Centre for Science and Environment masthead Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Donate

Cse In News

Cse In News

Indian cities struggle to clear C&D waste

New Delhi: At a time when Indian cities are struggling to control their air pollution levels, a new report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found that most of them lack institutional preparedness to carry out systematic and scientific management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, one of the key sources of pollution in urban areas. CSE released a report titled, ‘Construction and Demolition Waste: Closing the loop for sustainability.’ Releasing the report, CSE director general Sunita Narain said: “C&D waste management is a potential game changer. A decade back, the concern with C&D waste was not about air pollution, but about saving water bodies from the dumping of this waste in them. By 2018-19, the issue of C&D waste became hot and this time, it was about dust in the air which was contributing to pollution. The realisation struck that there lies a huge opportunity in changing things for the better in this sector.” Quoting data from the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, the CSE report says India’s construction industry is expected to reach US $1.4 trillion by 2025, and contribute about 13 per cent to the national economy. India will be adding billions of square meters of space to create affordable housing units, commercial spaces, cold storage, industrial corridors, smart cities, roads and highways, among other things. Says Rajneesh Sareen, director, sustainable buildings and habitat programme, CSE: “This will not only generate enormous amounts of waste, but also increase the demand for natural and virgin building materials that require mining.” He points to the report, which says that as per the draft National Resource Efficiency Policy of 2019, India has already increased its material consumption six times from 1.18 billion tonnes in 1970 to 7 billion tonnes in 2015. India’s resource extraction rate stands at 1,580 tonnes per acre as compared to the world average of 450 tonnes per acre; its material productivity is low. While India imports many critical raw materials such as sand, it has a much lower recycling rate at 20-25 per cent compared to developed countries of Europe (70 per cent).

Remodel Food Systems

With climate change in mind, there is a growing discussion on the need to re-engineer the current model of agriculture and the food we consume. Agriculture today contributes to greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways — through methane emissions from rice cultivation and livestock and through nitrous oxide from the use of synthetic fertilisers and manure on fields. The large-scale clearing of forests, including rainforests, to produce beef cattle and even palm oil adds to the crisis of our climate-risked world. Then, there is the multi-continent transport for food processing and sale. Not to mention that the sector itself is highly vulnerable to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. What, then, should be the transition plan? This is where farms and food of our world — countries like India — provide answers. We have, as yet, in most parts not moved to an input-intensive model of livestock production. Most dairy farmers are still individuals, using combinations of open and stallfeeding for their animals. Their farms are based on agrosilvopastoral systems. But this is changing fast. Farmers are increasingly using expensive inputs — from fertilisers to seeds to pesticides. This adds to their debt burden, making them even more vulnerable to crop losses and extreme weather impacts. So, the elements of the agricultural model for livelihood-nutrition-nature security in our climate-risked world are as follows. First, it has to be a low-input-based model that protects the farmer from multiple risks. This will also put more money in the hands of farmers, particularly as we know that the high cost of food is unaffordable in most countries. It is clear that low-input agriculture is not necessarily lower in productivity. The conventional strategy — even what is being promoted in the name of smart agriculture — depends on high-cost inputs, which add to the cost of cultivation. The argument is that this strategy will lead to higher yields, which will give the farmer higher income. But this works only if the costs do not wipe out the profits. In the case of smallholder farmers, where there are little economies of scale, this is just not possible. Increasing yields will, however, require working on the health of the soil and providing irrigation to farmers when they need it most. Climate change will also bring new pests — this makes it all the more important for agriculture to be resilient, but this does not mean increasing the use of pesticides. It can and must mean changes in the practices of agriculture as well as the use of non-chemical alternatives. The bottom line is that climate resilience requires more ability to cope, recover, and ultimately put higher returns in the hands of farmers. This also means investing in markets that will provide opportunities for farmers to maximise gains. Second, agriculture has to be built on the principle of risk minimisation. This would mean promoting multiple cropping systems. This will also promote biodiversity as farmers would grow more than one crop on the field. Livestock economy has to be made integral as it would allow for management of risk so that there is income from different sources. Think of it like the diversification of investment portfolios, which bankers would advise you in these times of uncertainty. Third is the choice of crops that are both nutritive and compatible with the local environment. In other words, where there is water shortage, farmers should grow water prudent crops like millets. But this choice is not in the hands of the farmer. Governments must enable policies — from procurement to price — to promote growing of these crops. For instance, more biodiverse and climate-appropriate millets will be grown by farmers where governments have included them in schemes such as mid-day meals (this is one of India’s most important programmes as it aims to provide hot-cooked food in every school of the country). Change of cropping patterns towards climate-resilience will need this supportive structure. The fourth, and the most critical, element is that the choice of food that farmers grow is in the hands of consumers — us; what we eat; and why we eat it. If we change our diets, it provides signals to the farmer to grow differently. We know that food is medicine; yet we continue to eat wrong; eat junk. The food on our plates has lost the meaning of nutrition. We are in danger of losing the knowledge of good food — what our grand-mothers and mothers cooked in different seasons. This is why we must be part of this changed agriculture story. Food cuisines are about culture and biodiversity. The climate change crisis is human-made; it is we humans who have contributed to the emissions that threaten our present, and the very existence of our children’s future. It is we who must rework our lives; our ways of doing business. The fact is that we cannot go ahead with this model of agriculture in a climate-risked world. (Courtesy: Down To Earth; (Writer is Director General of CSE and Editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets)

Climate Change Leads To Health Crisis In Elderly And Children, Risk Of Diseases Increasing With Rising Heatwaves

