Climate Action is one of the major global concerns at present. This is perhaps the most contentious issue that brings every single leader of the world to a common forum. Sustainable Development Goal-13 is about climate action, and is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The official mission statement of this goal is to
Two days ago a small rivulet flowing in front of my house swelled, turning and tossing things parked on the road adjacent to the small rivulet. Gushes of water entered a portion of my house compound. The nature’s fury hitherto watched from a distance, was in front of me for the first time. If I honestly remember, my first thoughts, it was fear and impending doom.
Incessant heavy rainfall and floods occurring over peninsular India indicate a radical change in the monsoon patterns. The IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) report, published on March 30, 2021 showed the variability and changes in the monsoon rainfalls of 29 states and Union territories at state as well as district levels.
If it comes as a surprise to you that the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico have been experiencing the worst drought in 1200 years, i.e., since the year 800 CE, your response is a scathing indictment of the Indian media’s coverage of global climate change.
India, with momentum in its favour, is leveraging every instrument available to pursue a low-carbon path. The latest one being the establishment of carbon credit markets, as per the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which the Lok Sabha passed on August 8.
Farmers have been dependent on seasonal rains for cultivation for many generations. Nearly 40% of the nation's total food production comes from rainfed agriculture, which takes up about 51% of the net sown area (DoA, GoI). Rainfed agriculture is complex, highly diverse and risk prone. With threat of climate change looming large, the monsoon period and rainfall intensity have become erratic, resulting into woes of farmers, including fluctuations in crop production. As per the data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, potato production in the current year is estimated to be decline to 53.60 mt from 56.17 mt last year. Major crops, including potatoes, were severely affected due to the unseasonal rainfall in November-December in 2021. The countrywide heatwave this year has also affected potato production. In May 2022, the decision to ban wheat exports came into effect amidst the Russia-Ukraine war to manage domestic wheat prices as the crops were affected this year.
Nations across the globe are continuously facing economic and social risks due to climate change. Extreme weather events, as a consequence of climate change, have led to 495,000 human deaths in the world from 1999 to 2018. In the year 2017, around seven million people, because of extreme climate events, were forced to be displaced in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It cannot be denied that there has been an exponential rise in the frequency and intensity of extreme events in India. India was ranked fifth most vulnerable nation globally in the South Asian ranking during COP (Conference of Parties) 25.
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a slew of targets that drew global attention and applause. The ambitious and bold targets sent a message: India is serious about taking climate action and limiting the rising global temperatures. As almost a year has passed since then, it is only apt to discuss whether India has identified challenges and opportunities in achieving those targets, which were presented as ‘five elixirs’ or panchamrit for limiting rising temperatures.
Climate change is characterized by an increment in the mean temperature as well as increase in the variability around the means that cause extreme events such as changing monsoon patterns which lead to cyclones, floods and drought.
Conflict, in the context of social groups, is what we refer to as an aggressive encounter between groups of people that see agreement (or disagreement) on political ideology (or interests) brought on by the exploitation of natural resources, sectarian tensions, and external intervention. Conflict zones are basically areas where conflict is dominant and has an adverse effect on human lives. It can range from a region, an area within a country to an area covering the national boundary of two or more countries. Marginalized communities are groups and communities that face discrimination and exclusion due to unequal power relations across social, economic, and political dimensions. They have often been historically deprived of basic human rights to resources and opportunities. Many indigenous communities across the world have been classified as marginalized because of the effects of colonialism on them such as the Native Americans, the Australian Aboriginals, the Indian Santhal, and Munda tribes, etc.
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.