The harmonization of energy standards is an endeavour that aims to ensure consistent and high-quality energy production, transmission and use across different regions. As the demand for biofuels continues to grow, it becomes increasingly possible to establish internationally compatible standards to facilitate trade and promote high-quality and sustainable energy.Efforts to harmonize biofuel qualit...

Capacity development and environmental sustainability are both central to UNDP’s mandate and programming.The purpose of this Practitioner’s Guide is to provide practical guidance to UNDP staff, partner countriesand other development partners on the nature of environmental capacity and how to support capacitydevelopment for environmental sustainability (CDES). ...

The Federal Renewable Energy Certificate Guide provides basic information for Federal staff who are new to the concept of renewable energy and renewable energy certificates (RECs), and are seeking to better understand the options for using RECs to meet Federal renewable energy targets. Section 3(c) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13693 calls for agencies to obtain at least 30 percent of their electricit...

Air pollution is a major cause of premature mortality globally and the problem is particularly acute in rapidly developing countries like India. Crop residue burning contributes substantially to this problem. Currently, 80 percent of agriculture in Northwest India uses a rice-wheat production system dependent on burning rice residue. New crop residue management systems are needed to drive a profit...

Open burning of agricultural residues in agricultural lands is one of the major sources of air pollution especially fine particulate matter having aerodynamic diameter not larger than 2.5 micrometer (PM2.5). Studies have found that the burning agricultural residues left from the cultivation of 3 main cash crops, i.e. rice, sugarcane, and maize, contribute significantly to PM2.5 in both rural and u...

Production of guidelines for best sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and approaches in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been part of TerrAfrica’s programme during 2009-2010. These guidelines and case studies are intended to help create a framework for investment related to SLM in SSA. The particular aim of these guidelines is to identify, analyse, discuss and disseminate promising SLM prac...

Nowadays, Combine Harvesters are the most commonly used device for harvesting crops; as a result, a large amount of plant material and crop residue is concentrated into a narrow band of plant material that exits the combine, challenging the residue management task. This paper aims to develop a crop residue management machine that can chop paddy residues and mix them with the soil of the combined h...

Particulate matter significantly reduces life expectancy in India. Authors use a randomized controlled trial in the Indian state of Punjab to evaluate the effectiveness of conditional cash transfers (also known as payments for ecosystem services, or PES) in reducing crop residue burning, which is a major contributor to the region’s poor air quality. Credit constraints and distrust may make farmers...

The Union government released the latest version of the Crop Residue Management Operational Guidelines in March 2024 to promote better stubble management, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. The government has been periodically updating these guidelines since they were first introduced after the launch of th...

Undertaking an inclusive and just low-carbon transition requires vast flows of finance into activities that support mitigation and adaptation. Developed countries have already fallen short of their aims to support climate actions in low- and middle-income countries, providing only US$83.3 billion in 2020. How much finance flows, the sectors it flows into and the channels it flows through affect th...