India will be among countries that will be economically harmed the most by climate change and catastrophic consequences are expected if emissions are not cut.
The latest report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released last week has warned of multiple climate change-induced disasters in the next two decades even if strong action is taken to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas emissions.
Adaptation to climate change impacts will become impossible unless greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are controlled far better, and this must be done by 2030, the report warns.
Permanent influences of climate crisis
For South Asia and particularly India, the dangers are real as it faces increased risks due to rising extreme weather events such as floods, landslides, and droughts, cyclones, heatwaves and cold waves, and a rising sea level.
According to #IPCC report, unless GHG emissions are drastically reduced in #India by 2030, it will become impossible for authorities to reverse an imminent #climate catastrophe
— Pragya Chaturvedi (@TechCentric_) March 4, 2022
No significant action has been taken and undergoing missions relating to #ClimateCrisis are underfunded pic.twitter.com/67wX2LByxT
The latest warnings have come in the second part of IPCC’s sixth assessment report which talks about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options.
“We cannot look at climate change in isolation since the report clearly brings out that multiple climatic and non-climatic risks will interact, resulting in compounding overall risks, cascading across sectors and regions,” said Ritwick Dutta, a lawyer of the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE).
“It will pose unique challenges in India. This is a wakeup call.”
With inputs from scientists in 67 countries, the report predicts that the world will be roiled by multiple hazards even if the global temperature rise is contained to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next two decades. It’s the most detailed analysis of the threats posed by climate change.
With 85 % small and marginal landholders in India and with increased risk and vulnerability due to droughts and floods, food production and access to food will be hampered, impacting nutritional security for the population.
“The outlook for South Asia is grim, with risks of rising temperatures and heat waves, droughts, and floods,” said Ruchika Singh of the Water Resources Institute.
Already, India saw more than 4 million disaster displacements in 2019 alone.
The report notes that more than 40 % of the country’s population will have to make do with water scarcity by 2050, even as the country’s coastal areas, including cities such as Mumbai, will be affected by sea-level rises.
Multi-pronged efforts required
Flooding will intensify in the Ganga and the Brahmaputra basins and crop production systems will be disrupted by droughts and water scarcity.
The IPCC has also identified mountains as particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. On a chapter on mountains, it said the Hindu Kush Himalayas were likely to see more disasters like the floods in Chamoli region of the northern state of Uttarakhand last year.
“The water of 10 major rivers that flow down from the Hindu Kush Himalayas is changing – 1.3 billion people in Asia are directly affected,” the report said.
With over half the human population already living in urban areas, the report has taken a special look at cities. Experts found that climate change has already impacted human health, livelihoods, and key infrastructure.
“Urban India is at much greater risk. There has been 35% urban growth in 2015-20. There will be 600 million more Indians in urban India in the next 15 years,” said the report.
Economic damages will be steep; We must redesign our cities, energy systems & water resources to be consistent with climate-resilient development pathways: @CPR_Climate scholars summarise the key takeaways for India & South Asia in the latest #IPCCReport. https://t.co/N9bu1u1lZf
— CPR India (@CPR_India) March 5, 2022
For instance, the report points out that financial capital Mumbai is at high risk of sea-level rise and flooding, while Ahmedabad faces serious danger of heat-waves.
Experts pointed out that the report has examined data thoroughly affecting these events, and quantified these risks, so that there is a much clearer understanding of the threats posed to cities.
At the Glasgow climate summit in November last year, Prime Minister Narender Modi announced that India’s non-fossil energy capacity will reach 500 GW by 2030, meeting 50% of the country’s energy requirements.
Modi also said that India will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030, reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by the same year, over 2005 levels, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.
A third IPCC report slated for April will suggest remedies to the climate crisis on how to reduce GHG emissions and remove from the atmosphere the gases now warming the earth.
