The climate finance target set at COP29 highlights ambition, but bridging the gap demands political leadership and structural innovation, not just funding pledges, writes Labanya Prakash Jena $2.3 to $2.5 trillion – this is the amount of capital Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs), excluding China, need per annum to meet their climate goals, according to the Independent High Level Expert Group (IHLEG). By 2035, that figure will climb to $3.2 trillion annually, w

In the second part of CarbonCopy’s series on India’s native forests, we trace the illicit felling of Khair trees in Uttar Pradesh’s Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, and how a lucrative kattha trade, weak institutions, and complicit officials are pushing this forest, and others like it, towards collapse Forest conservation will be one of the defining issues at COP30. Brazil, as host, is pushing for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility , a multilateral fund to reward countries that

CarbonCopy launches a new 4-part series on the state of India’s native forests, beginning in Chamba, where swollen rivers carried hundreds of cut logs downstream, a warning that India’s ecological foundations are fraying As August sloshed to an end, the people of Chamba badly needed respite — and reassurance. It wasn’t to be. In that last week, rainfall, abnormally high all month, added further intensity . Dumping four times more rain than normal, it would leave Himachal Prad

Part two of CarbonCopy’s series on India’s weather warnings explores how startups and private players are betting on AI, satellites, and new data streams to plug forecasting gaps. While facing hard questions of scale, trust, and integration. In the first part of this series , CarbonCopy explored why India’s weather forecasts so often fall short. Despite major investments in satellites, radars, and data networks, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has struggled to predi

Part one of CarbonCopy’s two-part series on India’s forecasting challenge explores how the IMD is grappling with climate-fueled extremes, the gaps in early warnings, and what it will take to strengthen the country’s defense against intensifying disasters. In the mist-clad valleys of the Himalayas, where villages cling to fragile slopes and rivers roar with monsoon fury, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is grappling with one of its greatest challenges: predicting the

Pisciculture, afforestation, pumped storage, eco-tourism have emerged as the more popular forms of re-using abandoned mines. Barely five hundred metres after crossing the Damodar river near Jharkhand’s Bhurkunda town, a leaf-strewn path branches out from the main road to Saunda, a coal town in Ramgarh district. This almost missable path, lined with sal trees, slopes downward towards the former coal mine in the Barkasayal area. It’s now used for harvesting fish. Owned by the C

With CETP delays, water pollution crackdowns, and limited state support, the country’s oldest textile traditions are under strain—and the artisans behind them are paying the price. In the narrow lanes of Sanganer in Rajasthan, which is known for its centuries-old tradition of block printing, lie a myriad of tiny shops filled with vibrant and colourful clothes and busy block-printing units. Behind these shops lies a larger truth – a number of people working tirelessly in dingy

The energy shift is redrawing India’s economic map, but for coal belt workers in states like Jharkhand, the just transition is already collapsing under policy inaction. Even after three decades, the village of Manki in Jharkhand’s Chatra district still bears the marks of abandonment with its old houses and rusted electric poles. It was home to workers from a now-abandoned coal mine nearby. Today, the mine is buried under wild shrubs and red-flowering trees, with little eviden

As India pushes for electric vehicles to meet climate goals, critical mineral shortages could be addressed through battery recycling, but the largely informal sector lacks regulation, capacity, and government support. In 2021, at Glasgow Climate Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2070. As a consequence, the country has spurred into action to quicken its pace on putting EVs on the road. It has resolved that by 2030 at le

As the issue of unemployment looms large this election season while the country aspires to ensure a just transition, CarbonCopy looks into the Centre’s Suryamitra scheme—launched in 2015—to skill India’s youth to work in the solar industry. A closer look shows that while the national initiative has made progress, it is uneven A solar skill training session is underway in Mumbai. “This is the right time to be here. The solar industry is going to be big. Bohot saare logo ki ava