Unnoticed priorities in climate protection

The increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threatens to change the living and working conditions of humanity. The greenhouse gas layer hovers over all countries in the world. In order to control the entry of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the layer, cooperation at a global level and a fair distribution of mitigation measures are required.

What we currently have is the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, where all countries have committed to developing a voluntary national plan to help limit the potential global temperature increase to 1.5 to 2°C. Therefore, we need to develop a national climate management strategy.

The Union government has taken up this issue and made promises to transition away from fossil fuels and towards energy efficiency and carbon absorption through forest development. It has also set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2070. The measures required to achieve this are extensive. I would like to focus on three areas that are critical for climate change mitigation and adaptation – energy, agriculture and human settlements.

The first and most important area is climate and energy, where a shift away from fossil fuels is required. The energy transition in power production is already well underway in India with the growing importance of renewable energy. But an emphasis on the supply side is not enough and we need to take steps to reduce direct fossil fuel consumption. An important aspect of this is reflected in the promotion and increasing popularity of electric vehicles. But more needs to be done – for example, in designing buildings with insulation to reduce energy-based cooling needs.

We will be heavily dependent on private sector renewable energy power supply, often from decentralised sources and unevenly distributed across the country. A critical challenge in building such a power system is not only technologies such as low-cost battery storage, but also the institutional barriers to an efficient power market. One such barrier is the poor financial health of the power distribution companies or DISCOMs. What is really needed now is a clear focus on the institutional reforms required for the recovery of DISCOMs, market-based power pricing and a hierarchical transmission and distribution system that balances supply and demand at multiple levels from the local to the national. This requires effective dialogue and cooperation between the Union and state governments.

Energy policy must also take into account the fact that in India many coal miners work in a few regions where there are few alternative employment opportunities. This leads to strong political resistance to phasing out coal too quickly. A credible plan for stranded assets and alternatives for lost jobs in the coal mining regions is needed. This must become an important part of the national climate strategy.

One area that needs greater attention is the decarbonisation of industry, particularly the steel and cement industries. This will require significant technological changes that could be adopted from abroad, but will also require some development domestically. Apart from what needs to be done within industry, there are some broader areas that are likely to be critical, particularly for net zero targets for industry. One example is the development of green hydrogen, which is currently being actively pursued by some companies and encouraged by the Union Government. Another area that needs more initiatives than it is currently receiving, however, is carbon capture and storage/utilisation, which will need to be deployed in industries like cement where zero carbon emissions are impossible.

Climate and agriculture are areas that require more attention than they currently receive. It is not just about reducing carbon dioxide emissions. A far greater challenge is the need for adaptation and resilience, which will be required in the face of the impacts of an inevitable rise in temperature – even if the global community succeeds in limiting the increase to 1.5-2°C -, the greater uncertainty about water flows and the increase in extreme climate events.

When it comes to agriculture and energy use, a major obstacle to farmers switching to solar power for pumping is the fact that in some states they have free grid power and in others their electricity costs are subsidized. The way forward is to see solar power in agricultural areas not just as a replacement for grid-tied power, but as an investment that generates profits by selling solar power to the grid, and to design the grid to have the capacity to absorb the surplus power generated in rural fields. The other area where emissions problems arise is fertilizer use, where less energy-intensive alternatives – especially when transportation costs are taken into account – such as nano-fertilizers can help mitigate carbon.

A more important area for climate and agriculture is the fact that agriculture and related activities will be most affected by rising temperatures, significant changes in water availability and availability, and the increasing risk of adverse climate events such as more rain on fewer days. For this reason, the Food, Land and Water Climate Programme should combine a focus on mitigating impacts with programmes to improve adaptation and resilience. An example of this could be promoting research into crop varieties and farming methods that reduce carbon emissions by saving on fertilisers and electricity use, but are also adapted to higher temperatures and have productivity that is resilient to adverse weather events.

Climate and human settlements is another crucial area, particularly urban development for climate change adaptation. Designing cities to reduce travel and increase public transport is important for climate change mitigation. But cities also need to be designed to cope with higher temperatures, weather uncertainty and sea level rise. Therefore, integrated design standards need to be promoted here too, especially for cities in ecologically sensitive areas such as coasts or mountains. The standards for buildings that will last for decades need to be set now to take into account these likely changes in climatic conditions. Another aspect that needs to be addressed is increasing green spaces in cities, as this will mitigate the impact of higher temperatures to some extent.

Effective climate management in agriculture and human settlements is so closely linked to local conditions that constructive and effective engagement by panchayats and community organizations is essential.

The challenge of climate change can only be met if the necessary measures to mitigate, adapt to and strengthen resilience to climate change are not fully integrated into the design and implementation of development policies at federal, state and local levels and if they are also mainstreamed into the motivation processes of businesses and households.

(Views are personal)

Nitin Desai, Chairman of TERI and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs