Climate Change: Perspectives from India

Climate change is perhaps the biggest developmental challenge for the planet today, and its economic impacts, particularly on the poor, have made it a governance issue as well. This collection of essays, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India, looks at these issues from the perspective of the poor and makes recommendations for the way forward.In her essay, Sunita Narain, director of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, provides a framework for a just and effective global climate deal based on the idea of the world’s environment as a ‘common property resource’ and the climate agreement as a ‘property rights framework’ that encourages cooperation among countries.Economics, policy and climate change expert Prodipto Ghosh (who helped prepare India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change) draws our attention to six myths around India’s stand in the global climate change negotiations.N.C. Saxena, advisor to UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank, pushes for climate change adaptation strategies that can save livelihoods and ensure food security, particularly rainwater harvesting and soil conservation.Jyoti Parikh, executive director of the Integrated Research and Action for Development, New Delhi, argues in her essay that climate change and natural disasters impact women differently and more severely. She recommends that taking women, children and the poor into consideration while evaluating the vulnerability of social groups to climate change.And Preeti Soni, the head of the Energy and Environment Programme at UNDP India, says that India’s small-scale industries are significant energy users contributing greenhouse gas emissions (despite their small size and scale of operations), but they could also potentially help to save a huge amount of energy.