On Monday, the ongoing Bonn Climate Conference saw some heated discussions between countries. While rich countries like the United States and the European Union prevented developing nations from including climate finance in the agenda, poorer countries questioned ‘empty discussions’ that do not result in concrete climate actions. 
In her report, LCW’s Climate Change Research Lead Mrinali explains how rich nations have gone back on their promise of funding the climate fight.

Rich countries had failed on their commitments to achieve a climate finance goal of USD 100 billion, which was due in 2020, and now there are talks to decide a new goal. Attempts to finalise this new goal, however, witnesses a stiff resistance from developed countries. From deflecting financial responsibility to the private sector and to developing countries, rich countries continue to dilute their responsibility.

Internal papers: Reducing states’ control over carbon markets

In other climate-related news, last month, India expressed its plans to decarbonise its economy. A new carbon trading scheme is being drafted to set up a carbon market. What is a carbon market you might ask. It is a market-based solution to encourage industries to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. In part, this is also an attempt by the government to achieve India’s climate targets and global commitments.

But right before the carbon trading policy is to be finalised, a crucial proposal from the Power ministry was dropped from the proposed amendments to the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act (EC Act) – the legal foundation of setting up such a market. This was done with the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Internal documents accessed by our researcher Prudhviraj Rupavath reveal that the PMO’s intervention reduced the power given to states to regulate such a market and ensure more decentralisation, an idea supported by the states. You can read this in detail here.

Swindled by state inaction: Tribals in Kerala fight land grab

Following up on his story from Kerala’s Attappady, researcher Jeff Joseph followed three tribal characters who are fighting a battle to get their land back from migrant settlers who have taken over their ancestral lands. Jeff met the national award-winning tribal singer Nanjiyamma and others like her who lost their land to such forgeries.
In this video story, he traces the struggles of tribal communities through their voices and characters showcasing where and how the state failed.

LCW Policy Talks

Tomorrow, we’ll be hosting an interaction with Mrinali who wrote our May Natural Resource Policy Brief analysing a flawed system to value forests in India lost to development projects. These interactions are a part of our paid membership, but this time, we are opening it up to everyone! The interaction is at 4 pm over Zoom. Please do register and join in.

We currently have 678 ongoing conflicts documented in the LCW database. Last month, our team of researchers added 10 conflict cases to our database. We list a few: 

1. In Tamil Nadu, environmentalists petitioned against the East Coast Road expansion, stating that it would affect the ecology of a lagoon. In the same state, villagers in Tirunelveli oppose a proposed solar plant, claiming that the plant is being constructed over common lands. Viswanathan Sridhar brings us details.  
2. In Maharashtra, Shubham Kothari reports that adivasis gathered to protest deforestation by city authorities in Mumbai, demanding forest rights titles. Whereas Maitreya details the protests against two upcoming renewable energy projects: flooding due to a wind farm near Pune threatens a wildlife sanctuary situated near it, and farmers protest against a solar park in Nashik, who claim that their lands were taken over by bypassing the law.  
3. Over 5,000 households face eviction by the state forest department in South Delhi, from an area notified as a reserve forest, writes Asmi Sharma.
4. In Nagaland, around 600 residents living around Dimapur railway station contest eviction notices labelling them encroachers, reports Emilo Yanthan.  
5. Dalits in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district held protests against the illegal transfer of their lands for an aquaculture business. Rachit Tiwari brings details.
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 Creating land banks in Odisha
 
On May 15, the Odisha state government issued a resolution on creating land banks for compensatory afforestation. This process is used to compensate for the loss of forested areas to development projects. This is the first circular passed by a state government in light of the new Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022, which prescribes that non-forested areas be used as land banks for such afforestation. The new rules were introduced last year to remove “major bottlenecks” in granting permissions to clearing forests, as previously reported by LCW.
 
The Odisha state resolution directs that such land banks be created in each district by including degraded revenue forest lands only, and not lands formally notified as forests. The resolution, however, does not mention the usage of private forests for these land banks.
 
Experts, however, have previously argued that such land banks have been used to bypass land acquisition laws and avoid compliance with forest rights of forest dwelling communities.

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