If we can change our mindsets, let’s make a heaven here… Why go elsewhere?
Wing Commander (retired) Rakesh Sharma recently completed 35 years of being the first Indian to have ever set foot in space. He talked to Down To …
Does a year in space make you older or younger?
How space travel and long-duration missions might change the human body, and whether those changes are permanent or reversible once astronauts …
All about agreements
THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS, THEORY AND PRACTICE·Edited by DG Victor, K Raustiala and …
Space Race 2.0: Is this democratisation of space or a high-tech coup?
A handful of billionaires are working hard to make space colonisation a reality. In the process they are reviving a sector that had stagnated for …
Blues for the big cats
Everyone knows of the tiger's endangered status, but the government seems unwilling to face the reality. So far, it has tried to resolve the …
Detergents threaten India's waterbodies
Narinder K Kaushik, professor emeritus at the University of Guleph, Ontario, Canada, speaks to Nitin Sethi on the dangers of phosphate content …
Modified treaty
The Biosafety Protocol has finally been adopted in the hope that it will bring some transparency into the trade in genetically-modified products. …
Heading for showdown
Even as the US accuses the EU of rewriting prior agreements, the later agrees on a common approach to limiting flexible mechanisms for …
Talking in riddles
A recent protocol on compensation to victims of hazardous waste permits the generators to go scot-free
MIAMI GROUP VS rest of the world
Are genetically modified organisms a miracle that will solve the world's hunger problems or a menace that will threaten human health, environment …
Plastic-free planet: Evolution of Global Plastics Treaty
UNEP gathered in Paris ahead of the INC-2 that can set the stage for negotiatons on the treaty
The cold rush
What has India got to show after 20 years on the Antarctica research bandwagon? Lack of focus
Cancun redux
Reflecting upon the fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization at Cancun, a Down To Earth editorial (see: "How not to lose …
Kishanganga dam: court at The Hague seeks details of its environmental impact
Final judgement deferred as India, Pakistan fail to submit details of environment flows and impacts of their hydropower projects
Pact politics
High political drama marks climate negotiations as the European Union strives to ratify the Kyoto protocol without the US, world's biggest polluter
Playing safe
Nations finally draft a treaty to combat the use of toxic chemicals like DDT and PCBs, which are known for their damning health effects
Montreal Protocol: A successful treaty?
Even as the fate of HFCs hangs in uncertainty, there remains much at stake for the Montreal Protocol
Fair farming
The European Union buckles under the pressure of the developing countries to reduce agricultural subsidies
Trade truce
It was neither a victory for the North nor a defeat for the South. Environment took centrestage as the main bargaining chip, but the discussions …
Taxation and inequality: expectations from Union Budget 2013-14
It is imperative that the forthcoming Budget recognises that fair taxation policies are at the core of addressing inequality in the country
Champions of the Earth 2023: UN’s highest green honour celebrates innovative solutions to beat plastic pollution
The Champions of the Earth have been announced even as nations prepare to meet in Nairobi to discuss a globally binding plastic treaty
UNEA-6: Reuse should be central component of legally binding treaty on plastics, say speakers
Panelists at side event held on first day of meet hope an agreement is reached quickly
Countries hope to bring BBNJ or High Seas treaty into force by 2025; only 2 have ratified it so far
India is yet to sign the treaty. However, it called on efforts for entry into force and implementation of the treaty at the G20 New Delhi Leaders&…
Antarctica provides at least $276 billion a year in economic benefits to the world, new research finds
Antarctic research may have prevented significant damage to livelihoods and infrastructure across the world
Simply Put: Global plastic treaty