The century’s most pressing crisis is here - Hindustan Times
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The century’s most pressing crisis is here

ByHT Editorial
Aug 10, 2021 07:31 PM IST

The new report comes less than three months before a key climate summit in Glasgow, and is a wake-up call. India has made progress in its efforts towards decoupling economic growth from emissions and has played a leadership role in launching several green initiatives. But there is scope to do more

The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth assessment report (AR6) on Monday. The predictions are calamitous. In the next 20 years, the world will exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold set in the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). If the current rate of emissions continues, global warming will be above 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. With every 1 degree rise in temperature, there will be a 7% increase in the intensification of extreme rain events. Some changes — increase in sea level rise, melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost — have already caused a rupture. India is also witnessing drastic changes: Glacial retreat in the Himalayas, compounding effects of sea-level rise and intense tropical cyclones leading to flooding, an erratic monsoon, and intense heat stress.

Trees and vegetation burn outside the village of Galatsona, on Evia island, Greece. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth assessment report on Monday. The predictions are calamitous. (Bloomberg) PREMIUM
Trees and vegetation burn outside the village of Galatsona, on Evia island, Greece. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth assessment report on Monday. The predictions are calamitous. (Bloomberg)

Also Read | India needs a separate ministry to deal with the climate crisis

The new report comes less than three months before a key climate summit in Glasgow, and is a wake-up call. While India is the third-highest annual polluter of CO2, the scale of its contribution is insignificant. New Delhi must stick to the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, but at the same time raise its climate ambitions. It has made progress in its efforts towards decoupling economic growth from emissions and has played a leadership role in launching initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and raising the domestic renewable energy target to 450 GW by 2030.

But there is scope to do more in several other sectors: Mobility, housing, and affordable energy. To give shape to these ambitions, it is also imperative, as climate expert Navroz Dubash wrote in these pages, to build and strengthen domestic institutions for climate governance. The climate crisis requires both looking across boundaries (international and national) and building a strategic focus on future development pathways. This is the 21st century’s most pressing crisis.

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