Climate Change - Make It People’s Movement


Agreement In Paris To Climate Action Summit in New York 

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change was charted with a view to strengthen global response to the threat of Climate Change and to keep global temperature increase well below 2 degrees celsius during this century and to pursue efforts for limiting the temperature rise even further down to 1.5 degrees celsius. The said Agreement was signed in 2015, but its progress from implementation point of view has been very tardy. The UNO, therefore organised the Climate Action Summit in New York, USA on 23.09.2019 with an expectation from the world leaders to announce enhanced greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, higher than what they have already committed, for the first phase of the Paris       Agreement, which starts in 2020.  
While addressing the nation at Red Fort, New Delhi on 15th August 2019, Shri Narendra Modi had announced that India will produce 175 GW of non-fossil fuel by 2022 as part of its commitment to the Paris Climate agreement, yet he made a path breaking pledge to the Climate Action Summit in New York to more than double the earlier target to 450 GW to be achieved by 2030. The Honourable Prime Minister of India while addressing the summit gave a clarion call to all members for bringing about a Behavioural Change in dealing with Climate Change and make it People’s Movement. 
India had made three main commitments to the UNO - (i) to ensure that 40 per cent of its power capacity by 2030 will come from non-fossil fuel sources. The  installed non-fossil fuel capacity in India had already touched 36.15 per cent by December-end, 2018 and is projected to reach 64.9 per cent by 2030 (including hydropower, nuclear and renewables); (ii) to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. India had already achieved a reduction of 21 per cent below 2005 levels by 2014; (iii) to save an additional 2 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions through afforestation. India lags far behind on this third target. However, overall, India is well on its route to achieve its existing international commitments under the Paris     Agreement.

Impact of Climate Change is Catastrophic 
Once Leonardo DiCaprio, a noted Hollywood Superstar visited Nuh and Mewat districts of Haryana to meet farmers there with a view to understand the      repercussions of Climate Change as he was doing a film “Before The Flood”. Farmers in the village explained him that they are seeing changes in weather, which was destroying their livelihoods. In the past, farmers had seen hailstorms and unseasonal rain once in ten years. Now it is witnessed almost every year. They explained how their standing rabi (winter) crop was first destroyed because of hailstorm and now their kharif (summer) crop has been devastated because of extreme rain. It rained over 250 mm in just five hours which, for a  district where normal rain is only some 600 mm, in a year means complete loss. They told Leonardo that their experience of over 50 years in farming is telling them that there is something new and catastrophic afoot. This is the human face of Climate Change. 
Many research reports have now started revealing the frightening facts that    Climate Change could have a long term impact on the monsoon. The monsoon happens because of the temperature difference between the oceans and the land. According to a research report, the land is warmer and the ocean cooler. But now, this contrast could be weakening. The Indian landmass is showing signs of     suppressed warming and the Indian Ocean is showing signs of large warming. If this continues to happen, then land would not pull water-laden winds from the oceans as strongly as before. The Indian monsoon would be weaker. But this is also combined with the fact that warming climate means that the atmosphere can hold more moisture and this could mean more extreme rain but fewer rainy days. So, it is not clear if it will rain less or more. All this points to catastrophic changes in the future.  
Another research report indicates that temperature, in particular, exerts a        remarkable influence over human systems at many scales, heat increases        mortality rates, has lasting effects on foetuses and infants, and incites aggression and violence, while also lowering worker productivity, damaging crops, stressing energy systems and triggering migration. Current temperature climatologies slow the global economic growth rate by about 0.25 percentage points per year,    comparable to the additional slowing of 0.28 percentage points per year           projected from future warming.
Homes of 55 million people in coastal areas of India are likely to be submerged in sea with a 4 degrees Celsius global increase in temperature, warned a new         research report published recently. The research report further indicates that a 4 degrees Celsius  warming scenario could lock in enough sea level rise to submerge land inhabited by half or more of today's population in Shanghai and Shantou, China; Howrah, Kolkata and Mumbai, India; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Khulna, Bangladesh. From Venice and the tower of Pisa, dozens of UNESCO World     Heritage sites are deeply threatened by rising sea levels, researchers have warned. 
According to a United Nations Report which highlights the impact of extreme weather events on the global economy, India has suffered a whopping $79.5     billion economic loss due to climate-related disasters in the last 20 years. The  report titled as ‘Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017’ was compiled by the UN Office states that affected countries reported direct losses of $2.908 trillion, more than twice of what was lost in the previous two decades. Illustrating the growing threat from Climate Change, extreme weather events now account for 77 per cent of total economic losses. The greatest economic losses have been     experienced by the US at $944.8 billion, followed by China at $492.2 billion, Japan at $376.3 billion, India at $79.5 billion and Puerto Rico at $71.7 billion. Floods (43.4 per cent) and storms (28.2 per cent) are the two most frequently  occurring disasters. During the captioned period, 1.3 million people lost their lives and 4.4 billion people were injured, rendered homeless, displaced or in need of emergency assistance. A whopping 563 earthquakes, including related tsunamis, accounted for 56 per cent of the total deaths or 747,234 lives lost, the report said 
As is evident from the above facts and figures that we have reached a situation where if we don’t do any thing substantial during the next 5 to 10 years, there will be disasters. Climate Change problem has been there for the last 50 years but we have been only talking about it for the last 20-25 years, nothing concrete appears to have been done. Even renewable energy has been discovered over 50 years ago. The first electric car in USA was run 50 years ago but we are still depending on fossil fuel. If we continue to use fossil fuel at higher levels then we are going to burn the entire world. 

