What is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)? At its core, EIA is a decision-support tool. 👉 Simple idea:Before we say “Yes, go ahead” to a development project, we must first ask: Formally, EIA predicts the likely environmental impacts of proposed developmental activities and: 📌 UPSC takeaway:EIA does not stop development; it guides development towards sustainability. Evolution…
Why Was the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 Needed? Till the early 1980s, India had: But there was no single, comprehensive law dealing with: The urgency became undeniable after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. 👉 This disaster exposed: At the global level, the intellectual foundation had already been laid by the United Nations Conference on the Human…
Why Pollution-Specific Laws Were Needed? Once environmental protection entered the Constitution, the next natural question was: How do we control pollution on the ground? General principles were not enough. India needed sector-wise, enforceable laws dealing specifically with: This led to the creation of pollution-specific legislations. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (a) Objective…
Background: Why Did Environmental Laws Come Late in India? When the Indian Constitution was originally adopted in 1950, environmental protection was not a priority. The focus then was on: Environment was seen as a secondary concern. 👉 The turning point came in 1972, with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, commonly called the…
Till now, we have discussed COPs, agreements, pledges, and funds. But climate governance does not operate only through COP decisions. A large part of real-world climate action happens through specialised programmes, coalitions, partnerships, and technical frameworks. This section brings together those supporting pillars of global climate governance. 🌳 UN-REDD Programme and REDD+ Let us first…
The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Belém, Brazil, at the edge of the Amazon—symbolically reminding the world that climate negotiations are no longer abstract, they are ecological and civilisational. Unlike earlier COPs that focused heavily on new promises, COP30 attempted to…
We already know the Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Now let’s look at COP 29: 👉 Remember: Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is an economic, developmental, and justice issue. 🔑 Key Highlights of COP29 New Climate…
The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) under the UNFCCC was held in November 2023 in Dubai, UAE. Institutional Context 👉 If COP26 built the rulebook and COP27 focused on justice and loss & damage, COP28 acted as a global reality check on whether the world is actually moving towards Paris goals. 🔍 Global Stocktake (GST):…
The 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) under the UNFCCC was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2022. Institutional Position 👉 While COP26 focused on finalising rules, COP27 focused on climate impacts, vulnerability, and protection mechanisms—especially for countries already suffering climate disasters. 🛡️ Global Shield Against Climate Risks Initiative One of the most significant outcomes of…
🗂️ Background The 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) under the UNFCCC was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, in 2021. To understand COP26, remember this one-line essence: Paris (2015) decided the goals; Glasgow (2021) decided the rulebook. Institutional Significance 👉 This overlap shows how COP26 acted as a bridge between the Kyoto era and the Paris…