Climate Change has increased health risks for children and the elderly. According to the recent Lancet Countdown report, climate change has affected people's health worldwide. The changing environment has had the most impact on adults over 65 years of age and infants under one year, who are particularly sensitive to rising temperatures. According to the report, the number of heatwave days has almost doubled in the past few years compared to 1986-2005. Due to increasing extreme weather events, there is also an increased risk to water and food security, along with health. According to experts, infectious diseases are rapidly increasing due to the changing climate. Experts claim in the report that due to climate change, warming oceans have been spreading Vibrio bacteria by 329 kilometres annually in the world's coastal areas since 1982. This bacteria could become a major cause of illness and death in humans. Due to this bacteria, nearly 1.4 billion people worldwide are at the risk of diarrhoea, sepsis, and various other types of infections. The risk is higher for people living in coastal areas in Europe. There, the coastal water suitable for Vibrio bacteria has increased by 142 kilometres annually. The increasing risks of climate change have also led to a rise in health inequalities worldwide. The pressure on health systems is increasing significantly. In the survey for this report, 27 per cent of the cities included expressed concern about the impact of climate change on their healthcare systems. Considering the Lancet Countdown Report 2023, the World Health Organization has also urged governments worldwide to quickly end the use of fossil fuels and adopt renewable energy sources to deal with the problem of climate change. According to the World Health Organization, addressing climate change will not only reduce climate change but also improve air quality for 99 per cent of the global population, reducing the harmful effects of air pollution and improving people’s health. The WHO has also called for serious consideration of this issue at the COP-28 meeting held recently. Environmentalists and Director General of CSE, Sunita Narain says that there is no part of the earth where people are not feeling the heatwave. In 2023, heatwaves caused the deaths of 200 people in the 20 states of India. The impact of heatwaves and rising temperatures is affecting the health of the general public. The Lancet report states that as temperatures rise, deaths are increasing and could continue to do so. To address this issue, we need to develop a long-term heatwave action plan. Under this plan, on one hand, arrangements for emergency health services will be made for those affected by heatwaves, and on the other hand, various steps will have to be taken to reduce the heat in cities.

India boosts AI in weather forecasts as floods, droughts increase

India is testing artificial intelligence (AI) to build climate models to improve weather forecasting as torrential rains, floods and droughts proliferate across the vast country, a top weather official said. Global warming has triggered more intense clashes of weather systems in India in recent years, increasing extreme weather events, which the independent Centre for Science and Environment estimates have killed nearly 3,000 people this year. Weather agencies around the world are focussing on AI, which can bring down cost and improve speed, and which Britain's Met Office says could "revolutionise" weather forecasting, with a recent Google-funded model found to have outperformed conventional methods. Accurate weather forecasting is particularly crucial in India, a country of 1.4 billion people, many impoverished, and the world's second-largest producer of rice, wheat and sugar. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) provides forecasts based on mathematical models using supercomputers. Using AI with an expanded observation network could help generate higher-quality forecast data at lower cost. The department expects the AI-based climate models and advisories it is developing to help improve forecasts, K.S. Hosalikar, head of climate research and services at IMD, told Reuters. The weather office has used AI to generate public alerts regarding heatwaves and such diseases as malaria, Hosalikar said. It plans to increase weather observatories, providing data down to village level, potentially offering higher-resolution data for forecasts, he said. The government said on Thursday it wants to generate weather and climate forecasts by incorporating AI into traditional models, and has set up a centre to test the idea through workshops and conferences. "An AI model doesn't require the high cost involved in running a supercomputer - you can even run it out of a good quality desktop," said Saurabh Rathore, an assistant professor at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi. Better data is also needed to make the most out of AI, experts say. "Without having high-resolution data in space and time, no AI model for location-specific magnification of existing model forecasts is feasible," said Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Shivam Patel and William Mallard

India’s Clean Energy Push: Centre Releases Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules

After long deliberations, the Centre has notified the offshore wind energy lease rules, taking a significant step forward towards tapping into the potential of offshore wind energy in India. The latest notification lays the groundwork for the next stage with the ministry set to invite tenders for leasing the seabed areas soon. The rules specify that all the offshore wind energy sites will be exclusively provided by the government, and no person/entity can install offshore wind energy projects or offshore transmission projects, except under a lease granted under these rules. The ministry of new and renewable energy will identify the area for the lease after a wind resource assessment and marine spatial planning. However, clearances from several ministries, including Defence, Home Affairs, External Affairs, Environment, Space and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will have to be obtained before granting of the lease. The government is expected to float the tenders for India’s first offshore wind seabed lease soon. But the offshore wind projects are expected to take several years before they are commissioned. “Initial installations are anticipated around 2030 due to the heightened costs and complexities involved. Offshore wind projects face challenges due to their sensitive nature, necessitating clearances from several ministries,” says Binit Das, Program Manager, (Renewable Energy), at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). According to the rules, the lease will be valid for a period of three years for resource measurement and related study/survey activities, which can be further extended to an additional two years. However, the lease will expire after five years and all clearances will be withdrawn, unless the lessee has started work to set up wind energy capacity as per the terms of the lease. However, for the purpose of construction and operation of offshore wind energy projects, the lease can be extended for 35 years which can be stretched further on a case-to-case basis subject to functional viability and safety of the project. The area covered under a lease will generally be 25 sqkm to 500 sqkm but it can vary depending on the size of the project. Offshore wind turbines are much larger in size, and cost higher than the onshore wind turbines. The geophysical surveys will encompass physical examination of the water column and seabed conditions to help design the foundations structures for such offshore wind turbines, while the geotechnical surveys will include drilling of bore-holes to determine the soil conditions and its load-bearing capacity to set up the offshore wind projects.

फीकल स्लज ट्री टमेंट प्लांट का अधिकारियों ने किया निरीक्षण

जौनपुर 21 दिसंबर।नगर पालिका परिषद कार्यालय में गुरुवार को अमृत योजना के अंतर्गत 32 के एलडी क्षमता वाले मल एवं गाद प्रबंधन के बने प्लांट लिए एक वैठक आहुत की गई हैं। बैठक में एवं स्थलीय निरीक्षण के दौरान अधिशासी अधिकारी श्री पवन कुमार, अधिशासी अभियंता जलनिगम जौनपुर,अवर अभियंता जलनिगम जौनपुर, अमृत योजना से घनश्याम अग्रहरि तथा सफाई एवं खाद्य निरीक्षक अवधेश यादव ,लखनऊ से आए सेंटर फॉर साइन्स एंड एनवायरनमेंट के कार्यक्रम अधिकारी श्री मनीष मिश्रा निरीक्षण के दौरान मल एवं गाद प्रबंधन के निर्मित प्लांट के संचालन के संबंध में चर्चा की गई।नियंत्रण के लिए सभी निजी सेफ्टिक टैंक सफाई करने वालों को नगर पालिका परिषद जौनपुर में पंजीकरण कराया जाना चाहिए। जो कि पालिका में पंजीकरण की कार्यवाही शुरू हो गई हैं ।नगर पालिका के अधिकारी इसके लिए उप नियम बनाए और उसी के अनुसार उसका प्रबंधन करे, साथ ही सरकारी आवास, संस्थागत सेप्टिक टैंक को खाली करने पर विचार विमर्श किया गया। साथ ही शोधन संयंत्र को सुचारू रूप से संचालन के लिए रणनीति बनाये और उसके लिए टेंडर जारी

