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Waste workers take the lead in solving Bengaluru’s textile waste crisis

The rise of fast fashion, coupled with citizens’ limited awareness about waste disposal, has led to a textile waste challenge in Bengaluru. The city generates 220 tonnes of textile waste everyday, which accounts for 4% of its municipal waste.
Managing urban textile waste goes beyond collection, sorting, and recycling — it should also take into account the needs of the frontline workers, the waste picker community. To address this challenge, waste pickers, with support from NGOs, have developed multiple solutions. In the past few years, they have set up Bengaluru’s first textile waste processing centre, a decentralised system to provide waste to this centre, and even a separate upcycling system that fashions new clothes out of waste.

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A path to climate resilience through city-level research and planning

As Indian cities expand, the impact of climate hazards varies widely due to socioeconomic inequalities and political and cultural factors. Cities lie at the forefront of the climate crisis, contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions while also reeling from impacts like heat islands, floods, droughts and public health risks. At the same time, India’s urban population continues to swell – rising about from 32% in 2013 to 36.3% in 2023. By 2050, India’s urban population is projected to reach 53%, adding 416 million people, according to a UN report.

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Hidden Costs of Going Green- the Issues with Ethical Energy Transition

The global dash to green energy is not so green after all. We are uncovering the geopolitics and dark sides of the renewable energy transition while countries race to become the next Green powers.

The world is at a critical juncture, urgently needing to combat climate change—a reality that many experts now label a climate emergency. Countries are racing to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources—like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power—because this shift is more urgent than ever. While Big Oil advocates are still aggressive about their ‘drill-baby-drill’ campaigns, there is a hidden race to be the next Green Superpower (especially with nuclear at the hinge).

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Breathing Unequally: Impact of Air Pollution on Women

In 2019, air pollution led to 6.7 million deaths globally, and 1.67 million in India. Air pollution is India’s second-largest health risk after maternal and child malnutrition and pollutants like PM2.5 have also been associated with carcinogenicity. Francoise d’Eaubonne’s concept of Ecofeminism recognizes that environmental degradation and women’s oppression are intertwined, creating a double burden for women.

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Fiji’s Water Sector Strategy 2050

Fiji has adopted a strategy to improve its water sector’s resilience, sustainability and economic viability. As climate change intensifies in the Pacific, climate vulnerability of water systems under extreme weather events and rising sea levels is now endangering key water infrastructure, necessitating substantial investment in protective measures. Small Island Developing States in the Pacific are home to about 2.5 million people, living on hundreds of islands spread over the vast Pacific Ocean. The region covers nearly 15% of the Earth’s surface, with shared water security challenges and solutions.

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