Climate Change and You: Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to pollute more

Mint

a day ago

NEW DELHI
:
Climate Change & You is a fortnightly newsletter written by Bibek Bhattacharya and Sayantan Bera. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your inbox.
Dear reader,
Today, we begin with an outrageous event unfolding in the US. Under President Donald Trump, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is claiming that greenhouse gases are not harmful to the planet and its inhabitants. The fact that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in the atmosphere and cause global warming is the very foundation of the science and action around climate change.
Why is the EPA doing this?
The Trump administration wants to do away with the past government's 'endangerment finding'—according to which polluting greenhouse gases could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. This is to give a free run to the fossil-fuel lobby and undo emission norms for most industries, including auto and power plants.
When this ludicrous proposal was floated in March, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin had said: 'We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the US and more."
To call climate change a 'religion' is classic ostrich syndrome: Burying one's head in the sand to avoid uncomfortable truths. More so, when it comes from the world's second-largest carbon emitter.
As part of its effort to end the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, the Trump administration released a new report on 29 July. The report, defying scientific consensus on climate change, concludes that carbon dioxide-induced warming appears to be less damaging economically than commonly believed. It further said that aggressive mitigation strategies could be more harmful than beneficial. This seems not just a denial of years of scientific research and international efforts to mitigate the climate crisis, but also laying the groundwork to keep on polluting.
STATE OF THE CLIMATE
The monsoon has been vigorous this year. India receives 75% of its annual rain during the June-September south-west monsoon season. Halfway through, as on 4 August, 29 out of 36 states and Union territories have received normal to excess rains (compared to the long period or 50-year average). Rains were 21% above normal in the north-west and 15% above normal in central India. But east and north-east have seen a deficit of 19% while the deficit was 6% in the south peninsula region.
In addition to loss of lives and property in multiple states, major cities are battling waterlogging and floods. As this Long Story in Mint points out, drains and stormwater channels in most cities are perennially blocked by discarded solid waste and debris. This leads to waterlogging and floods during intense rains.
If you are held up by the rains and wondering what to do, I have a book suggestion. Chasing the Monsoon by Alexander Frater is written like a pilgrim's tribute. Every year, the monsoon makes landfall in Kerala in early June and then gradually moves northwards and westwards, covering the entire country in a wide embrace. Could you run with it? Chase it, as it moves? Yes, Frater did. So can you.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF
KNOW YOUR JARGON
Critical minerals
The shift from polluting fossil fuel to cleaner sources of energy like wind and solar power is dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals like lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare-earth elements. These are collectively called critical minerals. Their use is now widespread, from batteries in electric vehicles to wind turbines, solar panels, and electronics. With growing uptake of renewable energy, demand for critical minerals is expected to rise sharply. According to one estimate, demand is set to double by 2030 if countries were to meet their current climate pledges.
Currently, India is heavily reliant on imports, but as this report from Forum for the Future points out, it also has an opportunity to position itself as an alternative to China, which dominates the supply chain. The transition to clean energy and growing demand for critical minerals can also have disastrous consequences—so a just transition is critical. Here is a report on how the EV rush brought a surge of Chinese investments into Zimbabwe's lithium mines, pushing locals to the wrong side of a resource curse.
PRIME NUMBER
94
Since the onset of monsoon, the hill state of Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses estimated at ₹1,539 crore. At least 94 have died and 36 are missing due to flash floods and rain-related calamities. This tragedy is comparable in scale to the devastating Texas floods. But Himachal has received little attention.
While hearing a hotelier's plea on construction in designated green zones, the Supreme Court lamented that 'the day is not far when the entire state of Himachal Pradesh may vanish". The apex court went on to list multiple concerns, which ranged from deforestation, hydropower projects causing water shortages and landslides, to unchecked tourism and the relentless construction of four-lane roads disturbing the states' ecological balance.
MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Parenthood, a new five-part series by David Attenborough, explores the strategies and sacrifices of animal parents to give their young a head start—a wild ride that is rife with risks and rewards. Every habitat has a unique set of challenges, and every parent has a unique strategy. The stakes are high because success, for all parents, ensures the future of life on this planet. But some species take 'providing' to extremes. For example, an African spider spews a kind of milk made from dissolved body parts to feed her young. When her babies need more, she offers herself.
That's it with this issue of Climate Change & You, dear reader. Bibek Bhattacharya will be back with the next instalment in a fortnight.