track to achieve Paris Agreement targets.
- It stated that much more ambition is needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% in 2035 and reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally.
- Governments need to support ways to transition their economies away from fossil fuel businesses and that states and communities must strengthen efforts with the progressive changes ensuring equitable and inclusive economic transition.
- Renewable energy has to be scaled up and all ‘unabated fossil fuels’ were to be rapidly eliminated.
- Deforestation and land-degradation have to be halted and reversed and agricultural practices critical to reducing emissions and conserving and enhancing carbon sinks have to be encouraged.
- Support for adaptation and funding arrangements for averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage, from the impact of climate change, needed to be rapidly scaled up from expanded and innovative sources.
- Financial flows needed to be made consistent with climate-resilient development to meet urgent and increasing needs.
- Access to climate finance in developing countries needed to be enhanced.
- It is essential to unlock and redeploy trillions of dollars to meet global investment needs, including by rapidly shifting finance flows globally to support a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate-resilient development.
WHAT IMPACT DID THE GLOBAL STOCKTAKE REPORT HAVE?
- The report is expected to set the template for the conference, and it did resonate in the G20 Leaders Declaration contributing to some of the most significant outcomes of the summit.
- This document for the first time formally recognises the massive jump in finance necessary for the world to transition to a renewable energy economy.
- The Declaration noted the need for USD 5.8-5.9 trillion in the pre-2030 period required for developing countries as well as USD 4 trillion per year for clean energy technologies by 2030 to reach net zero by 2050.