जौनपुर नगर क्षेत्र में मल एवं गाद प्रबंधन को लेकर चर्चा की गयी एवं रणनीति बनाई गई

जौनपुर नगर पालिका परिषद कार्यालय में गुरुवार को अमृत योजना के अंतर्गत 32 के एलडी क्षमता वाले मल एवं गाद प्रबंधन के बने प्लांट लिए एक वैठक आहुत की गई हैं। बैठक में एवं स्थलीय निरीक्षण के दौरान अधिशासी अधिकारी श्री पवन कुमार, अधिशासी अभियंता जलनिगम जौनपुर,अवर अभियंता जलनिगम जौनपुर, अमृत योजना से घनश्याम अग्रहरि तथा सफाई एवं खाद्य निरीक्षक अवधेश यादव ,लखनऊ से आए सेंटर फॉर साइन्स एंड एनवायरनमेंट के कार्यक्रम अधिकारी श्री मनीष मिश्रा निरीक्षण के दौरान मल एवं गाद प्रबंधन के निर्मित प्लांट के संचालन के संबंध में चर्चा की गई।नियंत्रण के लिए सभी निजी सेफ्टिक टैंक सफाई करने वालों को नगर पालिका परिषद जौनपुर में पंजीकरण कराया जाना चाहिए। जो कि पालिका में पंजीकरण की कार्यवाही शुरू हो गई हैं ।नगर पालिका के अधिकारी इसके लिए उप नियम बनाए और उसी के अनुसार उसका प्रबंधन करे, साथ ही सरकारी आवास, संस्थागत सेप्टिक टैंक को खाली करने पर विचार विमर्श किया गया। साथ ही शोधन संयंत्र को सुचारू रूप से संचालन के लिए रणनीति बनाये और उसके लिए टेंडर जारी करे। सभी सफाई कर्मचारियों को पहचान पत्र देने के निर्देश दिए गए। नगर क्षेत्र में वाल पेंटिंपें टिंग के माध्यम से आम जनमानस में जन जागरूकता लाने की भी कार्यवाही के निर्देश दिए गए।

Breathe easy! Air turns moderate, a 1st this month

Gurgaon: The city’s air quality index (AQI) turned ‘moderate’ on Tuesday for the first time this month at 186. Before this, the city last recorded a ‘moderate’ air day on November 28, with an AQI of 198. Since then, the air quality has been oscillating between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories. Teri Gram station recorded the city’s highest AQI on Tuesday at 259, followed by Gwalpahari (204) and Vikas Sadan (106). The AQI data wasn’t recorded at Sector 51 station. Officials said a rise in wind speed helped dispersed pollutants from the atmosphere. The city witnessed a wind speed of 13kmph on Tuesday, up from 11kmph on Monday. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the AQI is likely to deteriorate in the next three days. The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from the northwest direction in Delhi-NCR with a speed of 8kmph-11kmph till Friday, which is expected to slow down the dispersion rate. Guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) state that when AQI is in the ‘moderate’ category, there can be breathing discomfort to people with asthma and lung or heart diseases. In ‘poor’ AQI, breathing discomfort can be felt by most people on prolonged exposure. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor', and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. Meanwhile, experts pointed out that civic bodies need to take action throughout the year to ensure that the air is ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’. “Over the years, vehicular emissions as well as construction activities have shot up. The authorities need to ensure that the emissions are lowered and take steps like increasing public transport and greenery on pavements,” said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at Centre for Science and Environment. HSPCB officials maintained that local problems are responsible for high AQI levels for most of the year. They cited factors like suspension of road dust due to vehicular traffic, increase in construction activities and waste burning as special concerns which have led to an increase in pollutants. The city’s minimum temperature was 9.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, while the maximum was 21 degrees Celsius. Delhi’s air quality too saw an improvement from ‘very poor’ on Monday to ‘poor’ on Tuesday. The overall AQI was 286 as against 330 a day earlier. According to IMD officials, winds with an average speed of 18 kmph during the daytime led to pollutants’ dispersal. Winds up to the speed of 15 kmph are likely during daytime on Wednesday and are likely to turn calm from evening onwards. According to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS), “The air quality is likely to deteriorate significantly and likely reach in upper end of ‘very poor’ category on December 22. The outlook for subsequent six days is that the air quality is to deteriorate further on December 23 and 24. The air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category during December 25-27”. Delhi has not seen any ‘severe’ air quality in December so far, but the AQI has mostly remained ‘very poor’. The minimum temperature was 7.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday at Safdarjung, the capital’s base station. However, Jafarpur and Mungeshpur saw the minimum at 6.6 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.

