As the changing climate is gripping the world, countries and institutions are rushing to help people adapt to it and mitigate the damages done because of it. Like any other disaster, it has also brought to the world’s attention the inequalities among countries in various ways, some are better placed for a renewable energy transition while others are still developing their economy with fossil fuels, some are protected against rising sea levels and others are losing land every year.
The Indian urban population rose from 17.9% in 1960 to around 34.9% in 2020. The population size in Bengaluru during the same period increased by more than ten folds. Different agencies estimate that by 2030, Bengaluru will be home to 15-20 million people.
At the COP26, the Indian prime minister announced– somewhat surprisingly– that India will go carbon neutral by the year 2070. The deadline is about two decades longer than most countries’ 2050 deadline and China’s 2060 deadline. It was a surprising move, because India was reluctant to put a date on its carbon neutral journey, unlike other developed countries, primarily because the Indian economy is still growing and so is its carbon emission.
United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC) defined climate finance as “local, national or translational financing- drawn from public, private and alternative source of financing – that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.”
Climate researchers and scientists worldwide have warned that the ongoing human-induced activities worsening climate change are pushing the entire planet toward doomsday. The consequences that the planet is witnessing in the form of climate disasters such as floods, tsunamis, wildfires, avalanches, and landslides are just the beginning. But, there must be an adequate system and stringent policies in place to minimize the loss these disasters can have on each sector of the economy. The Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDR Mami Mizutori highlighted a similar approach and said, “Disasters can be prevented, but only if countries invest the time and resources to understand and reduce their risks”.
This article is an interactive discussion with Prof. Arul Aram, head of the department of media studies in Anna University TamilNadu.
The fears being raised about climate change are beginning to come true. In the last six months only, the mood of the weather witnessed in the world has turned the minds of environmental scientists. Extreme weather events have started showing their harsh nature. Be it summer or rain or floods. Much more than usual has started happening in many places. Environmental scientists, based on the analysis of data of the last 20 years, have tried to tell how this crisis has started creating upheaval in our lives.
As monsoons arrive in India, the majority of the population finally rejoices as the rain brings some respite from the extreme heatwaves. But we must not forget that this relief is temporary, next year the situation will repeat itself and the temperatures might even soar higher than this year’s highs. According to the reports of UK’s Metrological office extreme heatwaves in India will occur at a frequency of 3 years, compared to the previous time frame of 312 years. The study concluded that the risk of heatwaves in April-May has increased by 100, and this number is expected to increase by 275.
World’s leading fossil fuel firms are secretly planning around 195 to 200 projects across nations like the US, Russia, Australia and India which could trigger “catastrophic climate breakdown”. The environmentalists are referring these projects as ‘carbon bombs’. It’s stated that, the emissions released from these projects collectively will overshoot the emissions that had been agreed in the Paris Agreement 2015, which was to contain the global rise in temperature to 2°C.
Climate change is influencing every facet of life- right from our diets to our ability to survive natural disasters. Until now, the real estate sector was lacking the pace to address the gravity of climate change consequences on properties and markets. However, over the past two decades higher global temperatures and more frequently occurring natural disasters have led monstrous effects on residential as well as commercial properties.
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.