U.S. approves of emergency vaccine use to save California condors

• U.S. officials have announced the emergency use of a bird flu (H5N1) vaccine to protect the California condor
• The deaths, all near the Arizona-Utah border, are alarming considering the world population of California condors was estimated at only 561 at the end of 2022.
• Bird flu has killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide, with the virus largely spread by wild birds that transmit it to poultry.
• While scientists work on poultry vaccines, commercial flocks for now are protected by other measures such as segregation, USDA said.

California Condor

• California condor is the only surviving member of Gymnogyps genus. It is black in color with white patches on the underside of the wings. The head of the bird is largely bald.
• Its wingspan is three metres. The wingspan of California condor is the longest of any North American bird. It weighs up to 12 kilograms. It is the heaviest of the North American birds.
• The California Condor is a scavenger. It eats large amount of carrion (decaying flesh of humans and animals). The lifespan of California condor is 60 years. It is one of the longest living birds.
• The bird does not have a syringeal vocalization. Syringeal is a vocal organ at the base of trachea of a bird. They make only hissing sounds. These sounds can be heard only when a person is close to the bird.

Threats

• Their population declined mainly because of habitat destruction, poaching, prisoning and also due to agricultural chemicals (especially DDT).
• In 1987, only 27 birds were left on the earth. They were then bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park through captive breeding. In 1991, they were then reintroduced into the wild. As of 2019, there are 518 California condors in the wild.

Habitat

• The California Condor lives in coniferous forest, shrublands and oak savanna. They are also found in large trees and cliffs. The travel range is a mature California Condor is 250 kilometre. Their flying speed is 90 kilometre per hour. They can reach 4.6 kilometres of height during their flight.

Urohidrosis in California Condor

• The Condors perform urohidorsis to reduce their body temperatures. The Urohidrosis is the habit of some birds to defecate (discharge feces) onto their legs. This is a cooling mechanism.

Conservation

• The IUCN lists the California Condor as Critically Endangered. The California Condor conservation project is the one of the most expensive conservation projects in the history of the United States. It costed more than 35 million USD.

H5N1 Avian Influenza

• Avian influenza or bird flu refers to the disease caused by infection with avian influenza Type A viruses.
  • Infrequently, the virus can infect mammals from birds, a phenomenon called spillover, and rarely can spread between mammals.
• H5N1, a subtype of avian influenza, has the potential to infect other mammals such as minks, ferrets, seals, domestic cats, and others through contact with infected birds, their faeces, or infected bird carcasses.
• Symptoms in Humans:
  • Range from mild to severe influenza-like illnesses such as fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting.
  • People can also develop severe respiratory illness (e.g., difficulty breathing, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia) and altered mental status, seizures etc.
• Avian Influenza in India:
  • In 2019, India has been declared free from Avian Influenza (H5N1), which has also been notified to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
    • However, in December 2020 and early 2021, outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 and H5N8 were reported in poultry in 15 states in India.
• Treatment:
  • Evidence suggests that some antiviral drugs can reduce the duration of viral replication and improve prospects of survival, however ongoing clinical studies are needed.
• Concerns:
  • The widespread H5N1 outbreaks have substantial economic impact, resulting in significant losses to the poultry industry and threatening food and vaccine security, apart from raising animal welfare and environmental concerns.

Types of Influenza Virus

• There are four types of influenza viruses: influenza A, B, C, and D
• Influenza A and B are the two types of influenza that cause epidemic seasonal infections nearly every year.
• Influenza C mainly occurs in humans, but has been known to also occur in dogs and pigs.
• Influenza D is found mainly in cattle. It’s not known to infect or cause illness in humans yet.

Avian influenza Type A Viruses

• Type A viruses are classified based on two proteins on their surfaces – Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA). There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes.

• Several combinations of these two proteins are possible e.g., H5N1, H7N2, H9N6, H17N10, H18N11 etc.

• All known subtypes of influenza A viruses can infect birds, except subtypes H17N10 and H18N11, which have only been found in bats.

