Rishika Pardikar

Bureaucratic delays and chronic underfunding are hallmarks of doing science in Global South countries. And we hear about such challenges often. New report documenting how scientists in countries like Kenya and India navigate such challenges. Lots of tips here and a vision for a collaborative future

A team I am a part of is hiring an India-based part time research assistant to help us with textual analysis of government forestry documents related to forest restoration and pastoral livelihoods in Himachal Pradesh. Information and application instructions here: forms.gle/4D6aVqtDU7FY...

Global CO2 emissions plateau Global CO2 emissions from the power sector fell marginally by 12 MtCO2 (-0.2%) to 6,963 MtCO2 in the first half of 2025. The decline was possible because solar and wind power exceeded demand growth and led to a slight fall in fossil fuel use. Without solar and wind growth, emissions would have risen by an estimated 236 MtCO2 (+3.9%) globally, which is equivalent to almost all emissions (251 MtCO2) from Africa in H1-2025. At the country level, there was significant variation. Among the four economies that account for the majority of global emissions (64%), emissions fell in China (-46 MtCO2, -1.7%) and India (-24 MtCO2, -3.6%), as clean electricity outpaced growth in demand in those countries. In contrast, emissions rose in the EU (+13 MtCO2, +4.8%), where strong growth in solar was outweighed by shortfalls in wind, hydro and bioenergy, leading to higher gas and coal generation. Emissions also rose in the US (+33 MtCO2, +4.3%), as clean electricity growth was smaller than demand growth, leading to an increase in coal generation, which was exacerbated by gas-to-coal switching.

A complete flip of the usual pattern we see in these updates - China's and India's emissions fell, and EU and US emissions increased.....

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

@ember-energy.org

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You say there's a link between surface air temperature and fatal landslides, I'm assuming this means links to extreme rainfall? Have you noticed any terrain patterns like heavy developmental activities in these regions? In India, I know that development in the Himalaya has not been planned well

It was :) As was the conversation with him after the presentation. We spoke for a good half an hour because so many things he said resonated with the challenges I have heard here in India

Practical tips*

New report on navigating challenges of doing science in Global South countries. We often hear about obstacles like bureaucracy and funding constraints. Some practical here on how to navigate

YouTube video by New Economic Thinking Philip Mirowski - Why Is There a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics?

It's Nobel Prize week! A good time to remember that the economics prize was created by Swedish bankers in 1968 (67 years after the 5 original Nobel prizes) against the wishes of the Nobel family, partly to legitimize neoclassical economics in the public eye and partly to help banks avoid regulation.

30 minutes in. This is an excellent talk. Thank you for sharing

I have often observed people say they would like more diversity, more Global South voices, more African voices. But it only goes so far. Once sharp voices with hard critique emerge, people would rather ignore them quietly

Critique of Jane Goodall's legacy from a prominent Kenyan voice on conservation

Wonder how many Jane Goodalls there were in tribal and farming communities in tropical Global South countries around the world who had also observed that some non-human primates lived very social lives similar to their own families. The number of stories that go untold... a pity

You are not seeing this slaughter live-streamed to your devices because Israel has murdered most of Gaza’s most prominent journalists in targeted assassinations.

I'm curious about the kind of engagement the post will get. And I found @hmcjeon.bsky.social here

Got it 👍

I am reminiscing old Twitter now. It used to be fun

We had discussed such issues a while ago x.com/rishpardikar...

If I understand this correctly, you are critiquing statements like "limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions of 43 per cent by 2030 relative to the 2019 level"?

Yes, a lesson learnt at least

That is a crazy exchange. I need to read this book

India misses RE capacity target due to low solar rooftop, wind energy project installations: Parliamentary panel India misses renewable energy capacity target which was set for the year 2022

That might have been due to actual overestimation of solar rooftop. RE goals don't really have much appeal with domestic audience www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/ene...

And both the present Indian government and past ones have made their stance on equity (can also be read as "India's emissions will rise") quite clear in international forums

It is strangely true for India's climate commitments as well. I say strange because in other arenas, the Modi government goes all out on advertising big claims and promises. But on climate, and in line with past governments, the pledges are conservative

When China makes a climate pledge, the world should listen Beijing has a track record of only promising what it plans to deliver. But too often the world’s attention is elsewhere.

A different perspective here on China's latest climate pledge. "China, unlike many other countries, tends not to make climate commitments that it doesn’t understand or intend to keep." theconversation.com/when-china-m...

EV two and three-wheelers have so far been a feature of developing countries, Asian in particular. It needs more push elsewhere

A lot of the water is for sugarcane cultivation. Maharashtra is the second-largest producer of sugarcane in India. It is a highly water-intensive crop and there are other labour and human rights abuses in the sector

Interesting. Ever since this report was published, multiple people have got in touch with me to share additional details. I guess a lot of the story is yet to be explored and reported about

For example, what if geothermal is less mineral-intensive?

How geothermal energy could provide ‘always on’ supply Interest is growing in fracking techniques pioneered by the oil and gas industry for use in tapping the earth’s crust for power

One of the criticisms of geothermal in this report is that it is expensive and RE+battery could give us better outcomes. Increasingly find such arguments about cost reductive. Cost is rarely the only determinant. And diverse sources of energy is a good thing

www.ft.com/content/0f4c...