• In 1994, for the first time under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the EIA notification was formulated in India.
• It made environmental clearance mandatory for expansion, modernisation and setting up of new projects. Since then, EIA has been amended several times.
• The most important amendment happened in 2006. It makes it mandatory for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours and airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units to get environment clearance.
• The amendments to EIA Notification of 1st December 2009 exempts environmental clearance process the biomass based power plants up to 15 MW, power plants based on non hazardous municipal solid waste and power plants based on waste heat recovery boilers without using auxiliary fuel.
• In 2020, the government redrafted it again to incorporate the amendments and relevant court orders issued since 2006, and to make the EIA “process more transparent and expedient.

• The Union government on July 2020, launched the Green-Ag Project in Mizoram, to reduce emissions from agriculture and ensure sustainable agricultural practices
• The Green-Ag Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility, while the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is the national executing agency.
• Other key players involved in its implementation are Food and Agricultre Organization (FAO) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• The project will be implemented in Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand which includes non-Gangetic states as well

• According to the central pollution control board data and government-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) the day-time high surface wind speed, warmer temperature and elevated boundary layer height have improved the ventilation and dispersion substantially and are influencing Delhi's AQI positively.
• The planetary boundary layer (PBL) height is a fundamental parameter characterizing the vertical extent of atmospheric mixing near the surface.
• The intermittent lifting of local dust under the prevailing meteorological conditions can be the dominating factor to influence the AQI adversely.
• The stubble burning in the neighbouring states results in adverse pollution levels as a favourable wind movement can bring the particulate matter to Delhi

• Explosion of a nearby star — occurred at between Devonian and Carboniferous periods — could have caused a mass extinction event that took place 359 million years ago.
• The Earth suffered an intense loss of species diversity that lasted for at least 300,000 years.
• The event is thought to have been caused by long-lasting ozone depletion, which would have allowed much more of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reach and harm life on Earth. It was called the Hangenberg crisis.
• The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on August 18, 2020, was supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Estonian Research Council.

• Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are a type of environmental commodity intended to provide an economic incentive for electricity generation from renewable energy sources.
• Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) is a policy instrument to catalyze the development of renewable energy.
• It is a market based mechanism which will help the states meet their regulatory requirements (such as Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs)) by overcoming the geographical constraints on existing renewable potential in different states.
• These are issued by the power generating companies and regulated by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
• Each REC represents the environmental benefits of 1MWh of renewable energy generation.

• The Ministers representing the eight Arctic States, joined by representatives of the six Permanent Participant organizations of the Arctic Council, have gathered in Reykjavlk, lceland, at the conclusion of lceland's second Chairmanship for the Twelfth Ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, Reaffirming their commitment to maintain peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic.

• Saudi Arabia will join the United States, Canada, Norway, and Qatar in forming ‘Net Zero Producers Forum’ for oil and gas producers to discuss how they can support the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

• A 4500cr performance Linked Incentive Scheme is provided to domestic solar companies.
• 100% FDI is permitted in the renewable energy sector under automatic route without government approval is there for solar sector.
• The domestic content requirement (DCR) category, the mandate for solar projects in India to utilize domestically manufactured solar modules and cells.

• Union Cabinet has approved the Ratification of seven chemicals listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
• These are:

1. Chlordecone.
2. Hexabromobiphenyl.
3. Hexabromodiphenyl ether and Heptabromodiphenylether.
4. Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and Pentabromodiphenyl ether.
5. Pentachlorobenzene.
6. Hexabromocyclododecane.
7. Hexachlorobutadiene.

• It is estimated that a staggering 80 per cent of marine pollution originates on land. Land-based pollutants – such as agricultural run-off and nutrients from sewage outflows - are contributing to ocean ‘dead zones.
• More than 220 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year. 60 -90% of marine pollution is made up of different types of plastic.
• A plastic bottle can last up to 450 years in the marine environment.
• Dead zones’ are areas which can no longer sustain life because they have low or zero oxygen. There are now some 500 of these dead zones around the world.

• Overgrazing results in increased trampling of soil by livestock, which increases soil compaction and thus, decreases the permeability of the soil.
• Grazing has a significant positive effect on soil properties in that the soil moisture content, soil organic carbon concentration, soil total nitrogen concentration, soil available nitrogen, soil total phosphorus, and soil available phosphorus significantly increased with increased grazing pressure.
• Continued overutilization of land for grazing results in an increase in degradation (land desertification in long run) and this leads to poor soil conditions that only xeric and early successional species (xerophytic plants and borrowing animals) can tolerate.

• Quantitative Pollutants- The substances which are already present in the environment, but are termed as pollutants when their concentration (quantity) increases in the environment. eg. CO2 is present in the environment in greater quantity than normal and is hence termed as a quantitative pollutant.
• Other examples included ozone, NOx, Sox etc.
• Qualitative Pollutant- The substances which are not normally present in the environment and are added by human beings and are pollutants by nature.
• Eg. insecticides, pesticides. In short, all manmade pollutants can be called as qualitative.

• “Global Stocktake“ – a moment every five years for all countries to pause and account for what has been achieved so far, and what must still be done, to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

• Pyrolysis - material is exposed to high temperature, and in the absence of oxygen goes through chemical and physical separation into different molecules.
• Vermiculture - the cultivation of earthworms, especially in order to use them to convert organic waste into fertilizer.
• Incineration - Waste destruction in a furnace by controlled burning at high temperatures.
• Composting - Biological process in which micro-organisms decompose degradable organic waste

All the given pollutants are released by coal based power plants.

• Hothouse Earth is a term used to describe a scenario in which human activity causes a higher global temperature than at any time during the past 1.2 million years, due to a breakdown in the feedback loops that regulate the planet’s temperature.
• Losing these safeguards would make warming largely beyond our control, no matter how much we subsequently reduced our greenhouse gas emissions. 
• Ultimately, the authors of ‘Worst case scenario’ paper predicted things would start to stabilise at around 4-5C higher than pre-industrial times, with sea levels 60m higher than today.
• By this point, warming would “likely exceed the limits of adaptation and result in a substantial overall decrease in agricultural production, increased prices, and even more disparity between wealthy and poor countries”.

• A carbon credit is a permit or certificate allowing the holder to emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. The credit limits the emission to a mass equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. The issuance of carbon credits aims to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It has its origins in Kyoto Portocol.
• A world bank study has mentioned that China followed by India are the biggest seller of carbon credits.

• Cyclopentane is a hydroflorocarbon with zero ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential.
• India is in the process of phasing out HCFC by 2030 as per the existing agreement signed by India in the Montreal protocol. HCFC is a commonly used refrigerant gas. t is also used in foam blowing agents, solvents, aerosols and fire extinguishers.
• MoEFCChas suggested that it will propose for the funding of foam industries to ease shift from using ozone-depleting Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) to chemical Cyclopentane. 

• The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year. The tentative national level target of 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 is proposed under the NCAP taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
• City specific action plans are being formulated for 102 non-attainment cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under NCAP. Overall monitoring will be by CPCB.
• It has been formulated under TheAir (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

• Petroleum coke, the bottom-of-the-barrel leftover from refining Canadian tar sands crude and other heavy oils, is cheaper and burns hotter than coal
• It contained 17 times more sulfur than the limit set for coal, and a staggering 1,380 times more than for diesel thus contributing to climate change.
• Cement followed by Limestone industries are largest users of Petcoke.