Climate change: It’s imperative to wage an evidence-based battle

Today, we are witnessing these unfold as news media headlines scream, almost on a daily basis, about how climate change has exacerbated disasters. 

Be it wildfires across the world, including the horrific ones in Greece recently, or typhoon Gaemi that killed dozens across the Philippines, Taiwan and China, or incidents such as the water spout that resulted in the sinking of a luxury super yacht off Italy, or the several recent instances of air turbulence, climate change is touching every aspect of life as we know it, resulting in an ever-increasing sense of vulnerability.

Here in India, we have witnessed a very severe summer with dire warnings for the future and are currently receiving ‘torrential’ rainfall in several states across the country. 

Also read: India must manage its green energy demand for a successful climate transition

The absence of snow on Om Parvat in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, for the first time ever is being bemoaned by all —and even though the jury is out on whether this is attributable more to climate change or excessive tourism, one can be sure that one will impact the other.

The essence of the narrative above is that, while we may continue to debate historical responsibilities ad nauseum, India needs to adopt a much more aggressive stance on all aspects of the climate change challenge: from mitigation to adaptation and resilience building. 

As the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world, and with a little over a sixth of the world’s population, India’s vulnerabilities are extreme. 

With increasing incomes, Indians are also being termed as a ‘goldmine’ of global tourism; five years ago, in 2019, the number of Indians travelling abroad topped 27 million, doubling over a decade. 

With 35 million non-residents and persons of Indian origin, the vulnerabilities of Indians go far beyond our own shores, as does the problem of climate change.

Undoubtedly, India has implemented various measures to mitigate our GHG emissions. But, as many have highlighted, we are still making a clean-energy dent only in the incremental demand space, though transforming the economy to a zero-carbon one in less than 50 years needs us to have a clear line-of-sight on the policies, strategies and processes that would enable us to meet this goal in a dynamic technology-driven environment. 

India cannot afford to take a glass- partially-full approach. We need to be hard-nosed on opportunities to take pro-active climate action and, equally importantly, avoid mistakes that would lead to infructuous outcomes.

Also read: Data explainer: India’s green energy goals face stiff test

As climate change touches all aspects of life as we know it, the solutions too have to be harnessed across the board. And, there exist many low-hanging fruit with more than commensurate positive outcomes. 

Here are a few examples of problem-alleviating actions that are not as visible or tangible as the large investment projects we have, but can be just as consequential.

India set up the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) way back in 1986 with a clear mandate: “For the Ministries and Agencies with large investments or large volume of production to provide a technology forecast covering their requirements over a 10 year or longer period and for evolving suitable strategies for development based on priorities." 

Today, this institution is very well placed to harness and inform policymaking on the rapidly evolving knowledge around novel technologies.

Yet, a cursory look at its list of publications reveals no new additions in the last couple of years and nothing related to an energy transition in the years prior to that. Maybe it is time to revitalize this institution and increase its accountability towards one of the most pressing problems we face.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process was introduced in India in 1978—a long period of time over which infrastructure and capacities have been created. However, a constant criticism of this mechanism has been our inability to implement it effectively or to hold relevant entities accountable towards its terms and purpose. 

A gradual dilution of projects subject to the EIA process is exacerbating India’s environmental and natural resource-related vulnerabilities. Maybe the National Green Tribunal can ask for a review and strengthening of this mechanism for its own efficiency. 

Additionally, all policies and programmes should be put to a strategic environmental assessment (SEA); this is currently implemented in a rather ad hoc manner. The above-proposed review should also reflect upon how climate responses and resilience building could become an integral part of EIA and SEA processes in the country.

Also read: We need better information on the impact of climate change

Another critically important measure would be to institute a robust ecosystem of data and analytics. While corporate entities will increasingly be called upon to set up robust data and reporting systems, it would serve the country well to use emerging technologies to also create robust systems for other activities in the commercial, agricultural and residential domains.

The National Data and Analytics Platform under Niti Aayog is a great start. The governance, data protocols and review of this platform must leverage the expertise of key scientists and follow FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) data principles.