Rich nations did not have way at COP28: Bhupender Yadav

Developing nations did not give into pressure from developed countries on the language of the COP28 outcome document that called on economies to transition away from fossil fuels, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday. Speaking about the UN Climate Summit, which concluded in Dubai last Wednesday, at a press conference, Yadav said that one of the main reasons for talks running into overtime was disagreement on the demand by developing countries for the text to reflect that richer nations take the lead in transitioning away from fossil fuels -- a position that ultimately did not make it to the final deal. But the minister who represented India at the two-week long negotiations said, the document did retain the concept known as common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), a core principle that requires wealthy nations to do more. Some of the developed country blocs were pushing for this to be diluted. “Countries that have achieved development and progress while causing massive greenhouse gas emissions historically are responsible for providing support to developing countries for energy transition. The Paris Agreement has clear categorisation of developed and developing countries. Annexure 1 of the Paris Agreement lists developed countries that captured most of the carbon space and are responsible for historical emissions and Annexure 2 represents developing countries,” Yadav explained. Developing nations have “not accepted pressure from developed countries”, he said. “All commitments in the UAE consensus are based on the principle of CBDR-RC and national circumstances. Every country wants that Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal is met. But we have different starting points and some countries have the burden of poverty. So, the pressure from developed nations was not accepted,” Yadav said at the “India Rising Globally” press conference. The consensus document noted that time frames for peaking of greenhouse gas emissions will be “shaped by sustainable development, poverty eradication needs and equity” of each country and will be “in line with different national circumstances”. On the absence of oil and gas from the UAE agreement, and reiteration of the Glasgow agreement on unabated phasedown of coal, Yadav said that India will continue using coal until its development needs are met. “We cannot depend on imported oil and gas. Until we achieve our development needs, we will use coal. The language on coal (in the UAE agreement) is a repetition from the Glasgow agreement in 2021. What is important is developed countries wanted to push for language on limiting new coal power which we managed to thwart,” he said. About 75% of India’s energy needs are currently met by fossil fuels, including coal. The language on developed nations taking the lead in fossil fuel phase out has been softened, Yadav pointed out. “We (India) said in our intervention that developed countries need to be net negative emissions before 2050. This issue was discussed and negotiations were extended through two nights to address this issue. Those who run first will achieve their targets first. So, developed nations will have to achieve their goals first,” Yadav said. In Dubai, the deal signed by 196 countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in what is being seen as a critical decade to be able to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Fossil fuels, which have been a topic of taboo for years in climate negotiations, was finally addressed in a very carefully calibrated decision text titled the UAE Consensus. It however did not mention the words “oil” and “gas”. The Third World Network, a non-profit international research and advocacy group said in its bulletin on Tuesday, that developing countries resisted uniform mitigation goals. On India’s stand during the negotiations, it said that the country’s primary concern on the mitigation work programme “is that it should not serve as a burden-shifting mechanism from developed countries” to “everyone’s responsibility, including developing countries and non-state actors, private sector financiers.” The non-profit also elaborated on India’s position on the need for more ambition in NDCs, or nationally determined contributions (the legally binding commitments countries make to the UN). India said mitigation work programmes (MWP) “cannot become a way to impose sector specific mitigation efforts beyond what is a part of its NDCs. This is more-so important to preserve the nationally determined nature of the commitments,” the report added. Experts have expressed divided views over the outcome of the annual climate conference. Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment, said that while the deal reflected that there was finally a sense of urgency at the negotiations, the text was not good enough. “I think for the first time there was a sense of urgency and sense of the crisis. In spite of the deep divisions between the North and the South, the inconvenient truth that we have to collaborate and that we have to come together, was recognised and accepted at COP28,” she said on December 14. But, she added, “the text is not good enough in the fact that we have not specified how will equity get operationalised in the use of the remaining budget of fossil fuels in the world”.

Changing narratives

As I sit down to write this, COP28 — the latest climate conference being held in Dubai this year — has entered its second week. The conference is being held when the world is more fractured and fissured than ever before — divided over the two wars and horrendous human toll — and at the same time being brought to its knees because of extreme weather events that are ravaging the poor. It also comes at a time, when the world — particularly, the already rich and industrialised world — has little political appetite for real emission reductions. They have switched fuels, from coal to natural gas in most cases, which has brought down carbon dioxide (CO2) levels to an extent, but now when the going gets tough, public opinion is wavering on the costs of transition. It is important to note that natural gas is a fossil fuel and has a climate footprint. Action is now tough, so it is easy to pass the buck to the rest of the world, where economic growth is a necessity. In this grim backdrop, it is good news that the world has come together to agree on the loss and damage fund and even put money into it. It is another matter that the funds are still nowhere near the amounts needed to pay for the damages that climate change is bringing to the poorest in the world. It is also another matter that the rules of this fund must come without new conditionalities and not push the already vulnerable further into debt or development that makes no sense. But still let’s take a moment to exhale. There are two other developments that I would like you to take note of; not because they are earth-shattering but because they are game changers — that is, if we can get them right. The first is the issue of finance; it is a make-or-break issue in climate negotiations. The reason is that many countries, including India, need the right to development. But when the world has literally exhausted its carbon budget — the amount of CO2 that the world can emit to keep temperatures be-low 1.5°C rise — the only way ahead for these countries is to develop differently; to move away from coal to renewables; and to electric vehicles, before they start building cities for private cars. They cannot afford the transition even with the decreasing costs of renewable energy. So the question of finance is not about charity but about payment for this transformation to keep the world safe. At every COP, discussions stall because of this question of money. Then, the world gets busy counting how much is needed and how huge the gap is. But at COP28, the discussion on finance has taken a step forward — not because new money at the scale needed has been put forward but the need to discuss the quality of finance is now on the table. The COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber raised the question of finance to be accessible and affordable to countries. In the draft document of the Global Stocktake (GST), which is expected to be the major outcome of COP28, it is mentioned that countries need finance that does not add to their debt burden. Currently, even if you accept the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) accounts of climate finance, which says that the world is close to reaching USD 100 billion annually — a promise made a decade ago — the bulk of this money comes as loans, which would then put further strain on the already stressed economies. So, this change in narrative is important, but needs a future road map. The second issue is of fossil fuels; it is as intrinsic as it is controversial. For too long, the western discourse has been simplistic: phase out fossil fuels and then, almost as if it is synonymous, phase out coal. This discourse has gone nowhere. The fact is that the production and use of fossil fuel is increasing, and not just in our world. The US, today, is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, beating Qatar. The US is also producing more oil per day than ever seen in history; 13.5 million barrels a day, which beats Saudi Arabia. But it is easy to paper over this fact when coal becomes the whipping boy. There is no question that coal is bad; but it is also the fuel used in the world that has not yet moved to somewhat cleaner gas. Targeting coal means shifting the burden of the transition to countries that cannot afford even dirty energy to meet the needs of their people. At COP28 this issue needs to be out in the open. It is time we discussed the science behind the phase out of fossil fuels; by when and which fuel. Then the logical question would be which fuels the world will get to use and who gets to use the remaining quota of oil, gas or coal that the world has time to burn. When I write next on the last week of COP28, this is what I will discuss further with you. DTE The writer is the Director-General of CSE and editor of DownToEarth. Views expressed are personal

