2022 offered some reasonable good news and some pretty alarming news when it came to climate change. On the positive side, the COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt concluded with a historic deal where, for the first time, developed countries agreed to pay for damage and loss to the developing nations that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. This was possible primarily due to a combination of excellent technical research and the strong diplomatic efforts displayed by the vulnerable developing countries. Undoubtedly, much still needs to be done to make the fund a reality, with money flowing in and then flowing out to reach the victims of climate change and address the losses and damages they are suffering already.
But the picture was not all that rosy. The war in Ukraine and the fears of a global recession muddied the waters for the ongoing clean energy transition. Climate catastrophes – floods, heat waves, storms, and droughts – killed tens of thousands of people in areas like India, China, Pakistan, Brazil, India, the US, and South Africa, displaced millions, and caused many billions of dollars in damage. Importantly, no breakthroughs were achieved in cutting emissions, and the share of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere only continued to rise in 2022.
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But 2023 could be even more important, with discussions on climate change taking centre stage and India’s G20 Presidency poised to throw more light on the way forward. 2023 is going to be much more challenging in terms of the actual impacts of climate change in India and around the world.
The climate challenge is an enormous one that demands all kinds of changes. As climate change progresses, millions are at risk of losing their lives, livelihoods, homes, and water supply, as witnessed in 2022 with extreme weather events. Climate change has a major impact on human health. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, poor people and poor countries are more severely affected by its negative effects. The solutions and technologies are well within reach, but there is a need to plan, invest decisively, and most importantly, act urgently, leaving no one behind.
Climate action offers India an opportunity for global cooperation. India has always emphasised that climate change is a global collective action problem and requires international cooperation for its solution. Preserving our fragile planet will require participation from all corners of the globe. In order to reverse the tide, India must collaborate aggressively so that we can be united for and by our climate action and sustainability efforts. India has chosen “One Earth, One Family, One Future” as the theme of its G20 presidency, highlighting the interconnectedness between human life and the environment.
Even as India continues to engage globally, it needs to do a lot at home. Preparing for adaptation is critical because the world is estimated to be headed for around 2.5 C warming based on countries’ current level of policies and pledges. This level of warming is associated with decreased crop yields, violent weather events, destabilisation of ecosystems, and many other effects that make the challenge of development harder. Thinking through how the Centre and States can complement each other to enable adaptation across sectors is the need of the hour.
For example, last year, the Indian agriculture sector faced heat and drought-like conditions that led to decreased wheat yields and ultimately led to restrictions on India’s wheat exports. To increase its resilience, the agricultural sector will require a rethink of cropping choices, carry out the adoption of modern technology, and focus on green financing. Similarly, urgency is required in many other areas such as coastal ecosystems, heat preparedness, disaster management, as well as mountain ecosystems.
As chair of the G20, India can push for the provision of technology and finance as crucial enablers for achieving the climate goals set by the 2015 Paris Accord. This is a key area in which India’s role can be critical to make this multilateral forum more relevant. The COP27 session that concluded in November 2022 announced a ‘loss and damage fund’ specifically to support vulnerable countries with limited resources to fight climate change. Carrying this forward, India can emphasise more effective targeting of financials to support a clean economy at the G20.
The G20 Presidency can indeed provide India a thrust to shape the global narrative in favour of reducing the carbon footprint and encouraging the use of green energy as a component of transformational change. India has already set an example by taking numerous measures to reach a non-fossil energy capacity of 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy by 2030. These include setting up the International Solar Alliance (ISA), putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission, and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth.
By donning the G20 mantle and having the unique opportunity to shape the global narrative, India can act as an honest broker of domestic solutions for climate change. Championing the virtue of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family — as its G20 theme, India needs to skilfully create an archetype for substantive talks on the climate agenda in the year ahead. Mainstreaming the dialogue on climate change should be her top priority in the coming year.
(Anish Esteves is a Senior Content Editor at a start-up based in Mumbai, India. He has also written for several reputable publications. He tweets @AEthejourno)
