A climate change narrative that India can steer 

Synopsis: The Glasgow COP26 meet offers India a chance to update its Nationally Determined Contributions to meet climate targets.

Introduction 

Recently, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) published a report titled “Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region”. This report reveals that India has warmed up 0.7° C during 1901- 2018.

What are the findings of the assessment?

The 2010-2019 decade was the hottest with a mean temperature of 0.36° C higher than average. 

Heatwaves continued to increase with no signs of diminishing greenhouse gas emissions despite lower activity since the novel coronavirus pandemic. Prolonged exposure to heat is becoming detrimental to public health. The poor people are unable to cope up with heat. 

As per the assessment, India may experience a 4.4° C rise by the end of this century. 

Flooding: Super cyclone “Cyclone Amphan” that hit India in 2020, cost monsoon flooding. It caused India’s heaviest monsoon rain in the last 25 years and the world’s seventh costliest. In early 2021, India suffered two more cyclones: Cyclone Tauktae hitting the west coast and Cyclone Yaas from the east. 

What is the reason behind rising internal displacement of population? 

As per Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, India’s Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) are rising due to damaging climate events.

Heavy rainfall: Uttarakhand’s residents began deserting their homes after the Kedarnath floods in 2013 due to heavy precipitation that increases every year. Uttarakhand is the most affected state. Within 2050, rainfall is expected to rise by 6% and temperature by 1.6° C. 

Coastal erosion: India lost about 235 sq km to coastal erosion due to climate change induced sea-level rise, land erosion and natural disasters such as tropical cyclones between 1990-2016. This led to displacement. Around 3.9 million displaced in 2020 alone, mostly due to Cyclone Amphan. 

Droughts: India’s Deccan plateau faced severe droughts in the 21st century. Maharashtra and Karnataka are the most affected. 

What are some steps that India has taken to tackle the climate change?

– India held the top 10 position for the second year in a row in 2020’s Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The country received credit under all of the CCPI’s performance fields except renewable energy where India performed medium.

– India vowed to work with COP21 by signing the Paris Agreement to limit global warming and submitted the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

– India cofounded with France at COP21, in 2015, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) which aims at mobilizing USD1 trillion in investments for the deployment of solar energy at affordable prices by 2030.

What are the issues with India’s global alliances and policies regarding climate change? 

Despite leading ISA, India performed the least in renewable energy according to the CCPI’s performance of India.

The problem: The question is, are these global alliances and world-leading policies being practised or are merely big promises with little implementation?

India is not fully compliant with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal of the NDCs. There are risks of falling short of the 2° C goal. 

To achieve the Paris Agreement’s NDC target, India needs to produce 25 million-30 million hectares of forest cover by 2030. 

In reality, India has overpromised on policies and goals which is difficult to deliver. 

Why does the COP26 matter? 

The Glasgow COP26 offers India a great opportunity to implement Paris Agreement and update NDCs to successfully meet the set targets. 

Being an influential member of COP26, India has the ability to improve its global positioning by leading a favourable climate goal aspiration for the world to follow. India has the opportunity to save itself from further climate disasters and be a leader in the path to climate change prevention. 

Source: This post is based on the article ” A climate change narrative that India can steer ” published in The Hindu on 24th September 2021.