Current Affairs

28th Conference of Parties To the UNFCCC:

Context:

• 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• Highlights of the COP28
• Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund:
• COP28, member countries reached an agreement to operationalize the Loss and Damage (L&D) fund aimed at compensating countries grappling with climate change impacts.
• The World Bank will be the "interim host" of the fund for four years, aligning with UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
• All developing countries are eligible to apply, and every country is "invited" to contribute voluntarily.
• A specific percentage is earmarked for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Global Stocktake Draft:

• The Global Stock take (GST) is a periodic review mechanism established under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
• The fourth draft of the GST text was unveiled at COP28.

The text proposes eight steps to keep the global temperature rise within the ambit of 1.5 degrees Celsius:

• Tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030;
• Rapidly phasing down unabated coal and limitations on permitting new and unabated coal power generation;
• Accelerating efforts globally towards net zero emissions energy systems, utilizing zero and low carbon fuels well before or by around mid-century;
• Accelerating zero and low emissions technologies, including, inter alia, renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies, including such as carbon capture and utilization and storage, and low carbon hydrogen production, to enhance efforts towards substitution of unabated fossil fuels in energy systems.
• Reducing consumption and production of fossil fuels, a just, orderly and equitable manner to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science;
• Accelerating and substantially reducing non-CO2 emissions, including, in particular, methane emissions globally by 2030;
• Accelerating emissions reductions from road transport through a range of pathways, including development of infrastructure and rapid deployment of zero and low emission vehicles;
• Phasing out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and do not address energy poverty or just transitions, as soon as possible.
• Developing and poor countries are expressing dissatisfaction with the latest draft of the Global Stocktake (GST) at COP28, calling for significant changes.
• The draft does not mention the "phase-out of fossil fuels" but includes stronger language on coal usage. This is problematic for countries heavily dependent on coal, such as India and China.
• India has expressed strong opposition to the inclusion of the term 'rapid' in the context of coal use. This stands in contrast to the negotiations at COP26 in Glasgow, where India and China worked to dilute the coal phaseout term to 'phase down.'
• India, relying on coal for about 70% of its power generation, aims to add 17 gigawatts of coal-based power generation capacity.
• Developing countries argue that rich nations, having consumed over 80% of the global carbon budget, should allow developing nations their fair share of future emissions.

Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge:

The Pledge stipulates that signatories commit to work together to triple the world's installed renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030 and to collectively double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from around 2% to over 4% every year until 2030.

Climate Finance:

• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that wealthy nations owe developing countries USD 500 billion in 2025 under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance.
• The NCQG was confirmed by developed countries under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
• The goal is to set a new collective quantified goal before 2025. The goal will start from a floor of USD 100 billion per year.
• This includes USD 250 billion for mitigation, USD 100 billion for adaptation, and USD 150 billion for loss and damage.
• The figure is expected to increase to USD 1.55 trillion by 2030.
• The current climate finance goal of USD 100 billion per year has not been met, and developing countries are facing debt distress.
• Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy:
• The declaration launched at COP28 aims to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
• Endorsed by 22 national governments, the declaration calls for support from shareholders of international financial institutions. It encourages shareholders to advocate for the incorporation of nuclear energy in energy lending policies.
• Powering Past Coal Alliance(PPCA):
• PPCA is a coalition of national and sub-national governments, businesses and organizations working to advance the transition from unabated coal power generation to clean energy.
• PPCA at COP28 welcomed new national and subnational governments, and called for cleaner energy alternatives.
• Coal Transition Accelerator:
• France, in collaboration with various countries and organizations, introduced the Coal Transition Accelerator.
• Objectives include knowledge-sharing, policy design, and financial support to facilitate just transitions from coal to clean energy.
• The initiative aims to leverage best practices and lessons learned for effective coal transition policies.
• Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnership (CHAMP) for Climate Action:
• A total of 65 national governments signed CHAMP commitments to enhance cooperation, where applicable and appropriate, with subnational governments in the planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring of climate strategies.

