IPCC Climate Crisis Report: Day Of Reckoning
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-03-02 06:17:09
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The India Commentary view
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The Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), complied with inputs from climate experts and scientists from 67 countries, shows how the climate crisis is worsening and how little is being done to reverse the damage. In fact, the report warns that "even a temporary increase in the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible." It has cited mass mortality events on land and ocean, climate-driven extinction, loss of local species and death and disease due to extreme heat as some of the areas where the damage will irreversible.
In India, the report says that nearly 40% of the population is highly vulnerable and will face water scarcity. Coastal cities like Mumbai will suffer from sea-level rise. Nearly three-fourths of the districts in India (95% in coastal areas) are climate-event hotspots. Warming will have severe adverse effect on the Indian economy and food security and will damage soil health. Apart from this, cyclones in coastal areas and flooding in the plains are becoming frequent and result in loss of lives and livelihood while damaging infrastructure and causing displacement of the marginalized population.
At COP26, India committed to cut total projected carbon emission by 1bn tonnes, reduce carbon intensity of the nation's economy by less than 45% and use 500GW renewable energy by 2030 and work to achieve net-zero emission by 2070. While work is going on in this regard at district, state and national level, the problem is that there is no coordination or a national plan. India either needs a national body with state and district level units or a separate climate crisis ministry to arrange funds, chalk out a national plan with suitable adjustments as per local needs with inputs by state and district units, oversee the efforts and coordinate with all agencies and departments to clear bottlenecks. Incentives and penalties must also be worked out to stop the damage.
IPCC will suggest remedies to the climate crisis in its next report in April 2022. Policymakers the world over, especially in India, must pay close attention to the suggestions put forth in that report. Also, developed nations must agree to have a climate adaptation fund, as suggested by India at COP26, to help in managing the climate crisis. They must contribute handsomely to this fund. After all, it was their reckless abandon in the past that has brought the world to this grave situation.
