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The global plastics treaty is at risk of becoming a waste management agreement that ignores the root cause: rising plastic production. Without binding caps, pollution will continue to grow despite improved recycling efforts. What Was Promised and What Is Happening In March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi agreed to negotiate a legally binding…
Greenwashing in India is rising as companies make misleading sustainability claims, despite stricter ESG regulations. Weak enforcement and fragmented oversight continue to undermine accountability and consumer trust. Introduction In the summer of 2023, a close friend of mine bought a well-known brand’s “eco-friendly” range of personal care products. She paid a premium. She chose them…
The Farmer Who Cannot Wait for a Summit The paddy farmers follow 2 different calendars in the flat fields of Bihar, India. The farming calendar, ten months during which rains come, seeds get sowed and harvest is due. The other happens to be the disasters calendar. The time when years of floods wipe out the…
The anti-ESG backlash is weakening accountability systems and cutting funding for gender-focused programmes globally. As ESG rollbacks and aid reductions grow, women are disproportionately bearing the impact, slowing progress on equality. Trump-era ESG rollbacks and global aid cuts are hitting gender programmes hardest. The UN has the numbers. The corporate sector is looking the other…
India and the World Bank have signed a $300 million agreement to launch the Haryana Clean Air Project, aiming to reduce pollution through electric buses, cleaner industries, and improved air quality monitoring. The initiative will also create thousands of jobs, with a strong focus on employment opportunities for women. India and the World Bank signed…
The European Union has just ruled out an exemption for India from its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism-the new climate-linked tariff that will tax carbon-intensive imports coming into the bloc. The news, reported in the Financial Times on 16 November 2025, affects some of the most trade-dependent industries in India, like steel, aluminium, cement and fertilizers….
While governments are struggling with high public expenditures, and urgent climate and development priorities, advanced economies began utilizing capital markets, instead of just aid budgets, to finance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) priorities. Tools like sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), green bonds, and carbon prices have become common methods to direct private capital toward public goods. From Niche…
Photo Credit: YLAC Clear Cut Climate DeskNew Delhi, UPDATED: Oct 29, 2025 02:43 ISTWritten By: Janmojaya Barik India is confronted with a convergence of crises: urbanization, climate crisis, and a crying need for civic action. While governments agonize over policy and NGOs agendas, young people are typically spectators and not participants. City Climate Pulse is attempting to alter that….
