SIBI ARASU

Sibi reports on climate change from India and South Asia

Residents of Ambedkar Nagar, a low-income settlement in the shadows of global software companies in Whitefield neighborhood, collect potable water from a private tanker in Bengaluru, India, Monday, March 11, 2024. Water levels are running desperately low, particularly in poorer regions, resulting in sky-high costs for water and a quickly dwindling supply. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

India’s Bengaluru is fast running out of water, and a long, scorching summer still looms

Bengaluru in southern India is witnessing an unusually hot February and March, and in the last few years, it has received little rainfall in part due to human-caused climate change.

Workers of Solar Square place a panel on the rooftop of a residence in Gurugram on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. India is renewing its push to add rooftop solar to meet the needs of a fast-growing nation that's hungry for energy. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India wants to hook its population onto clean energy by boosting rooftop solar

India is renewing its push to add rooftop solar to meet the needs of a fast-growing nation that’s hungry for energy.

FILE - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at an event at the Chatham House think tank in London, Jan. 15, 2024. Speaking to over 1,000 computer code developers in India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Bengaluru, Thursday Nadella, asked them to use the company’s artificial intelligence tools that they are deploying across their products. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Microsoft’s Nadella woos Indian developers to the company’s AI tools

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has urged more than a thousand Indian computer code developers to use the company’s artificial intelligence tools being deployed across its products.

FILE - Workers install solar panels at the Pavagada Solar Park 175 Kilometers north of Bangalore, India, March 1, 2018. Renewable projects have grown steadily in India for years, but a mix of policy decisions, politics and supply chain issues have slowed progress on solar projects in 2023. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

India’s clean energy boom slows as new solar projects get delayed. Experts say it can pick back up

For years, renewable projects in India have been growing steadily — from small-town rooftop solar installations to large-scale projects across the desert and long stretches of wind turbines and solar panels on farmland all helping the country transition to clean energy.

Employees work at the Adani New Industries Limited, one of India's largest solar panels and wafers manufacturing facility in the port town of Mundra in Western India's Gujarat state, India, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. The world's renewable energy grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years in 2023, the International Energy Agency reported Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Renewables grew rapidly in 2023, but must grow faster still to meet climate change target, IEA says

The amount of renewable energy installed around the world last year grew at its fastest rate in the past 25 years.

FILE - Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan ecology and natural resources minister, attends a plenary stocktaking session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Babayev has been named to lead the United Nations' annual climate talks later this year, prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the state oil company in a major oil-producing nation.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

Azerbaijan names a former oil exec to lead climate talks. Activists have concerns

Azerbaijan’s ecology minister has been named to lead the United Nations’ annual climate talks later this year.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, right, celebrates passing the global stocktake with United Nations Climate Chief Simon Stiell, left, and COP28 CEO Adnan Amin during a plenary session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

In a first, delegates at UN climate talks agree to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels

Negotiators at United Nations COP28 climate talks agreed Wednesday that the world must transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

FILE - Activists demonstrate for climate justice and a ceasefire at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Will declaration on fossil fuels at UN climate talks lead to action? Consider 5 previous decisions

United Nations climate negotiators have declared the world must transition away from oil, gas and coal.

People walk through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Sharp disagreements over future of planet-warming fossil fuels at UN climate talks in Dubai

Hopes for finishing a critical climate summit on time faded early Tuesday as countries were still far apart on key issues, including an agreement on what to do about the fossil fuels that are causing dangerous global warming.

Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, right, accepts an item from an activist as she heads to a new session of talks at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

As COP28 nears finish, critics say proposal ‘doesn’t even come close’ to what’s needed on climate

Countries at United Nations-led climate talks in Dubai moved closer to reaching a final deal on Monday, but critics condemned a draft agreement as a watered-down document that won’t stop dangerous climate change.

FILE - Trucks carry aluminum alloy frames to Adani Green Energy Limited's Renewable Energy Park near Khavda, Bhuj district near the India-Pakistan border in the western state of Gujarat, India, Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

The EU wants to put a tax on emissions from imports. It’s irked some other nations at COP28

The European Union’s plan to impose a tax on the carbon pollution emitted to make goods imported from countries like India and China has sparked a debate at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, as poorer countries argue that the tax will harm livelihoods and economic growth.

COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, left, and John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, speak as they attend a meeting at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

At COP28, sticking points remain on fossil fuels and adapting to climate as talks near crunch time

Negotiators have been urged to narrow down their options and agree on how to save Earth from disastrous levels of warming as the clock runs down on United Nations climate talks and the summit’s president is determined to finish up talks by Tuesday.

Activists demonstrate during the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A leaked OPEC letter shows the oil cartel’s worry over the COP28 climate talks, environmentalists say

Veteran climate negotiation observers say the oil industry is starting to sweat as United Nations climate talks heat up and threaten to plug fossil fuel-belching wells for good.

An activist participates in a demonstration for climate adaptation at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

How to adapt to climate change may be secondary at COP28, but it’s key to saving lives, experts say

As United Nations climate talks enter their second week, negotiators who are largely focused on how to curb climate change have another thing on their plates: how to adapt to the warming that’s already here.

FILE - Activists participate in a demonstration for loss and damage at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

Climate talks shift into high gear. Now words and definitions matter at COP28

The mood is about to shift, the hours grow longer and the already high sense of urgency somehow amp up even more as United Nations climate talks head into its final week.

Mitzi Jonelle Tan, of the Philippines, holds a sign reading "demilitarize for climate justice" at a demonstration at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Activists say their voices are stifled by increasing rules and restrictions at COP28 climate talks

This year’s United Nations climate talks may have seen record numbers registered to attend, but activists who have spent years demonstrating at the annual event say their space to voice their demands is shrinking year on year.