New research raises fresh doubts about India’s river linking plans

In October this year, the Indian forest department gave final clearance for a project to transfer water from the Ken river as it flows through the state of Madhya Pradesh to the nearby Betwa river. The Ken-Betwa river interlink, which would involve damming the Ken and laying a canal to the Betwa, is supposed to be the first of 30 proposed river interlinks which would fundamentally transform India’s river systems. The original idea was conceptualised in the 19th century by Arthur Cotton, a British general and irrigation engineer. Cotton suggested connecting all of India’s major rivers to enable better irrigation and navigation, and to capitalise on what was seen as the paradoxical phenomenon of having floods in one part of the country while other areas faced drought. Post independence, despite official enthusiasm for large infrastructure projects, including hydropower dams, this particular approach did not gain any significant traction. In 1980 the Ministry of Irrigation (now subsumed under the Ministry of Jal Shakti) prepared a National Perspective Plan (NPP) “for transferring water from water surplus basins to water-deficit basins”, but no further government action followed. In 2002, however, APJ Abdul Kalam, who was the President of India at the time, made a speech mentioning the subject. Using the speech, Ranjit Lal, a senior lawyer to the Supreme Court, filed a public interest litigation in September 2002, and the court pronounced a judgement soon after asking for the project to be accelerated. Decisions made based on secret data In 2012, the Supreme Court came back to the subject and declared in its judgement that that “these projects are in the national interest, as is the unanimous view of all experts, most State Governments and particularly, the Central Government”. But environmental experts who were consulted on the project as members of an expert committee set up as part of the Supreme Court judgements have regularly raised concerns. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, a network of activists working in the water sector, was a member of the Ministry of Water Resources’ expert committee on river interlinking from 2009 to 2011. He told The Third Pole that while most of the committee members were government appointees who agreed with the project, independent experts like him, water management pioneer Rajendra Singh and watershed conservationist Vijay Paranjape often dissented. One of the major issues for Thakkar was the use of secret hydrological data. “When I asked for the data as a member of the expert committee, I was told that the Ken is part of the Ganges basin, an international basin, and [since] hydrology figures of international basins are a state secret, these cannot be made available [even to the committee members],” he said. “The hydrology data pertaining to the Ken basin and the Betwa basin is neither in the public domain nor has it ever undergone any independent public scrutiny. In fact, the rainfall data of districts the Ken and the Betwa pass through, in the previous four years (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020), is not appreciably different. So why has the Ken basin been categorised as having surplus water?” Bhopal Singh, director general of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) which is entrusted with the river linking project, disputes this. He told The Third Pole: “the project was based on detailed hydrological and simulation studies duly accounting [for] the upstream/downstream needs, environmental flows, etc., in the Ken basin.” “The hydrological studies were done by the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, and examined and reviewed by the Central Water Commission,” Singh added. The NWDA website carries a detailed project report based on a NIH study conducted in 2003-04, but the study itself is not included. Singh told The Third Pole that “the entire modelling cannot be shared”. New science may upturn old models Another urgent issue is that science has moved a far pace from Cotton’s time, and the impact of interlinking rivers may be much more complicated than was appreciated in the 19th century. Subimal Ghosh, institute chair professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay’s Department of Civil Engineering and convener of the Interdisciplinary Program in Climate Studies, explained that atmospheric water has traditionally not been factored into consideration of water cycles. A recent study which Ghosh co-authored found that adjacent river basins do not exist in isolation, and moving water from one to another may have additional impact due to atmospheric water. The study builds on the fact that towards the end of the Indian summer monsoon, when the soil is saturated and evapotranspiration (the supply of moisture from the land to the atmosphere) is fairly high, recycled precipitation contributes to about 25% of monsoon rainfall. If water from one basin were to be used to irrigate another basin, the combination of increased evapotranspiration and wind could reduce the late monsoonal rain by 12% in some arid regions of the country, and increase rainfall up to 10% in other parts. “Now we know for certain that altering the terrestrial water cycle can impact atmospheric processes,” said Ghosh. He argued that there is “an urgent need to include rigorous model-guided evaluation of hydro-meteorological consequences” for projects like river interlinking. In response, Singh of the NWDA said that they could not comment on a hypothetical study. “Considering the scale of meteorological and hydrological cycles in the country, these inter-basin water transfers to water-short areas are minor in nature … As far as the Ken-Betwa link is concerned, the majority of harnessed flood water shall be utilised in the Ken basin itself and some water shall be utilised to fulfil the water needs of other regions including recharge of existing tanks in the Bundelkhand region,” he added. The illusion of water surplus A deeper problem, according to Thakkar, may be that the river basins classified as having a water surplus are only regarded as such because they are less developed. He pointed out that districts in the upper Ken basin are largely devoid of water-intensive agriculture, and with few dams built for storage. In contrast, the lower Betwa runs through agricultural districts where water-intensive crops are grown, with a fair number of dams. The surplus, he said, is only an illusion created by the different levels of water utilisation in different geographies. “Now dams are sought to be built in the upper Betwa region, which will create a shortfall in the existing lower Betwa basin dams,” said Thakkar. “That shortfall is proposed to be rectified by water from the Ken basin.” In response, Singh said that the Ken-Betwa link is not only about the inter-basin transfer of water – the central premise of river interlinking from Cotton’s time to the Supreme Court decisions – but also about conserving flood water. Most rainfall occurs in a few days during the monsoon, and “there are hardly any flows in the Ken during the non-monsoon period,” said Singh. “The region is also not very rich in groundwater due to hard rock and marginal alluvium terrain. We expect this project to stabilise the availability of water and improve water management in the region particularly during drought years.” Major downstream impacts of river interlinking Singh’s vision of the total utilisation of water raises its own issues, according to Depinder Kapur, director of the water programme at the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi. “The more river waters we use for agriculture and irrigation and urban consumption, the less will be left to enter the sea, especially in peninsular India where rivers aren’t fed by Himalayan waters,” said Kapur. According to a 2018 study, if all 30 proposed river interlinking projects in the country are fully implemented, the average annual discharge by the affected basins will reduce by 73%. While the study focused on impacts to wetlands and estuaries, which would be deprived of key sources of water, there would also be major ramifications for the ocean. A significant fall in the flow of fresh river water into the sea would disrupt the upper layer of water in the Bay of Bengal, which is made up of low-salinity and low-density water that helps maintain a sea surface temperature higher than 28 degrees Celsius. This high surface temperature in turn creates low-pressure areas and intensifies monsoon activity, explained Mihir Shah, distinguished professor at Shiv Nadar University and former chair of a new National Water Policy drafting committee set up by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2019. “Rainfall over much of the [Indian] subcontinent is effectively controlled by this layer of low-salinity water. A disruption in this layer because of the massive damming proposed by the river interlinks … could have serious long-term consequences for climate and rainfall in the subcontinent, endangering the livelihoods of a vast population.” Rivers carry more than water, and sediment would also be held back by new dams built for river interlinking. This is a critical concern for the deltas of the Ganga–Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri basins, home to more than 160 million people who would be deeply impacted by sea level rise due to climate change. A new study of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta found that the approximately 1 billion tonnes of sediment that rivers currently carry each year would increase by 34-60% in the 21st century because of more monsoon rainfall. More sediment in the delta would help to offset sea level rise and naturally sustain the delta. But, as the 2018 study pointed out, if all dams involved in the proposed river interlinking projects are built, this sediment load would fall by 87%. Singh of the NWDA responded by saying that sediment trapping by reservoirs and their impact on deltas was “always exaggerated without proper scientific study”. While suggesting that such impacts would be “nominal”, he told The Third Pole that the NWDA had “already initiated system studies of the proposed link projects to study the likely impact of climate change on hydrology and water availability, demand patterns, surface and ground water interactions”. Looking ahead, with the Bharatiya Janata Party having returned to power in Madhya Pradesh in the November 2023 elections, and with river interlinking having been featured in the party’s 2019 general election manifesto, it seems likely that work on the Ken-Betwa link will be prioritised as evidence of the plan making progress.

