India in the hot seat

Among the many challenges facing India there is one that has had little policy related discussion. This is the impact of global warming. Some facts. Global warming is here, and there is a very high likelihood that this warming is due to human efforts towards improving their economic well-being. As per the IPCC there is a 90 per cent likelihood that a rise in ‘greenhouse gases’ that include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane brought about the rise in global temperatures. And the recent UN Climate Change Talks held in Vienna have only highlighted that India its own viable, unilateral strategy rather than simply looking for better bargaining solutions in international negotiations.

All indications are that even if there was no increase in greenhouse emissions, India will be a much warmer country. The full impact of past emissions will play out in the next few years. Himalayan glaciers would be much smaller, river water levels would show larger variations, floods and droughts will both be more frequent, low lying land will disappear within the sea, and many other effects will be upon us. This is not a doomsday opinion piece — this is going to happen.

Of course, if increases in greenhouse emissions continue at the current rate, these impacts will be much higher in scope and severity. As India and China continue to grow, their greenhouse gas emissions will accelerate. Rapidly expanding economies will impact the environment rapidly. And this impact will not be positive.

There are three aspects to environment policy. The first is how to deal with the warmer environment. The second, how to reduce potential environment damage. And the third, the need for unilateral action.

Of all the solutions available, some which will not require economic growth and some which will, each technological possibility will need to be backed by appropriate economic policy. And because many economic policies are under the state governments, we merely need a consensus on an appropriate direction that India should move towards.

If policy reform of the past is any indication, it takes about a decade for a national consensus to emerge and be translated into specific policy measures. The earlier we start with this process, the lower the costs that would need to be borne. And it is quite apparent that the changing environment will affect the underprivileged the most adversely.

So what do we need to do? And that is the strange...

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India in the hot seat

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