Climate Change: Break it Down, Spread the Word, Act – EQ Mag Pro

Under its NDCs, India has committed to install 175 GW of renewable energy (RE) by 2022. It is well on its way to getting there. It has even upped this target to 450 GW by 2030. Such specific targets, and demonstration of action to achieve them in shorter time frames, are exactly what the planet needs today.

The recently released 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that human actions have already driven up Earth’s temperature by 1.1°C, leaving only a small window before it crosses the 1.5°C limit that we are striving for.

It also shows that the adverse impacts of climate change are already upon us, given the spate of heatwaves, droughts, unseasonal rains and other extreme weather events witnessed in the recent past.

Clearly, even while conversations about reaching a net-zero target by some distant date continue, the time to act on the ground is now.

At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November, governments should make their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and other commitments more credible by indicating concrete state- and region-wise roadmaps, with more proximate timelines. Also, talking to people — not only to the experts — is of utmost importance.

Investing in this ‘social capital’ is vital to finding mitigation and adaptation solutions during a crisis. To make people understand the climate reality we are facing today, we can’t afford to speak of climate in academic jargon. We must break down the concept of climate change and build a narrative that people can connect with and understand as an imminent threat.

Climate change touches everyone, and every human activity has an impact on our climate. From urban residents using air-conditioners to manufacturing companies, private motor vehicles and heavy-duty freight carriers, they all contribute to greenhouse gases that facilitate global warming.

To help people understand how this warming will affect us unequivocally, one must rise above the inherent inequality of developed and developing nations, and identify roles in reducing climate impacts. When people know their roles, and feel accountable, change will happen.

Under its NDCs, India has committed to install 175 GW of renewable energy (RE) by 2022. It is well on its way to getting there. It has even upped this target to 450 GW by 2030. Such specific targets, and demonstration of action to achieve them in shorter time frames, are exactly what the planet needs today.

For India, another important sector to focus on are its cities. India’s urban population is projected to rise from about 370 million in 2011 to 820 million by 2051. It will account for nearly 17% of the global urban population growth in the next 30 years. Cities are dense agglomerations of people and economic activity and, hence, concentrated emission centres. If planned well, they can contain emissions significantly.

In a compact geography, integrated actions encompassing installation of rooftop solar, deployment of electric vehicles (EVs), design of energy efficient buildings using compliant materials, greater use of public transport, better water and waste management, etc., can effectively drive efficient energy use and emissions reduction. This would also inspire replication.

The transport sector also has a significant potential to reduce emissions. Freight shifts from road to rail or inland water transport, and passenger shifts from short-haul flights to faster trains, can propel this change. Adoption of EVs, public or shared transport and safer infrastructure for walking and cycling are the climate solutions urban transport needs, today.

However, the key players responsible for implementing and leading these actions, are not climate experts, but a wide range of stakeholders, dispersed across geographies and sectors — municipal commissioners, city engineers, public transport operators, mid-level corporate managers, architects, construction contractors, and other actors.

Many of these stakeholders involved in allied fields have limited understanding of what climate change is, and how they are part of the solution. This is because climate discussions have been restricted to only a few who understand the jargon. For others, it continues to remain a mystery, a threat about a future ill that could befall their great-grandchildren.

This notion must be corrected by widening the understanding of climate change. If this climate emergency has to be acted upon, the responsibility for such action will fall on the millions of stakeholders who manage our cities, or economic activities and our production centers.

When the Paris Accord was drafted in 2015, its clear objective was to ‘accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future’. This year, as delegates convene from November 1-12 for COP26, let’s hope they realise that while talks are essential to cooperative action, it is time for the participating nations to act with equal or more vigor.

Source: PTI