Founder’s health scare sparks cycling revolution, leading to smart bike empire

The emission of carbon dioxide from vehicular pollution in India is likely to reach 1,212 million tonne by 2035, from 208 million tonne during 2005, as per Centre for Science and Environment’s report. Road transport accounts for 12 per cent of India’s energy-related CO2 emission, according to another report available in the public domain. While on one end there are plenty of these reports indicating an alarming increase in CO2, on the other end, there are reports suggesting its repercussion on human health. As a solution to vehicular pollution and as a promoter of cycling for healthy life, Hyderabad-based entrepreneur, Chairman of Shri Shakti Group and a cycling fanatic, DV Manohar founded public bike sharing startup, Smart Bike Mobility Private Limited in April 2017. The smart bicycle sharing platform, commercially operational from 2019, has registered over 9,09,998 users, total rides of 14,49,266, distance of 44,93,599 km covered, and reduction of CO2 emission by 2,500 tonnes, an equivalent to planting more than 20 lakh trees. D V Manohar and his son, Dharmin Dontamsetti, the Managing Director of Smart Bike Mobility Private Limited speaks to Bizz Buzz about their journey of being the first-movers in public sharing of smart bicycles

CSE finds coal-fired power plants around Delhi not complying with emission norms

Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state in the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), was asked about coal-based power plants around Delhi not complying with the emission norms in the Lok Sabha, quoting a recent study by Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The timeline for Category A plants, including those located within a 10-kilometre radius of national capital region (NCR), to comply with new emission norms for parameters other than sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission was December 31, 2022, the minister said. There are four thermal power plants under Category A located within a 10-km radius of the NCR; these thermal power plants have complied with the applicable emission limits, that is, for parameters other than SO2 emission, he added. Besides, seven thermal power plants under Category C are located within a 300 km radius of Delhi, for which the time limits to comply with the emission norms for parameters other than SO2 and for SO2 is December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2026 respectively, Choubey said. NGT notices to SPCBs, PCCs The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on November 6, 2023 issued a notice to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and MoEFCC to provide data with regard to State Pollution Control Boards based on a news item in newspaper Deccan Herald on October 24, 2023 titled “Pollution control boards are the weak link”, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. The CPCB then submitted a report to the NGT based on the inputs provided by the SPCBs / Pollution Control Committees (PCC) on November 22, 2023. The NGT issued further issues on November 23, 2023 to SPCBs and PCCs to file their reports through the respective principal secretaries for the departments of environment and forests, the minister said. Rising sea level Sea-level rise is a slow phenomenon and varies globally depending on local site factors. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group I report released in August 2021, global mean sea level rose by 0.20 (0.15-0.25) metres between 1901 and 2018, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. The average rate of sea level rise was 1.3 (0.6-2.1) millimetres/year in 1901-1971, increasing to 1.9 (0.8-2.9) mm/year between 1971 and 2006 and further increasing to 3.7 (3.2 to 4.2) mm/year between 2016 and 2018, he said. In line with this global trend and based on the study by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services as well as the studies published in scientific literature, on average, at present, the sea level along the Indian coast is estimated to be rising at about 1.7 mm/year. It was observed that the sea levels are changing at different rates along the Indian coast, Choubey added. Risk mapping of hilly areas in Himachal Pradesh About 25-30 per cent of geographic area of Himachal Pradesh comprises of high to very high landslide susceptible zones, according to information provided by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. Further, as per information provided by the Himachal Pradesh government, about 32 per cent of the total geographical area of the state falls in Very high damage risk zone (Zone-V) in the seismic map of India and the remaining falls in high damage risk zones of earthquake, the minister added. With regard to floods, these are reported to be isolated in nature and caused mainly by high monsoon rains in the Shiwalik and lower- and mid- Himalayan range. Higher Hills comprising the districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Kullu are particularly vulnerable to avalanches, according to the Himachal Pradesh government, Choubey informed. Arsenic and fluoride levels in groundwater Arsenic in groundwater samples has been reported in parts of 230 districts in 25 states, Bishweswar Tudu, minister of state for Union ministry of Jal Shakti told the Rajya Sabha. Fluoride contamination was found in parts of 469 districts in 27 states. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates groundwater quality data of the country on a regional scale as part of its groundwater quality monitoring programme and various scientific studies, he said. These studies indicate the occurrence of arsenic and fluoride in groundwater beyond permissible limits (as per Bureau of Indian Standards) for human consumption in isolated pockets in various states / Union territories. The groundwater contamination reported by CGWB is mostly geogenic in nature and has not shown significant change over the years, Tudu added. Mapping of water-scarce villages The Stage of Groundwater Extraction (SOE) or the ratio of total groundwater extraction for all uses to the annual extractable groundwater for the country as a whole stands at 59.26 per cent, Tudu told the Rajya Sabha. Out of the total 6,553 assessment units in the country, which are generally blocks / taluks / tehsils, 736 units (11.23 per cent of 6,553) have been categorised as ‘over-exploited (OE)’, where the SOE is more than 100 per cent, the minister said. Further, 199 units (3.04 per cent) have been categorised as ‘critical’ and 698 units (10.65 per cent) as ‘semi-critical’. Overall, 4,793 units (73.14 per cent) were under ‘safe’ category and 127 units (1.94 per cent) were ‘saline’, Tudu added. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.