India Led Initiatives at COP28:

Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA):

• It was launched at COP 28, led by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
• The GRCA is a unique alliance covering 275+ global river- cities in 11 countries.
• Partner countries include Egypt, Netherlands, Denmark, Ghana, Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan and river- cities of The Hague (Den Haag) from the Netherlands, Adelaide from Australia, and Szolnok of Hungary.
• GRCA highlights India's role in sustainable river-centric development and climate resilience. Education,
• The GRCA platform will facilitate knowledge exchange, river-city twinning, and dissemination of best practices.
• Green Credit Initiative:
• India launched the Green Credit Initiative here at COP28, to create a participatory global platform for exchange of innovative environmental programs and instruments.
• There are two main priorities of the initiative are water conservation and afforestation.
• The main purpose of this initiative is to boost voluntary environmental activities like tree plantation, water conservation, sustainable agriculture, and waste management by incentivizing it for big corporations and private companies, bringing about a change in the climate issues faced by the country.

Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products

About:

• The Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTE has emerged as a critical tool in supporting India's exporters.
• It became operational on 1st January 2021 replacing the existing export incentive scheme, Merchandise Exports from India (MEIS).
• This change was prompted by a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that determined the MEIS scheme's violation of WTO regulations due to its provision of export subsidies for a broad spectrum of goods.
• Countervailing duty (CVD)
• It is a specific form of duty that the government imposes to protect domestic producers by countering the negative impact of import subsidies.
• CVD is thus an import tax by the importing country on imported products.

Why is CVD imposed?

• Foreign governments sometimes provide subsidies to their producers to make their products cheaper and boost their demand in other countries.
• To avoid flooding the market in the importing country with these goods, the government of the importing country imposes CVD, charging a specific amount on the import of such goods.
• The duty nullifies and eliminates the price advantage enjoyed by an imported product. 
• The duty raises the price of the imported product, bringing it closer to its true market price
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) permits the imposition of CVD by its member countries.
• The RoDTEP Committee operates within the Department of Revenue.
• Its primary responsibility is to review and recommend ceiling rates for different export sectors under the RoDTEP Scheme.

Objective:

• Its primary objective is to provide comprehensive support to exporters by remitting duties and taxes incurred during the production and distribution of exported products.

Financial Allocation:

In the financial year 2023-24, the Indian Government has allocated a substantial budget of Rs. 15,070 crores to support the RoDTEP Scheme.

Stakeholder Engagement

• The Committee recently initiated its activities by engaging with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and Chambers of Commerce.

Who administers CVD in India?

• The countervailing measures in India are administered by the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), in the commerce and industry ministry's department of commerce.
• While the department of commerce recommends the CVD, the department of revenue in the finance ministry acts upon the recommendation within three months and imposes such duties.
• What is Anti-dumping duty (AD)?
• It is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
• Dumping is a process wherein a company exports a product at a price that is significantly lower than the price it normally charges in its home (or its domestic) market.
• In a significant stride towards sustainable practices, India has ascended to the 7th position in this year's Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

About Climate Change Performance Index:

• It is an instrument to enable transparency in national and international climate politics.
• It is published by Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network annually.
• It was first time published in 2005.
• The CCPI uses a standardized framework to compare the climate
• Performance of 63 countries and the EU, which together account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The climate protection performance is assessed in four categories: GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, Energy Use and Climate Policy.

Key highlights

• Denmark retained the top spot with a score of 75.59 per cent. Estonia and the Philippines occupied the second and third ranks respectively, with 72.07 and 70.70.
• Saudi Arabia was at the bottom - 67th - in the performance list, while the host country United Arab Emirates occupied the 65th position.
• India receives a high ranking in the GHG Emissions and Energy Use categories, but a medium in Climate Policy and Renewable Energy, as in the previous year.
• India is trying to meet its National Determined Contribution (NDC), with clear long-term policies in place that focus on promoting renewable energy and providing financial support for domestic manufacturing of renewable energy components.
• India has relatively high taxes on petrol and diesel, which are intended to act as carbon taxes. 

 

A US F-16 fighter appears to have crashed into Yellow Sea waters off the coast of South Korea recently.

 

About Yellow Sea:

It is a marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean.

