Date : 20th February 2012
Filming of documentary was like making feature film for him. It was always gripping plot in each of his product, a complicated environmental science explained in a simple, straight but stunning manner. And like a film from Hollywood or Bollywood, the titles of his films were equally inviting. One of the better-known and gifted environmental film producers is no more. Robert Lamb breathed his last on 12th February in UK after a battle with cancer that he fought bravely.

“Robert’s passion to conceptualizethe technologically challenging subject and depict it through fascinating imaging sequence was unique”, said Rajendra Shende, Chairman of TERRE Policy Centre and former Director in UNEP. “With me, when I was heading the OzonAction Programme in UNEP, he made smart and intelligent documentaries on ozone layer protection and climate change in which he not only hailed the Montreal Protocol as one of the most successful global environmental agreement so far, but also made sure that viewers grasp the remaining challenges and potential failures of the Montreal Protocol” added Mr. Shende. One of his last films was titled “THE 21 GIGATONNE TIMEBOMB”, that showed how the stocks of Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) that helped solve the Ozone depletion issue are now aggravating the global warming due to very high global warming potential of HFCs. While explaining the title he said, “ HFCs are classical challenge of 21st century. An atomic bomb of equivalent of 21 KT of TNT was to be dropped over Nagasaki to achieve much needed piece.”

From a speechwriter to UNEP's Executive Director, Mustapha Tolba, to an independent head of Television Trust for Environment (TVE), Robert’s journey was full of enthusiasm, hard work, peppered with British humor. His networks and affiliation with media and international organisationsl ike BBC, IUCN, WWF and UNEP, were wide and strong. He was instrumental in 1993 to further this network of TVE partners in over 40 countries, which used TVE’s filmsto enhance the environmental awareness.

In 2005 Robert established One Planet Pictures and joined Dev TV, a Swiss non-profit organization, as Senior Executive Producer. One Planet Pictures was responsible for several new strands broadcast on BBC World News and other European channels including The World Challenge and Nature Inc. Robert had planned a major social media adventure with TERRE Policy Centre to inspire actions for the sustainable solutions. ‘My experience so far shows that without little bit of enthusiasm, nothing is possible”, was Robert’s motto. His film The 21 Giga Tonne Time Bomb will be shown in the Vasundhara Film Festival in Pune, India starting from 24th Feb 2012.

Date : 12th Februray 2012
India and the European Union on Friday stuck to their respective stands on EU’s move to tax air travel by including aviation in their Emissions Trading System (ETS), but decided to resolve the differences urgently.
India, along with over 30 countries like Russia, the United States and China would meet in Moscow later this month , February 21-22, to decide whether to take retaliatory measures against the EU’s "unilateral" decision to impose this carbon tax.
Even if only India, Russia and China decide to start reciprocally charging for over-flights by European carriers or restrict the number of flights being operated by them citing emission concerns, it could have a devastating effect on the European airline industry," as per the aviation expert.
A joint statement, issued at the 12th India-EU summit here, said leaders of both sides "reiterated their respective positions on the inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS and noted the strong divergence of views. Both sides agreed on the need to urgently resolve the issue."
On the brighter side, the two sides sought "appropriate steps to enable the entry into force of the Horizontal Civil Aviation Agreement," the statement said. China on the other hand has taken very tough stand by refusing to entertain the idea of the carbon tax.
The carbon tax has been imposed from January 1, on all flights by non-EU carriers to and from an airport in the EU territory or over-flying the European airspace, making air travel costlier.
Over 30 major countries, including India, adopted the ‘Delhi Declaration’ last September to oppose the tax terming the move as being “inconsistent with the international legal regimes".

China Coal Conundrum :
Date : 23th January 2012
The year of the Dragon starts today as the Chinese starts to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2012. For the next 15 days the Chinese will celebrate the year of the Dragon.
TERRE Policy Centre congratulates China on this occasion particularly its achievements in renewable energy. China tripled its solar energy generating capacity in 2011 and notched up major increases in wind and hydropower, government figures showed this week. A feat that needs to be celebrated.
However, China faces a conundrum. China is still struggling to cap the growth in coal powered electricity generating plants which not only the biggest source of carbon dioxide emission in the world but also dragon-size problem of air pollution. The massive rise in the passenger vehicles is adding to pollution problem to make it bigger than dragon.
First, good news to start new year on happy note: China has increased its share of renewable energy to 11.4 per cent in 2011, compared to 8.4 per cent in 2010. China's hydropower capacity hit 200GW in 2011, making it the planet's largest producer of hydro energy. 47GW of wind energy and 3GW of solar power capacity added over the past 12 months make China the world's fastest growing renewable energy market. With 47GW of capacity in wind power and 3 GW in solar energy, China is clearly leading the renewable energy revolution.
The bad news is that coal continues to account for close to 70% of the nation's power supply. It already consumes half of the world’s coal, touching to 4 billion tonnes in year 2011. China is already contemplating to cap the consumption between 4.5 to 5 billion tonnes per year by year 2020.

Date : 12th January 2012
Releasing a report on hunger and malnutrition (HUNGaMA) on 11th January 2012, , Singh said that despite impressive GDP growth, the level of under nutrition was "unacceptably" high. In the 100 focus districts with the poorest child development indicators, over 40 per cent of children were underweight and the growth of almost 60 per cent was stunted, the survey was conducted by Naandi Foundation across 112 rural districts. The surveyors reached more than 73,000 households in 112 districts across nine states.
The survey was conducted at the insistence of Citizens' Alliance against Malnutrition, which comprises young parliamentarians, artistes, directors, social activists and policy makers.
BJP parliamentarian Jay Panda, a member of the alliance, said: "India has progressed quite a lot in the last 20 years. But the fight against malnutrition has not made as much progress."
For details see hungamaforchange.org/HungamaBKDec11LR.pdf ".

Date : 9th January 2012

China Air Transport Association representing Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines, has informed that Chinese airlines will not pay a new European Union tax aimed at cutting carbon emissions. On 1 January, the EU brought airlines under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which levies a charge on flights based on their carbon emissions. However, the EU said it would not back down on the issue. Airlines which do not comply with the new EU tax can be fined and even prohibited from flying into the region.
The scheme of taxoing is part of EU's measures to reduce carbon emissions and reduce global warming. The EU estimates the costs of air fares will rise by between 2 and 12 euros per passenger to pay for the tax. The scheme is being implemented on a gradual basis, with 85% of carbon allowances handed out to airlines for free this year. China has warned that it may implement retaliatory measures against the levy, if EU takes action. Interestingly the tax has been criticised by China, India, the US and Canada."

Date : 5th January 2012

The only "source of all sources" of energy that our mother is relinat on-" The Sun"-was closest to our planet , today on 5th January 2012. 5:53 am today, (Perihelion Day), the Earth was at its nearest point from the Sun. The distance at that time is 147 million km. Every January, the Earth is at perihelion, the closest from the Sun for the year and in July it is at aphelion, the farthest to the Sun for the year. The word perihelion comes from the Greek words "peri" (meaning "near") and "helios" (meaning "sun"). All planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system have elliptical orbits. Thus, they all have a closest and a farthest point from the Sun - a perihelion and an aphelion, he said. The questions comes to the mind, why the temperature does not rise on Perihelion Day even when the sunlight is more, The reason lies in the tilt of the Earth's axis. Our seasons are determined by the tilt of the Earth and not by how close the Earth is to the Sun.