India, EU explore ways to resolve ‘carbon border tax’

• India and the EU are working to resolve a looming hurdle in their trade relationship, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), with the two sides discussing it during a Minister-level meeting in Brussels this week. The EU is India’s second-largest trading partner as well as its second-largest export market.
• The CBAM regulations came into effect on May 16 and will begin their transitional phase of implementation on October 1.

‘Steel, aluminium’

• There are about six-seven commodities on which the EU has proposed carbon taxes, of which the two sectors where India is likely to feel some impact is steel and aluminium
• The ministry is still calculating the likely monetary impact as the EU has prescribed different mechanisms of imposing carbon tax. “For example, in steel manufacturing through electric arc furnace and blast furnace, the carbon border tax will be different. So an assessment of how much of steel is going out of which furnace – that segregation has to be done. That will take some time. It will definitely impact to some degree
• While the move will likely impact less than 2% of India’s exports, the government is examining the extent to which the overall carbon tax and the differential tax treatment proposed for instance, for steel using different furnace technologies, is compatible with WTO (World Trade Organisation) norms, said another official. The verification process could be very complex and tedious and mutual recognition agreements will be vital.

Carbon Border Tax

• A carbon border adjustment tax is a duty on imports based on the amount of carbon emissions resulting from the production of the product in question. As a price on carbon, it discourages emissions. As a trade-related measure, it affects production and exports.
• The proposal is part of the European Commission’s European Green Deal that endeavours to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
• A carbon border tax is arguably an improvement from a national carbon tax.
  • A national carbon tax is a fee that a government imposes on any company within the country that burns fossil fuels.

Causes Behind Imposing Carbon Tax

• EU and Climate Change Mitigation: The EU has declared to cut its carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Till date, these levels have fallen by 24%.
  • However, emissions from imports contributing to 20% of the EU''s CO2 emissions are increasing.
  • Such a carbon tax would incentivise other countries to reduce GHG emissions and further shrink the EU''s carbon footprint.
• Carbon Leakage: The Emissions Trading System of the EU makes operating within the region expensive for certain businesses.
  • The EU authorities fear that these businesses might prefer to relocate to countries that have more relaxed or no emission limits.
    • This is known as ''carbon leakage'' and it increases the total emissions in the world.

Issues

• Response of the BASIC Countries: The BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) countries'' grouping had opposed the EU''s proposal in a joint-statement terming it "discriminatory" and against the principles of equity and ''Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities'' (CBDR-RC).
  • These principles acknowledge that richer countries have a responsibility of providing financial and technological assistance to developing and vulnerable countries to fight climate change.
• Impact on India: By increasing the prices of Indian-made goods in the EU, this tax would make Indian goods less attractive for buyers and could shrink demand.
  • The tax would create serious near-term challenges for companies with larger greenhouse gas footprint.
• Non-Consensual with Rio Declaration: The EU’s notion of having a uniform standard all over the world for the environment is not borne out by the global consensus contained in the Article 12 of the Rio Declaration which says that the standards applicable to developed countries cannot be applied to developing countries.
• Change in the Climate-Change Regime: The greenhouse content of these imports would also have to be adjusted in the greenhouse gas inventories of the importing countries which essentially implies that GHG inventories would have to be reckoned not on the production basis but at the point of consumption basis.
  • This would turn the entire climate change regime upside down.
• Protectionist Policy: The policy can also be regarded as a disguised form of protectionism.
  • Protectionism refers to government policies that restrict international trade to help domestic industries. Such policies are usually implemented with the goal of improving economic activity within a domestic economy.
  • There is the risk that it becomes a protectionist device, unduly shielding local industries from foreign competition in so-called ''green protectionism''.