India is Proceeding Ahead 
It is heartening to note that India is the only G20 country whose pledge to the UNO on Climate Change has been considered sufficient by an International  Evaluating Organisation. Carbon Tracker is an independent financial think tank that carries out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets and the potential investment in high-cost, carbon-intensive fossil fuels. Govt. of India is focussing on action. India produced just 2.6 GW of solar power  during the year 2014, which has gone up to 9 GW during 2018. India have       substantially grown on solar and wind energy capacity. India has been showing the way to the world in energy efficiency also by implementing the scheme like  Ujjawalla Yojana. It is said that LED Bulb Scheme, has saved about 100 million units of carbon. 
Many more decisions have been taken by India for reducing the level of harmful gases in the environment like making  transport sector green through e-mobility, working to considerably increase the proportion of the biofuel blend in petrol and diesel, focusing on the use of compressed bio gas, and providing clean cooking gas to 150 million families, thus improving the health of the environment, of women and children. 
An ambitious “Jal Jeevan Mission” has been launched for water conservation, rainwater harvesting and for the development of water resources. India will spend USD 50 billion on the project in the next few years. 
A people's movement has been initiated to end the use of single use plastic. 
India and Sweden will together launch the Leadership group within the Industry transition track. This initiative will provide a platform for governments and the private sector with opportunities for cooperation in the area of technology         innovation. This will help to develop low carbon pathways for industry. 
India would launch a Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to make its infrastructure disaster resilient. The Coalition will be a group of about 30 plus countries that will work towards common goals of having infrastructure, which is resilient to climate and disaster. India is working with countries like the UK and small island states like Fiji and Maldives who face problems of climatic nature. 
Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India inaugurated solar panels on the roof of the UN building in New York, built at a cost of $1 million, on 24.09.2019. These projects will inspire whole world to take the protection of our environment to new heights. 
80 countries have so far joined the International Solar Alliance initiated by India 
Respect for nature, Judicious use of resources, Reducing our needs and Living within our means have been our traditions. That is how, India is very serious on the issues related to Climate Change. 

Future Ahead
The world has to get rid of its fossil fuel addiction for combating Climate Change. The industrialised world is still locked into coal or gas. The stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has grown manifold, it has built up over centuries in the process of creating wealth by these countries. The developed countries, therefore, have to reduce emissions drastically. All countries have to take steps to limit   consumptions. The share of renewable energy has grown, but not at the required level.
According to the Paris Agreement, the world has to manage increase in global temperature within 2 degrees celsius, but right now it looks like going upto 3 or 3 and half degrees celsius. As such, we are going to witness more rains, more floods, more droughts and more frequently these will come, as all these seasons will become erratic. In increased heat, every body is using ACs and in the process generating more carbon. In tackling all these situations better research, science and technology is required. Green cover of the land has to increase. NASA has  revealed that China and India together have increased its green belt by             contributing around 30%  to the world during last 20 years.  
If you make some thing profitable every body goes for it. Reduction in the prices of renewable energy is going to be a disruptive. Today renewable energy prices  have gone down by 3 to 4 times. These may even go down further and become much lower as compared to the prices of other sources of energy. Everybody in that case would like to set up solar energy plants. Technology will take us to the level wherefrom things will start looking up.
Ban on single use plastic is going to be a game changer as Lot of plastic is dumped on the ground which is not separated/segregated and is not recycled, which contributes to increase in gases in the environment. We should use locally produced products, that will also reduce the carbon footprints. Limit luggage  carrying in aircrafts as it will bring down load on aircrafts and reduce the carbon footprints. These all are small steps, which can give immediate results.   
Do not treat climate change as an environment related problem only but it is a development related challenge also and therefore decarbonisation is required to be done in a mission mode.

Role of Banks
Banks also can play a pivotal role in curbing the global temperature increase by       encouraging and extending credit facilities to those units, which are using         renewable energy.