We must think of context-specific solutions for India to play its part in reducing global warming
- Last week in Nairobi, governments welcomed the Global Environment Outlook 6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People (GEO-6) report.
- GEO-6 argues that in a business-as-usual scenario, the world will exhaust its energy-related carbon budget in less than 20 years to keep the global temperature rise to well below 2°C; it will take even less time to exhaust the budget to keep the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C.
- India could save $3.3-8.4 trillion in a 1.5°C world.
- It is in India’s interest to aim for 1.5-2°C.
- This would mean investing in not new fossil fuels but in renewables and better batteries.
- Investing in inappropriate infrastructure has costs in terms of climate change and stranded assets — decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure in the Netherlands, a small country, is €6.7-10 billion.
- If India’s universities develop tomorrow’s technologies, it could provide cutting-edge and frugal technologies.
- This could change energy geopolitics and remove the excuse of rich countries of postponing carbon neutrality.
- Developing countries can change – Costa Rica, for instance, has pledged carbon neutrality by 2021.
- As GDP grows at the cost of the environment and does not reflect an increase in everyone’s well-being, India should reconsider how it calculates its GDP.
- A healthy planet is a public good and governments should take responsibility for it.
- Investing in water and sanitation will bring returns — a $1 investment in water and sanitation could bring $4 in returns; a green investment of 2% of global GDP could lead to similar growth rates by 2050.
- We must mobilise think tanks to work out context-specific solutions for India.
- Investing in education for sustainable development, vertical and compact cities, public transport with cheap parking facilities, renewable energy, removing single-use plastics, and reducing food waste are the way to go to reduce global warming.
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