–Paying The Climate Piper
Context: India’s new policy commitments on climate at COP26 is a major landmark decision towards climate change. But, it came with its own set of challenges.
Impact of climate change- Extreme weather events are becoming familiar: not only in small island nations or low-lying, salinated parts of Asia, but across Europe and North America.
- Disruptions in climate systems: Due to melting of permafrost, glaciers and the poles of planet.
- Increased uncertainties: As no one knows what will happen to the Amazon rainforests, the global ocean conveyor belt, or the ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctic.
- Nobody knows how global warming of a minimum of 1.5-2.0° C is going to play out or climate change will be exponential or gradual and how one part of climate change will interact with another.
- Probable influx of climate refugees: In case temperature rises a few degrees higher, people from hotter region like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kanpur and Gwalior may move to cooler states like Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh.
- Negative impact on oceans: As more than 90% of global heating goes into oceans. It raises significant questions like-
- Will it stay there, and emerge gradually over the next few hundred years? Will it disrupt ocean and weather patterns?
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Existential threat to humanity due to global heating and ‘There is no Planet B’.
Issues with climate actions
- India specific issues: India is world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
- Policy divergence between Centre and States.
- India’s pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 at COP 26 is viewed being too late.
- Carbon-producing energy sources such as oil and coal are regarded by policymakers as stranded assets. But more than half of India’s energy sources comes from fossil fuel-based sources.
- Unfulfilled Commitments from rich countries: India requested specific commitments from richer countries on funding of energy transition throughout global south at COP 26.
- But large promises have been made in the past, without any whereabouts of money.
- Inadequate funding to energy transition: As financial system needs to rethink how to keep the coal in the ground, and keep oil and gas under the oceans.
Way forward: Following steps are to be taken by India to fulfil its climate commitments
- Major conceptual transition: through broad support of state and central governments, and commitments to legislative change.
- Rethinking new and old methods of building – carbon-intensive infrastructure: Using renewable timber, woven reeds, cross-ventilation and fast-growing bioengineered buildings — something like rapid, modern versions of the constructions of previous generations.
- Complex, phased transition out of coal-generated electricity production by leaving forests uncut, and letting stone remain in quarries and in the mountains.
- Meeting financial needs through global capitalism: As at COP26, a consortium of financial institutions announced a climate finance commitment of $130 trillion (Rs 9,645 lakh crore). Actions are needed to materialise the commitments.
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