Climate Change India
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The Summit, while recognizing key limitations of the current financial system, was thin on tangible outcomes, and points towards incremental progress rather than a systemic transformation.
As India takes over the G20 presidency this year, it can work with other G20 countries to propel the LiFE movement forward.
India is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Public communication, scientific expertise and stronger legislation will be the key factors in India’s adaptation efforts.
The IPCC Working Group II’s synthesis of research on climate impacts, adaptation measures and vulnerability pushes governments and societies to respond immediately. The longer we wait on reducing global emissions, it argues, the fewer adaptation options we will have left.
The Union Budget of 2022-23 promises to take issues of sustainability and climate change seriously. And indeed, its framing on these issues is promising and forward looking. A look below the hood of the budget, however, presents, in practice, a far more mixed picture.
Many have hailed this as an ambitious and determined commitment from India. How different are these targets from India’s existing energy targets? What are the implications of meeting these targets?
The recent Working Group 1 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds that particulate matter (PM or simply, fine particles) have ‘masked’ the impact of greenhouse gas emissions generated over the last century by about a third. If air pollution mitigation ‘worsens’ global warming, must we rethink pollution controls at all? Not quite.
The IPCC report indicates that the climate crisis will disrupt India’s developmental future, and undercut the prosperity of its people in the long run.
A comprehensive climate law with a green vision can serve as the definitive mechanism whereby India’s future is secured in the decades to come.
The updated pledge reveals insights into India’s approach: one of caution and a preference to ensure over-compliance rather than under-compliance of international targets.