{"id":65585,"date":"2024-06-04T14:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/04\/the-climate-challenges-that-indias-next-government-will-face\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T14:35:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:35:06","slug":"the-climate-challenges-that-indias-next-government-will-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/04\/the-climate-challenges-that-indias-next-government-will-face\/","title":{"rendered":"The Climate Challenges That India\u2019s Next Government Will Face"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/04\/multimedia\/04CLI-India-Election-ftpv\/04CLI-India-Election-ftpv-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"The Climate Challenges That India\u2019s Next Government Will Face\" title=\"The Climate Challenges That India\u2019s Next Government Will Face\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">India, the world\u2019s most populous country, is also among the most vulnerable to climate hazards. That\u2019s not only because of the heat and floods that global warming has exacerbated, but also because so many of the country\u2019s 1.4 billion people are vulnerable to begin with. Most people are poor, by global standards, and they have no safety net.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Early election results Tuesday signaled that the party led by Narendra Modi, the two-term Hindu nationalist Indian prime minister, is poised to win the largest number of seats in the Indian Parliament but may have to join with smaller parties to form a coalition government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That government will face major challenges brought on by climate change.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4c9f2c63\">Heat is now an election issue, literally.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The six-week process of voting took place amid a scorching heat wave in several parts of the country. In the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, at least 33 people, including poll workers, died of complications from the heat last week, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/india\/least-15-dead-eastern-india-over-24-hours-temperatures-soar-2024-05-31\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">government authorities<\/a> cited by Reuters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Rohit Magotra, deputy director of Integrated Research and Action for Development, called on national election officials to reschedule elections in the future to avoid such calamities. He pointed out that workers from every political party suffer in the heat, and so do voters, who often have to line up under the sun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI definitely see the momentum building up, and elections are unlikely to be scheduled in peak summer in future,\u201d said Mr. Magotra, whose organization has advocated heat solutions in Indian cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Election Commission this year did set up <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/elections\/ec-task-force-heatwave-poll-date-9284874\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a task force to monitor weather conditions<\/a>, but only after voting got underway amid abnormally high temperatures. It also sent election workers a list of heat precautions prepared by the National Disaster Management Agency. However, according to a report published in Scroll, an Indian news site, political-party campaigners <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/scroll.in\/article\/1066330\/is-india-ready-for-an-election-in-extreme-heat\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">were not told to do anything differently<\/a> because of the heat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While parliamentary elections are traditionally scheduled in summer in India, climate change is making summers increasingly dangerous. This year, one weather station in Delhi broke the all-time temperature record with a reading above <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/29\/world\/asia\/india-delhi-hottest-day-ever.html\" title=\"\">52 degrees Celsius<\/a> (127 degrees Fahrenheit) in late May. It was the third consecutive year of abnormally high temperatures in India, all made worse by climate change, according to scientific studies of the heat waves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Several cities and states have heat action plans, at least on paper. But <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/cprindia.org\/briefsreports\/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">as one independent analysis concluded last year<\/a>, they are mostly underfunded and lack concrete ways to identify and protect the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-5daff45b\">Farmers, politically powerful, are angry.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Modi\u2019s government has faced some of the most potent opposition in recent years from farmers\u2019 organizations. And many of their concerns are rooted in climate issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their agitation reflects a deep malaise in agriculture, a major slice of the Indian economy. More than half of all Indians depend on farming to make a living. Groundwater is in short supply in many important agricultural regions. Farmers are in deep debt in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On top of that, extreme weather and unpredictable rains have wrecked harvests repeatedly in recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2020, hundreds of thousands of farmers, mostly from India\u2019s breadbasket region of Punjab and Haryana, erected encampments outside of New Delhi and rolled their tractors into the capital in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/01\/25\/world\/asia\/india-farmers-protests-delhi.html\" title=\"\">protests that turned violent<\/a>. Their initial grievance was over Mr. Modi\u2019s efforts to open up more private investment in agriculture, which the farmers said would make them vulnerable to low prices driven by corporate profit motives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the face of the uprising, the government backed down, a rarity for Mr. Modi, but also a move that signals the seriousness with which his administration took the protests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Again this year, farmers marched on the capital, this time <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/14\/world\/asia\/farmer-protests-india.html\" title=\"\">demanding higher government-set prices<\/a> for wheat and rice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The global image of India is often associated with its fast-growing economy, its vibrant cities and its huge, young work force. But a majority of its people still depend on farm incomes, most of its <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/feature\/2012\/05\/17\/india-agriculture-issues-priorities\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">770 million poor people live in the countryside<\/a>, and the government has been unable to create anywhere near the number of jobs outside agriculture that its booming youth population demands. Fixing agriculture in the era of climate change is likely to be among Mr. Modi\u2019s most profound challenges in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDefinitely, increasing extreme weather events (floods, heat waves, storms) are the most important climate challenge facing the government,\u201d said M. Rajeevan, a former secretary in the Earth Sciences Ministry who is now vice chancellor at Atria University in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-5b08f93f\">Then there\u2019s India\u2019s coal habit.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Climate change is driven principally by the burning of fossil fuels, the dirtiest of which is coal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At international summits, Mr. Modi has emphasized his push to build renewable energy infrastructure. At the same time though, his government <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/07\/business\/energy-environment\/india-energy-subsidies.html\" title=\"\">has continued to expand coal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That\u2019s driven by both political and economic considerations. Coal is the incumbent fuel. Public and private companies, many of them politically connected, are invested in coal. The government\u2019s main interest is in keeping electricity prices low.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Coal remains the country\u2019s biggest source of electricity. Coal use grew this year, partly driven by climate change itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Higher temperatures drive up demand for air-conditioners and fans, which drives up demand for electricity. India\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/india-fires-up-coal-use-emissions-during-election-heat-wave-maguire-2024-05-09\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">power-sector emissions soared in the first quarter of 2024<\/a>, according to Ember, a research organization that tracks emissions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Coal provides <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/countries\/india\/electricity\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">more than 70 percent<\/a> of India\u2019s electricity, with solar and wind accounting for a little more than 10 percent. And even though the government has set an ambitious target of 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, coal\u2019s influence is unlikely to dim anytime soon. According to government projections, coal will still supply <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/cea.nic.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/notification\/2023\/05\/Optimal_mix_report__2029_30_Version_2.0__For_Uploading.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">more than half<\/a> of India\u2019s electricity in 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/04\/climate\/modi-climate-india-election.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India, the world\u2019s most populous country, is also among the most vulnerable to climate hazards. That\u2019s not only because of the heat and floods that global warming has exacerbated, but also because so many of the country\u2019s 1.4 billion people are vulnerable to begin with. Most people are poor, by global standards, and they have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/04\/multimedia\/04CLI-India-Election-ftpv\/04CLI-India-Election-ftpv-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2696,486,2086,3954,925],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65587,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65585\/revisions\/65587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}