Activists participate in a demonstration against fossil fuels at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

To phase out or phase down fossil fuels? That is the question at COP28 climate talks

After days of shaving off the edges of key warming issues, climate negotiators Tuesday are zeroing in on the tough job of dealing with the main cause of what’s overheating the planet: fossil fuels.

Workers carry a solar panel for installation at the under-construction Adani Green Energy Limited's Renewable Energy Park in the salt desert of Karim Shahi village, near Khavda, Bhuj district near the India-Pakistan border in the western state of Gujarat, India, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. India is developing a 30 gigawatt hybrid — wind and solar — renewable energy project on one of the largest salt deserts in the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In the salt deserts bordering Pakistan, India builds its largest renewable energy project

Shifting to renewable energy is a key issue at the ongoing COP28 climate summit. Some leaders have voiced support for a target of tripling renewable energy worldwide in any final agreement while curbing use of coal, oil and natural gas, which spew planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.

A person holds a sign demanding pay for loss and damage at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Global warming could cost poor countries trillions. They’ve urged the COP28 climate summit to help

A prominent developing-world leader on the issue of climate change said Monday that global taxes on the financial services, oil and gas, and shipping industries could drum up hundreds of billions to poorer countries adapt to and cope with global warming.

FILE - Mitzi Jonelle Tan, of the Philippines, center, participates in a Fridays for Future protest calling for money for climate action at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

On 1st day, UN climate conference sets up fund for countries hit by disasters like flood and drought

Nearly all the world’s nations finalized the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change, seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this year’s U.N. climate conference as early cash started going into it.

Capuava oil refinery owned by Petrobras sits in Maui, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extremes fueled by human-caused climate change, a report Thursday Nov. 23, said. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

To save the climate, the oil and gas sector must slash planet-warming operations, report says

The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extremes fueled by human-caused climate change.

FILE - A wind farm operates at dusk in rural Solano County, Calif., Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

UN chief calls for an “ambition supernova” as nations make minor progress on climate action

Countries’ climate action plans are still far behind what’s needed to curb human-caused warming and limit the devastating effects of extreme heat, storms and droughts, but some nations have taken marginal steps toward slashing emissions, a United Nations analysis of national plans found Tuesday.

FILE - A villager holding umbrella to protect himself from sun, walks over parched land on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India on May 2, 2009. Tense negotiations at the final meeting on a climate-related loss and damages fund — an international fund to help poor countries hit hard by a warming planet — ended Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, with participants agreeing that the World Bank would temporarily host the fund for the next four years.(AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout, File)

COP28 conference looks set for conflict after tense negotiations on climate damage fund

Negotiators on a climate-related loss and damages fund have agreed the World Bank will temporarily oversee the international fund to help poor countries hit hard by a warming planet.

FILE - A man displays solar panels for sale outside a shop in Abuja, Nigeria, June 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga, File)

India-led alliance set to fund solar projects in Africa in a boost to the energy transition

An alliance of nations that push for more solar power worldwide are set to announce nearly $35 million for projects such as mini grids and rooftop installations, mainly in Africa, according to the group’s director general.

A vehicle that got washed away lies beneath a tree after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim, India, Thursday, Oct.5. 2023. The flooding took place along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley of the north-eastern state, and was worsened when parts of a dam were washed away. (AP Photo/Prakash Adhikari)

Icy flood that killed at least 41 in India’s northeast was feared for years

Hundreds of rescuers dug through slushy debris and fast-flowing, icy water Friday in a search for survivors after a glacial lake burst through a dam in India’s Himalayan northeast, a disaster that many had warned was possible for years.

Cars lie submerged in water after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim, India, Thursday, Oct.5. 2023. The flooding took place along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley of the north-eastern state, and was worsened when parts of a dam were washed away. (AP Photo/Prakash Adhikari)

Icy floodwaters kill at least 31 in India’s Himalayan northeast after lake bursts through major dam

Rescue workers are searching for nearly 100 people after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped several towns in northeastern India, killing at least 31 people.

FILE - A woman holds the hand of her relative as family members of people trapped under rubble wail after a landslide washed away houses in Raigad district, western Maharashtra state, India, July 20, 2023. The devastation of this year's monsoon season in India, which runs from June to September, has been significant. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India’s devastating monsoon season is a sign of things to come, as climate and poor planning combine

The devastation of this year’s monsoon season in India has been significant, with over 400 deaths and more property damage in the Himayalan state of Himachal Pradesh in a single season than the last five years combined.

FILE - Even Berrios, left, and Nicholas Hartnett, owner of Pure Power Solar, install a solar panel on the roof of a home in Frankfort, Ky., July 17, 2023. The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said Tuesday, Sept. 26. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Boost in solar energy and electric vehicle sales gives hope for climate goals, report says

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is becoming harder but a narrow window remains because clean energy infrastructure has grown around the world, a new report said Tuesday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, left, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hold hands as they attend the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Evelyn Hockstein, Pool)

Group of 20 countries agree to increase clean energy but reach no deal on phasing out fossil fuels

Group of 20 leaders have agreed to triple renewable energy and try to increase the funds for climate change-related disasters but maintained the status quo with regards to phasing out carbon spewing coal.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses a press conference ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept., 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

UN secretary-general has urged the Group of 20 leaders to send a strong message on climate change

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the Group of 20 top economic powers to use their weekend summit to send a strong message on climate change.