Location:

• It is situated between mainland China to the west and north, the Korean Peninsula to the east, and the Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula to the south.
• It is positioned to the north of the East China Sea.
• The sea was named for the yellowish sand particles originating from the Gobi Desert that descend on the surface of the sea, thereby giving it a Golden yellow colour.
• Size: Also referred to in China as Huang Hai and in North and South Korea as the West Sea, the Yellow Sea is 870 kilometres long and 556 kilometres wide, covering an area of 380,000 sq km.
• Depth: It is one of the largest shallow areas of the continental shelf in the world, with an average depth of 44 metres and a maximum depth of 152 metres.
• Inflow: The main rivers that drain into the Yellow Sea include the Hai River, the Yalu River, the Han River, the Taedong River, and the Yellow River.
• Islands: The Yellow Sea is dotted with numerous islands, the largest of which include Jeju Island (South Korea), Shandong Peninsula islands (China), and Ganghwa Island (South Korea).

As per reports, India's premier agency for military R&D, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), will pause missile testing at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast during the mass nesting season of Olive Ridley sea turtles.

 

About Wheeler Island:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, is an island off the coast of Odisha.
• The island was renamed to honor the late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and also to encourage the youth to pursue a scientific temperament.
• It is the only place in India that has an integrated test range maintaining a missile testing facility, which is located on this island.
• All indigenous missiles, like Akash missile, Agni missile, Prithvi Missile etc. are tested from here.
• The island is 2 km long, having an area of 390 acres, and is basically a soil formation without rocks in the Bay of Bengal.

Key Facts about Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO):

• It is the R&D wing of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies and a mission to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems.
• It is India's largest research organisation.
• Formation: The organisation was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDES) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems

 

Olive Ridley Turtles

About:

• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• These turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive- coloured carapace.
• They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.

Habitat:

• They are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans.
• Odisha's Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is known as the world's largest rookery (a colony of breeding animals) of sea turtles.
• Protection Status:
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has said that the program- 'YUVAI-Youth for Unnati and Vikas with Al' will be featured at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit.

About YUVAI Initiative:

• It is a collaborative initiative of National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity), Government of India and Intel India.
• This programme, designed to equip the youth with essential Artificial Intelligence skills, has garnered attention for its innovative approach and commitment to enabling a future-ready workforce.
• It is aimed to foster a deeper understanding of Al, to enable school students from class 8 to 12 across the nation with Al skills, and to empower them to become human-centric designers and users of Al.

 

Key Updates and Features of YUVAI Programme:

 

• Progressing in three phases, the YUVAI program is being implemented in multiple cohorts to ensure that maximum students stand a chance to become future-ready. It introduces students to several social themes to direct their Al knowledge towards solving real- world problems.
• In the first Cohort, more than 8,500 students registered, post which, they attended online orientation sessions to learn fundamental concepts of Al. Teachers also enrolled into the program and underwent orientation sessions. Students then submitted innovative Al-based ideas under one of the eight core themes of the programme.

 

Key Updates and Features of YUVAI Programme:

 

• In phase 2, Top 200 Al-based ideas were shortlisted. Shortlisted students attended online deep dive Al training and mentorship sessions with certified Intel Al coaches and experts - helping students enhance their solutions. Students then submitted their Al projects to be evaluated for Phase 3.
• In Phase 3, top 50 students were shortlisted and they were invited to attend a four-day face-to-face rapid modeling workshop - receiving one-on-one mentorship, apprenticeship and guidance from industry experts to fine-tune their projects and develop them into prototypes.
• An on-spot project presentation was conducted by a multiple jury panel to shortlist Top 10 students

 

About Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is situated in the Gondia and Shandara Districts of Maharashtra.
• It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1970. In 2012, the state government announced to merging this sanctuary with another national park to include in Tiger Project, now called as Nagzira Navegoan Tiger Reserve.
• It comprises Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is connected with many surrounding tiger reserves like Pench, Kanha, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Indravati Tiger Reserve etc.
• Topography: The topography is undulating, and the highest point, viz. 'Zenda Pahad'is around 702 m above mean sea level.
• Vegetation: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, which includes dry mixed forests to moist forest type.
• Flora: There are 364 species of plants, and the major trees are: Terminalia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Anogeisus lotifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Diospyrus melanoxylon, Ougeinia oogenesis, etc.
• Fauna: The major wild animals are: Tiger, Panther, Small Indian Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackal, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Common Giant Flying Squirrel, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Four Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer Pangolin.