Key climate threshold likely to be breached in 5 years: UN

• It is near-certain that 2023-2027 will be the warmest five-year period ever recorded, the United Nations warned, as greenhouse gases and El Nino combine to send temperatures soaring.
• There is a two-thirds chance that at least one of the next five years will see global temperatures exceed the more ambitious target set out in the Paris accords on limiting climate change, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.
• The hottest eight years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2022, with 2016 the warmest — but temperatures are forecast to increase further as climate change accelerates.
• The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at “well below” two degrees Celsius above average levels measured between 1850 and 1900 — and 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.
• The global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average.
• The WMO said there was a 66% chance that annual global surface temperatures will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the years 2023-2027, with a range of 1.1 degrees Celsius to 1.8 degrees Celsius forecasted for each of those five years.

Cabinet gives approval for fertilizer subsidy of ₹1.08 lakh crore for kharif

• With fertilizer prices continuing to remain high due to global factors — such as a fall in production and hiked logistics costs, especially due to the Ukraine situation — the Centre expects this year’s fertilizer subsidy to cross ₹2.25 lakh crore. Accordingly, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹1.08 lakh crore subsidy for the ongoing kharif or monsoon season
• Out of this, ₹38,000 crore will subsidise phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, while ₹70,000 crore will go toward the urea subsidy.
• Mr. Mandaviya told journalists that the Centre would ensure that the prices of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) would remain unchanged during the season. At present, the subsidised rate of urea is ₹276 per bag and the price of DAP is ₹1,350 per bag. The decision will benefit about 12 crore farmers, the Minister added.
• Fertiliser:
  • A fertiliser is a natural or artificial substance containing chemical elements (such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K)) that improve growth and productiveness of plants.
  • There are 3 basic fertilisers in India - Urea, DAP and Muriate of Potash (MOP).
• Subsidy on Urea:
  • In India, urea is the most produced, imported, consumed and physically regulated fertiliser of all. It is subsidised only for agricultural uses.
  • The Centre pays a subsidy on urea to fertiliser manufacturers on the basis of cost of production at each plant and the units are required to sell the fertiliser at the government-set Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
    • The MRP of urea is currently fixed at Rs 5,628 per tonne.
• Subsidy on Non-Urea Fertilisers:
  • The MRPs of non-urea fertilisers are decontrolled or fixed by the companies.
  • But the government has, in recent times, and especially with the global price surge post the Russia-Ukraine war, brought these fertilisers under the control regime.
  • All Non-Urea based fertilisers are regulated under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme.
  • Examples of non-urea fertilisers - DAP and MOP.
    • Companies do not sell DAP at more than Rs 27,000 per tonne.

G-7 Hiroshima summit

• Leaders of seven of the world’s most powerful democracies will gather this weekend for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the location of the world’s first atomic attack at the end of World War II.
• From the emergence of crucial developing countries to security worries, including growing aggression from China, North Korea and Russia, here’s a look at the G-7, who will attend and some of the key issues:

G-7 Summit

• The Group of Seven is an informal group of leading industrialised nations. It consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• This year is Japan’s turn to host, but the presidency of G-7 summits revolves among the seven members. Two representatives of the European Union also join.
• As is customary in recent years, leaders from some non-G-7 countries and international organizations will also participate in some sessions. The leaders discuss a wide range of issues, including economic policy, security, climate change, energy and gender.
• The first summit was in 1975, when France hosted what was then a Group of Six meeting to discuss tackling a recession that followed an Arab oil embargo.
• Canada became the seventh member a year later. Russia joined to form the G-8 in 1998 but was expelled after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Hiroshima?

• Hiroshima is Kishida’s hometown. His choice of venue underscores a determination to put nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the top of the agenda of this year’s summit.
• A path to nuclear disarmament has appeared more difficult with Russia’s recent nuclear weapon threats in Ukraine, as well as nuclear and missile development by China and North Korea.

Top issues

• G-7 leaders are expected to strongly condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine while pledging their continuing support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the session via the internet.
• There will also be a focus on Beijing’s escalating threats against Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island Beijing claims as its own, and ways to reduce Western democracies’ economic and supply chain dependency on China.
• To address the rise of Global South nations, including many former colonies of Western powers with varied views on and ties to Russia and China, the G-7 will offer these countries more support in health, food security and infrastructure to develop closer ties.