Two Indian-American scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have been conferred with prestigious awards for their path-breaking inventions. Nashik-born Ramesh Raskar, an imaging scientist and inventor at MIT, has been awarded the $500,000 Lemelson MIT Prize 2016, it was announced at Cambridge in Massachusetts on Tuesday . Dinesh Bharadia, a researcher who grew up in […]
PARIS AGREEMENT-Climate Change
The ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change by the United States and China, which together account for 38 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, provides much-needed momentum for the global compact to be in force beyond 2020. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has emphasised, 26 countries have already acceded to the accord; to reach the target of 55 per cent emissions, 29 more must come on board.
For the U.S., this is a landmark departure from its long-held position of not accepting a binding treaty like the Kyoto Protocol, where emerging economies heavily reliant on fossil fuels have no firm commitments. The Paris Agreement addressed this issue by stipulating voluntary but verifiable emissions reduction goals for all parties, within the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities that underpin the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Contrary to the belief that a requirement to cut GHGs will make economies less competitive, a major section of global industry and business has reaffirmed the potential for trillions of dollars in green investments flowing from the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the U.S. and China. This is a clear pointer for India, which is estimated to have the third highest individual country emissions as of 2014.
India joined other G20 countries at Hangzhou to commit itself to addressing climate change through domestic policy measures. For that to happen, the Centre must initiate a serious discussion with the States on the national imperatives.
The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of China and the United States would deliver 51 per cent of the avoided cumulative GHG emissions from 2016-2100 from all of the INDCs in the Paris Agreement. Of this, the U.S. would deliver 19 per cent, and China, 31 per cent of the avoided cumulative GHG emissions from 2016-2100. If both countries kept their pledges, 1050 giga tons (billion tons) of GHG would be kept out of the atmosphere, as per data provided by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan.
Their calculations also show that deeper, earlier emissions cuts are needed to limit warming to well below 2°C or all the way to the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5°C. In one possible scenario to limit warming to 1.5°C, it would be necessary for the United States to decrease its emissions approximately 10 per cent per year, more aggressively than it pledged in its INDC, starting 2020. And China would need to peak its emissions by 2025, not 2030, and begin reducing emissions approximately 3.5 per cent per year thereafter. IAS MAINS 2016 Questions on Environment
GSLV – INSAT 3 DR Launch As per the schedule, the GSLV-F05 rocket will lift off from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.10 p.m. on Thursday. The rocket, with the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage as its fourth stage, would place the satellite, weighing 2,211-kg in the Geostationary Transfer […]
Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) In a significant departure from its policy of not entering into a military agreement with any major power, India has signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with United States which will allow their militaries to work closely and use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of […]
SCORPENE SUBMARINE- TECHNICAL [1]In 2005, India chose the Scorpène design; purchasing six submarines for US$3 billion ($500 million per boat) under Project 75 (P75). The project was necessitated by the dwindling number of submarines in the Indian Navy. Indian Navy needed replacement for the older Sindhughosh (Kilo) and Shishumar (U209) class of submarines. The Scorpène […]
A comprehensive law to regulate surrogacy has been long overdue. Over the years, India has become a global hub for the practice of women being contracted to carry others’ babies, usually for a payment. While estimates of the size of the surrogacy market vary wildly, it is one in which the woman carrying an embryo […]
India @ the Rio Olympics 2016 BADMINTON: # P V Sindhu secured a silver medal after losing to Carolina Marin in the women’s singles final. # […]
Success in the main examination is purely based on how you write answer not based on how you have studied. In this age of technology when all our communications are digitalised, this Civil service Examdemands paper and pen based selection process for selection, so the candidate must be ready with what examination demands. The key […]
RLV – Reusable Launch Vehicle -Milestone With the successful launch on Monday of the first technology demonstrator of the indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has taken a baby step in building a vehicle that can be reused multiple times to launch satellites into orbit. The hypersonic flight, that […]
What is NSG? What benefits will India gain if it enters NSG? Why are other countries opposing India’s membership? IAS Mains 2016. NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ) was signed in 1968 to prevent spread of nuclear materials,technology and weapons and to develop co-operation among the nations . This treaty was signed by a total of […]
