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Economy

Hopium economics and the madness of infinite growth on a finite planet

8th January 2016

Satyajit Das writes in The Times of India: Policy makers have sold the future for a precarious, short-lived stability. There is a striking similarity between the problems of the financial system, irreversible climate change and shortages of vital resources like oil, food and water… The world is remarkably unprepared for the crisis that is unfolding….

CLIMATE CRISIS

Why India is about to move to the ‘center stage’ of world energy

16th December 2015

Chris Mooney reports: “India is moving to the center stage of global energy,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol says. “All the numbers are indicating that India will be the number one country in terms of coal consumption and oil demand growth worldwide. India will also have more than 20 percent of the solar PV worldwide.”…

Consumerism/Lifestyle

The false promise of economic growth

29th November 2015

We can have it all; that is the promise of our age. We can own every gadget we are capable of imagining, without compromising Earth’s capacity to sustain us. The promise that makes all this possible is that as economies develop, they become more efficient in their use of resources. In other words, they decouple….

CLIMATE CRISIS

India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 5

(Note: In this series of posts, we take a closer look at India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), ahead of the Paris climate talks. This concluding post primarily examines trends in India’s energy consumption, which is what will primarily determine whether we can meet our climate targets or not. Also read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of…

Economy

Video: The Impossible Hamster

21st November 2015

New Economics Foundation We wanted to confront people with the meaning and logical conclusion of the promise of endless economic growth. We used a hamster to illustrate what would happen if there were no limits to growth because they double in size each week before reaching maturity at around 6 weeks. But if a hamster…

CLIMATE CRISIS

India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 4

20th November 2015

(Note: In this series of posts, we take a closer look at India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) and its larger context, ahead of the Paris climate talks. Also read: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the series) Consumption injurious to the planet’s health Sujata Byravan, The Hindu Most observers agree that the government has set ambitious…

CLIMATE CRISIS

India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 3

13th November 2015

(Note: In this series of posts, we take a closer look at whether India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) ahead of the Paris climate talks. In this third installment, we present comments by three independent observers that critically analyse India’s climate commitment. Also read: Part 1 and Part 2 of the series) “India has low per capita emission only thanks…

Development/Growth

Towards A Unitive Life: An Interview with Shyam Balakrishnan

5th November 2015

One World University Shyam Balakrishnan is the coordinator of One-World University, a collective dedicated to the study of dialectics and geopolitics. He lives at an organic farm in Wayanad, Kerala, which is also envisioned as one of the campuses of One-World University. On May 20, 2014, Balakrishnan was arrested by the state police on charges of being…

CLIMATE CRISIS

India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 2

2nd November 2015

(Note: In this series of posts, we look at whether India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) – its promise of action to counter climate change ahead of the Paris climate talks this year – is all its claimed to be. In this second installment, we look at some of the later, more critical analyses of India’s climate commitment. Read Part…

CLIMATE CRISIS

Series: India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 1

22nd October 2015

(Note: India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), its eagerly awaited promise of action to counter climate change ahead of the Paris climate talks this year, was released earlier this month. Starting with this one, we present a series of posts that look at whether India’s pledge is all its claimed to be. In this post, we present…

Elanthemag.com

CLIMATE CRISIS

Curbing Consumption is the Only Way Out to Avoid Climate Change

14th October 2015

Finding new ways to continue with the same model of growth and consumption will put enormous pressure on finite resources Swati Agarwal & Mihir Mathur, The Wire With two major conferences this year on the deeply integrated issues of climate change (to be held in Paris) and sustainable development (that took place in UNGA, New…

Elanthemag.com

CLIMATE CRISIS

Curbing Consumption is the Only Way Out to Avoid Climate Change

Finding new ways to continue with the same model of growth and consumption will put enormous pressure on finite resources Swati Agarwal & Mihir Mathur, The Wire With two major conferences this year on the deeply integrated issues of climate change (to be held in Paris) and sustainable development (that took place in UNGA, New…

CLIMATE CRISIS

High GDP growth centered paradigm and GHG emissions

11th October 2015

Shankar Sharma, ORF Energy News Monitor Whereas many conventional economic analysts argue that in order to have adequate human development index the country’s economy has to grow continuously at an appreciable rate, a densely populated and resource constrained society such as ours cannot afford to ignore the implications of high energy / material consumption (which…

Development/Growth

Special: Questioning the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

29th September 2015

Sustainable Development Goals: Can we pull them off? Catch News The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The new set has 169 targets. Critics believe these are well-intentioned, but range from grandiose (end hunger) to peripheral (promote sustainable tourism) to flat-out impossible (full and productive employment and decent work…

CLIMATE CRISIS

Journalist Nitin Sethi answers readers’ questions on climate change and India

11th September 2015

Nitin Sethi, Senior Associate Editor, Business Standard DATE: September 02, 2015 SUBJECT: Should India distance itself from China on its climate change policy? ASKED BY: RANJEET KUMAR The biggest hurdle in tackling climate change is finance in a developing country. Although, India is ready to adopt the process of mitigation and adaptation, we do not have…

CLIMATE CRISIS

Paper: Sustainability Dynamics of Resource Use and Economic Growth

7th September 2015

A Discussion on Sustaining the Dynamic Linkages between Renewable Natural Resources and the Economic System Mihir Mathur & Swati Agarwal, TERI In this paper , we have used System Dynamics to test three popular policy options for sustaining Economic Growth, 1) Resource Efficiency, 2) Resource Efficiency and Green Growth, 3) Doubling of Resource Base due to technological advancement….

Consumerism/Lifestyle

Paper: Sustainability Dynamics of Resource Use and Economic Growth

A Discussion on Sustaining the Dynamic Linkages between Renewable Natural Resources and the Economic System Mihir Mathur & Swati Agarwal, TERI In this paper , we have used System Dynamics to test three popular policy options for sustaining Economic Growth, 1) Resource Efficiency, 2) Resource Efficiency and Green Growth, 3) Doubling of Resource Base due to technological advancement….

CLIMATE CRISIS

India is now a make-or-break nation for climate change – and the planet’s future

22nd August 2015

India’s coal dependence has led to rising emissions. Now, even the Chief Economic Advisor has acknowledged that India needs to cut down on them. Sajai Jose A new global report has revealed that India’s carbon dioxide emissions growth in 2014 was not only the largest in terms of volume in its own history, but for the first time…

CLIMATE CRISIS

News update

22nd July 2015

Warming of oceans due to climate change is unstoppable, say US scientists The Guardian UK The warming of the oceans due to climate change is now unstoppable after record temperatures last year, bringing additional sea-level rise, and raising the risks of severe storms, US government climate scientists has said. The annual State of the Climate…

Digests/Specials

Special: Financial crash alert!

2nd July 2015

(Note: As the world watches the unfolding crisis in Greece with bated breath, here’s a look at other, perhaps lesser known trends that indicate a global financial crash is in the offing. Here’s a collection of articles by prominent economists and analysts that make that case. Some pieces are dated, but have been included here…