Current Affairs for UPSC IAS

By the expected announcement of the Biden Administration, nine of the 10 world’s largest economies are going to set the target to achieve net-zero emission targets by 2050 or so.

Joe Biden has pledged to combat the climate crisis on his first day as US president by immediately rejoining the Paris climate agreement.

Environmental activist censored for encouraging public participation in consultation process of Drafting of Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020.

Desertification and Drought Day – until this year known as The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought – is observed every year on June 17 to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

India is gearing up for what could be one of its worst locust invasions in decades. Outbreaks of the insect attack have been reported from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Six states, which form the Western Ghats, asked the government to expedite the process to notify the ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in the global biodiversity hotspot for clarity.

Despite ready list, Jharkhand to identify elephant corridors as the corridors had changed since their identification, they would need to be identified again.

In the latest development, India has added 10 more wetlands to sites protected by the Ramsar Convention. With this, a total of 37 sites in the country have been recognised under the international treaty.

The State of Forest Report (SFR) 2019, while showing an increase in the carbon stock trapped in Indian forests in the last two years, also shows why it is going to be an uphill task for India in meeting one of its international obligations on climate change.

Supreme Court came down heavily on the Chief Secretaries of four states—Punjab, Haryana, UP, and Delhi—saying that they have failed to give Delhi residents clean air to breathe. But the problem of pollution in Delhi has deeper roots, and must be assessed in order to achieve workable solutions.

• The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has sought a detailed report on the sowing of unapproved genetically modified (GM) cotton and brinjal in Maharashtra.
• Recently, more than 1,000 farmers have publicly sown unapproved transgenic cotton and brinjal in Akoli Jahangir village of Akot taluka in Akola district.