Rich nations did not have way at COP28: Bhupender Yadav

सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने कहा कि हालांकि समझौते से पता चलता है कि अंततः बातचीत में तात्कालिकता की भावना थी, लेकिन पाठ पर्याप्त अच्छा नहीं था। “मुझे लगता है कि पहली बार तात्कालिकता और संकट की भावना महसूस हुई। उत्तर और दक्षिण के बीच गहरे विभाजन के बावजूद, इस असुविधाजनक सच्चाई को कि हमें सहयोग करना है और हमें एक साथ आना है, COP28 में पहचाना और स्वीकार किया गया, उन्होंने 14 दिसंबर को कहा। लेकिन, उन्होंने आगे कहा, “यह पाठ इस मायने में पर्याप्त अच्छा नहीं है कि हमने यह निर्दिष्ट नहीं किया है कि दुनिया में जीवाश्म ईंधन के शेष बजट के उपयोग में इक्विटी कैसे क्रियान्वित होगी

Insurance sector needs to redraw risk assessment framework as climate-related disasters multiply

The glacial lake outburst in Sikkim, the impact by Cyclone Michuang and other extreme weather events this year have driven home the point that insurance cover can help in recovering some of the climate change-induced loss and damage. The insurance sector has for long relied upon historical data to assess weather risks, but the severity and frequency of climate-related disasters are upending previous calculations and require a reassessment of risk profiles. Low awareness and penetration of insurance to cover extreme weather events pose an additional challenge for insurance companies in a developing economy such as India. India was hit by extreme weather events almost every day in the first nine months of 2023. Ranging from heat and cold waves, cyclones and lightning to heavy rain, floods and landslides, these events, brought on in part because of climate change, claimed nearly 3,000 lives. These extreme weather events have also affected 1.84 million hectares of crops, levelled over 80,563 houses and killed close to 92,519 livestock, according to the Climate India 2023: An assessment of extreme weather events report, recently released by the Centre for Science and Environment, an independent think tank. In this period, from January to September 2023, Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of days with extreme weather events and Bihar saw the highest number of human deaths at 642, followed by Himachal Pradesh (365) and Uttar Pradesh (341 deaths). Himachal Pradesh reported the highest number of damaged houses (15,407) and Punjab reported the highest number of animal deaths (63,649), the annual report, now in its second year, said. This was before Cyclone Michaung hit Chennai and India’s east coast in early December. In Tamil Nadu alone, the state government estimated losses due to damage to roads and infrastructure at over Rs. 50 billion. The floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, due to extreme rainfall during this year’s monsoon, caused damages worth more than Rs. 100 billion. Insuring against loss and damage As elsewhere in the world, climate disasters are increasing in frequency in India and so is the damage to property, crops and human lives. In such a backdrop, the issue of insurance is gaining prominence to mitigate some of the worst impacts of extreme weather events. There is an increasing realisation that insurance cover for climate risks cannot be business as usual. India’s insurance industry faces multiple challenges in grappling with these risks, which include affordability and availability of coverage, growing financial burden on insurers, limited historical data, uncertainty in risk assessment, long-term liabilities and the potential for moral hazard, according to the climate consulting group of Tyche Investments, a consultancy. This was recognised early by the world’s largest reinsurance companies – Munich Re, Swiss Re and Gallagher Re, which are last in the chain of insurance, providing insurance to other insurance companies. Reinsurance companies are conservative in offering reinsurance for natural or climate-induced disasters because of the risk uncertainty. Munich Re, India’s largest foreign reinsurer, has said in media interviews that there is no room for a reinsurer to pass on the risks. Major floods and landslides killed over 700 people and caused damages worth $11 billion in 2018-19 in India, Munich Re said in a 2021 article. “Storms, flooding and drought are the key weather perils for the Indian region and will likely become more severe in the future,” it said. “Since they are unpredictable and extreme, these weather events are driving ever greater loss volatility, which makes structuring reinsurance solutions all the more challenging.” As is the case in most developing economies, the lack of awareness of insurance capabilities and benefits presents formidable challenges to insurers in India. “It is certainly necessary to educate our market about the real need for extreme weather cover and for people to understand the changing risk landscape due to climate change, especially in this region,” said Ajeet Phatak, Munich Re’s Asia regional head for agriculture, in the article. Low awareness, low penetration Low awareness has led to low penetration of insurance that covers natural disasters. For instance, the Swiss Re Institute found that 70% of economic losses caused by natural catastrophes over the past decade were uninsured, with 90% of these losses in Asia alone. In May 2020, Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal caused economic losses of more than Rs. 950 billion, the reinsurer said in a report. “This was the most destructive tropical cyclone India has ever experienced, and insured losses are expected to be just a fraction of the economic losses due to the region’s low insurance penetration,” Swiss Re had said. Countries such as India do not have sufficient protection against the financial impact of natural and climate-induced disasters. A failure to close this protection gap can drain state and national budgets and divert funds away from other critical areas of need. One way to build protection is to transfer the financial risk of natural catastrophes to insurance companies. In India, the total insurance penetration (combining both life and non-life insurance) was 4.2% in 2021, as opposed to the worldwide insurance penetration rate of 7% during the same period. Closing the protection gap is crucial, according to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The sector regulator has identified steps to support the growth of the domestic insurance industry to increase penetration so that by 2047, most citizens and enterprises in the country can have appropriate insurance solutions and coverage. Cover costs could be key The aim to increase insurance coverage against natural disasters, while laudable, cannot be achieved unless the industry makes insurance more accessible, affordable and available, said an executive at a reinsurance firm, requesting anonymity. “At present, this is at a very nascent stage and most companies are recalibrating how to cope with the fresh challenges it poses,” he added. A case in point is the glacial lake outburst flood that swept away a hydropower project in Sikkim in October. The state-owned Sikkim Urja has made an insurance claim of Rs. 114 billion for the destroyed 