Blog Posts: climate change

The urgency and complexity of the climate change challenge has been globally recognised. As developing countries grapple with the adverse effects of unfavorable climatic stressors, the global community is negotiating to meet the increasing demand for climate finance. This shift in the global conscience has facilitated a conducive environment for mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, and integrating them firmly into countries’ overall developmental and growth agendas. There is far greater emphasis now on ensuring the climate proofing of development.

To that...

As part of an initiative to test the climate-proofing of development plans in India, WRI and NABARD have been studying the impacts of changing weather patterns in Cuddalore, a coastal district in Tamil Nadu. As a premier development bank in India, NABARD has been instrumental in providing technical and financial support to various development initiatives throughout the country. In Tamil Nadu, the Bank has been particularly contributing to alleviate the state’s dire water needs, through the promotion of participatory water management scheme in collaboration with Government of Tamil Nadu....

Population growth and an increasing vulnerability to climate change means that India faces an uphill task in effectively and efficiently tackling its water problems. World Resources Institute (WRI) research has shown that almost 54 percent of India faces high to extremely high water stress, and resulting in heightened agrarian distress in the country.

India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD, launched a Water Campaign on 22nd March...

In recent times, discussions around internal carbon pricing have been intensifying. Carbon pricing shifts costs away from society to the polluter, and provides incentives to reduce emissions. More than 430 companies globally have implemented internal carbon pricing – evidence that corporates are recognising that this benefits more than just climate.

While most policies follow the ‘polluters pay’ principle,...

This blog post originally appeared on Insights.

Today, as negotiators haggle over the details of a climate agreement in Paris, my home town is literally underwater. Chennai has seen 17 days straight of rain, precisely the kind of extreme weather event that experts say will only become more common in a warming world.

As Indian Adaptation Strategy Head for WRI’s Climate Resilience Practice, I’m in Paris this week for events surrounding negotiations...

This blog post originally appeared on TheCityFix

Over the last century, India’s landscape has urbanized considerably: the urban population has grown 14 times since 1901, and by 2050 up to 54 percent of India’s population will be urban (ACCCRN). Much of this urban growth is occurring in large villages or small to medium sized cities (IIHS 2011), resulting in...

This blog post originally appeared on Insights.

Yesterday, India announced its new climate plan, also known as its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, or INDC. As the world’s third-largest emitter and a country that’s highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, it is encouraging to witness India invest in actions to tackle climate change while addressing poverty, food security and access to healthcare and...

This post originally appeared on Climate Home

India’s anticipated commitment to climate action will be nothing short of transformational given challenges on the ground. With the world’s third highest carbon emissions [fourth if the EU is counted as one block] to its name, a strong commitment could make a noticeable difference to prevent the rise of global sea levels, extreme weather events, heat waves and other climate impacts.

However, this global...

The year will see global leaders make some critical decisions for the world economy and the environment, impacting the future of current and future generations. India’s newly elected government represents a unique new opportunity to deliver this. The country’s economy, now valued at $2.1 trillion, needs to follow a trajectory of robust, equitable and sustainable growth that includes all of its 1.25 billion citizens. All eyes have been on India as it announced its Union Budget for 2015-16, an important vehicle for transporting millions of its citizens out of poverty. Being the new...

Climate change has drastic implications on societies, locally and globally. It affects social development factors like poverty, infrastructure, security, and economics. In impoverished communities, the co-relation between climate change and social vulnerability and inequality is particularly evident often resulting in reduced food security and access to safe drinking water, amongst other things. It is clear that the burden of climate change will be borne differently by different people, based on geographies, generations, age classes, income...