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Coal power plant pollution in India could lead to additional premature deaths in 6 cities: Study

by | Sep 30, 2021 | , , , , ,

Dr Rachel Huxley, Head of Knowledge and Research at ‘C40 Cities’ said, “Current national plans would expand the coal fleet by 28 per cent between 2020 and 2030 and not reducing it by 20 per cent, threatening the health and well-being of the urban residents in Delhi while undermining India’s climate and air quality targets.” She further stated, “Current national plans could nearly double the number of annual premature deaths from coal power plants air pollution in the city.”

Evergrande’s debt problems pose systemic risk in China and beyond

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , ,

The central bank in 2018 said companies including Evergrande might pose systemic risk to China’s financial system.

The firm’s liabilities involved as many as 128 banks and over 121 non-banking institutions, the leaked letter showed.

Late repayments could trigger cross-defaults as many financial institutions are exposed via direct loans and indirect holdings through different financial instruments.

Oil will be world’s No. 1 energy source for decades, says OPEC

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , , , ,

OPEC says that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries.

But the energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of world will still leave oil as the world’s No. 1 source of energy through 2045, OPEC said Tuesday in its annual World Oil Outlook.

Varas Brokers of US signs strategic MOU with India’s Salasar Brokers

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , , ,

 Ambarish Khaitan, Senior VP Strategy & Reinsurance, said – “We are delighted to announce our new strategic partnership with Varas Brokers, the USA with whom we are targeting to provide our joint expertise and tailored insurance solutions to our clients in this challenging market. We look forward to this collaboration and aim to work together, not just technically but also culturally, to reach a common goal in creating a top-notch solution”

Can Bhutan’s digital cash lift its gross national happiness

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , ,

Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan has announced a pilot with San Francisco-based Ripple for a national currency running on distributed electronic account-keeping.

The open-source XRP ledger claims to be carbon neutral and 120,000 times more efficient than proof-of-work blockchains. Unlike El Salvador, which has chosen to use the volatile and energy-guzzling Bitcoin as money alongside US dollars, Bhutan wants to retain the ngultrum, the national currency. The bet is that a paperless version of the central bank’s liabilities would be a more attractive alternative to bank deposits for a sparse population scattered across a rugged, mountainous terrain.

Climate change and cyber risk top the list of concerns in AXA Future Risks Report 2021

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , , ,

“Climate change returned to the top of the experts’ risk ranking in the 2021 survey, having been displaced by pandemic risk in 2020.The survey revealed regional differences: climate concern is higher in Europe than anywhere else, among both experts and the general public. Meanwhile, experts in Africa and the Americas were most pessimistic about their national governments’ preparedness to tackle this risk,” said AXA.

Cyclone damages Indian crops just before harvesting

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , ,

“Within a week the cotton production outlook changed. We were expecting higher yields, but now yields will go down and even the quality of harvested crop would be inferior at the beginning,” Chirag Patel, chief executive at Jaydeep Cotton Fibers Pvt Ltd, a leading exporter. said.
Farmers have expanded areas under soybean, but rainfall is limiting the rise in production, said Davish Jain, chairman of the Soybean Processors Association of India.

U.S. to declare 23 species, including ivory-billed woodpecker, extinct – media

by | Sep 29, 2021 | ,

Government scientists have exhausted efforts to find these 23 species and warned that climate change, on top of other pressures, could make such disappearances more common, the Associated Press reported. “Each of these 23 species represents a permanent loss to our nation’s natural heritage and to global biodiversity,” Bridget Fahey, who oversees species classification for the Fish and Wildlife Service, was quoted as saying in the New York Times.

“And it’s a sobering reminder that extinction is a consequence of human-caused environmental change,” Fahey said. The extinctions include 11 birds, eight freshwater mussels, two species of fish, a bat, and a plant, according to the Times.

Coal expansion could cause over 5,200 premature deaths, 8,300 preterm births in Delhi this decade

by | Sep 29, 2021 | , , ,

Twelve percent of India’s coal-based electricity is generated within 500 km of the national capital.

The research suggests that around 55 lakh sick days could be caused by air pollution exposure from coal power plants in Delhi if the current proposed expansion of coal capacity takes place. The economic health costs associated with coal pollution in Delhi is estimated at USD 8.4 billion over the coming decade.