1.2 GW Teesta III hydropower project. This could become a landmark in climate risk management in India. Although there is no decision yet on the claim, insurers are reluctant to settle it. They point to reinsurers capping liability on glacial lake outburst floods at Rs. five billion as assessment frameworks are inadequate to account for these extreme weather events. “We are in the thick of a climate crisis. Its manifestations cannot be dismissed as acts of God or natural catastrophe. The return periods of various climate events are shortening. Hence, the risk management, underwriting and pricing ought to be robust. Asset buildup and its aggregates, particularly in fragile geographies, needs to be watched and managed closely,” said Praveen Gupta, former chief executive of Raheja QBE General Insurance Company. Climate risks are evolving rapidly and getting increasingly complex, Gupta said. “Traditional pricing models will not work, and risk modelling needs to quickly catch up,” he added. It is in this context that new risk assessment frameworks have a crucial role to play, said an official at another reinsurance company. The sector has to be quicker in making payouts so that people can bounce back faster from extreme and untimely weather events, he said. The framework will explain how companies are going to factor in climate-related disasters. As climate disasters multiply and become more frequent, insurance premiums to cover them are bound to rise, but not to the extent that it deters both individual and corporate clients, he said. Insurance premiums can be a useful signal to prevent the infrastructure buildup in locations that are exposed to climate hazards, he added. “Pricing models to cover for climate risks is an evolving area that must take into account multiple aspects that would encourage policy purchase but at the same time is not such that insurers have to operate at a loss,” he said. Identifying evolving risk landscapes Studies have shown that more than 80% of Indians live in districts vulnerable to climate risk. It is, therefore, important to better identify and understand the evolving risk landscape for insurance firms. “Integrating granular risk assessment is imperative since it will lead to risk-based pricing of assets and innovation in risk financing products,” said Abinash Mohanty, program lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a think tank. “It will also ensure an effective risk transfer mechanism without high-priced premiums and underwriting.” This is where the reinsurance companies can provide frameworks that work on the ground. By using predictive analytics and automated assessment systems, insurance companies can stay ahead of the curve and better prepare for future risks, officials said. Climate concerns are already impacting pricing in the property insurance and reinsurance markets in the richer countries in the West. The rate rises reflect some important structural changes in the market, according to an official at Swiss Re. But in markets such as India, where budgets are often thin, these Western models might not work, he added. “With the onset of new risks, new risk assessment models will also need to be thought through,” said Saon Ray, visiting professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. “An area of concern that arises here is the ability of insurers to efficiently price these risks.” Technological fixes such as predictive analytics could become an increasingly valuable tool for minimising the financial risks posed by climate change, insurance executives said. These tools can help assess risk exposure, allowing businesses to make informed decisions about their future strategies. There are now initiatives in this regard. Lloyd’s, the world’s top marketplace for insurance and reinsurance, in October, launched a new data tool that generates a systemic risk scenario that models the global economic impact of extreme weather events leading to food and water shocks, estimating the loss to be $5 trillion over a five-year period. Sector experts agree that India’s insurance sector has the potential to grow further by pricing in climate risks due to the underpenetrated nature of the market and low density. But how that translates into specific products is still a work in progress.

Climate-focused policies are key to building resilient infrastructure

COP28 began on a positive note with the approval of the loss and damage fund. The initial commitment is $475 million, which will support low- and middle-income countries suffering from climate-induced damage caused by disasters such as cyclones and flash floods. While the loss and damage fund is a welcome development, we need to focus on enhancing resilience to minimise the damage. A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment revealed that India witnessed a disaster nearly daily during the first nine months of this year. The damage was extensive, with close to 3,000 lives lost, 1.84 million hectares of cropland affected, and over 80,000 houses destroyed. In addition to personal tragedies, destroyed roads, burst water pipes, and damaged public buildings can make the path to recovery difficult. India is one of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis. Climate disasters impact all of its geography – coast, hills and river banks, and rural and urban areas. The frequency of heat waves and heavy precipitation events will likely increase significantly as the climate crisis accelerates. As vulnerability increases, resilience, a measure to withstand disasters, must be strengthened so that every hazard does not become a disaster. This requires systemic responses. Realising the risk, government agencies have started planning and developing programmes. The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plans (SAPs) provide a strategic framework and investment guidelines. The National Adaptation Fund was launched in 2015 to fund adaptation programmes for the states and UTs that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of the climate crisis. India has also championed the establishment of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which promotes climate action not only in India but also in many other countries. Increasing urbanisation requires an emphasis on enhancing urban infrastructure, considering future needs and vulnerabilities. Crucially, disaster-proofing and management need to be incorporated into urban planning. Cities, enabled by national and state policies, need to act. First, adequate finance must be allocated to the ministries of roads, urban infrastructure, power or telecom, as well as health and education. A proper accounting system will ensure robust data on expenses for disaster management at the city, state, and central levels. It is said that another additional 50% to 70% of infrastructure in India is yet to be built. There is an opportunity to develop and incorporate higher standards in the design and development of new infrastructure. The forthcoming budget for FY25 should enhance the allocation for disaster resilience and incentivise states to follow.