How the Northeast can help India cement its climate-leader status
In his address at the G7 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed to the need for a concerted global effort in spurring green finance for developing countries to address the climate emergency and resurrect a post-covid-19 template of a nature-positive economy. The need for climate action finance to create a new world order is the shared reality of all developing economies — saddled with the ill-timed mandate of addressing development needs while battling the pandemic.
India’s climate diplomacy got a boost with the International Solar Alliance in
2014 and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in 2019, accompanied by a major push in energy transition. This has made India one of the few countries on track to fulfil its Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCS) under the Paris Agreement.
But its climate goals can be further bolstered by strategically transforming Northeast India into a novel climate action zone — testing the next course of economically rewarding decarbonisation and climate actions and turning it into a favourable location for climate investment and finance.
The number of global investors who are now focused on sustainable development goals and the environment, social and governance compliances and climate-sensitive portfolios is increasing. The total assets under management of investors who are signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investing exceed $90 trillion. The marketplace for climate solutions is worth over $1 trillion and climate-investment opportunities are expected to total $23 trillion in emerging markets by 2030.
With a predominantly nature-dependent tribal society and a biodiversity and carbon profile that can manage the climate system, states such as Meghalaya are poised to become the eco-laboratories for the world. They can emerge as a hub for modelling radical green recoveries.
We are priming Meghalaya to turn into a demo farm for testing the ideas of climateaction economy. From a legacy fossil fueland deforestation-based economy, we are regenerative and distributive dynamics building political consensus in pursuing green frontier model.
Meghalaya and other Northeastern st can pioneer a new lineage of adaptation s egies since we are among the least car emitting states in India. Meghalaya al with Arunachal Pradesh are also among biggest carbon sinks in India. The ecosys services performed by our rainforests biodiversity are immense and their conse tion is key to averting the climate crisis. However, a recent analysis of 119 yea rainfall measurement across Northeast has revealed a system diminishing trend in summer r fall in Meghalaya, which carrie unique distinction of being on the wettest regions on earth. Ala ingly, in sync with global warm standards, this pattern is drive changes in Indian Ocean temp ture and rapid deforestation the last two decades and has ca a 15 km shift of the world’s wettest place f Cherrapunji to Maysnram in recent deca
According to a 2017 Indian Institut Technology-gandhinagar study, the st average temperature rose by 1 degree Cel between 1981 and 2012. According to the est Survey of India’s 2019 report on fire-p areas across India, Mizoram, Tripura, As Meghalaya and Manipur occupy the top spots in the “extremely fire-prone” zone
The decreasing rainfall patterns and ri wildfires pose a huge threat to rain-fed systems and forest-led livelihoods. Couple with dire socio-economic conditions suc poor per capita income, limited crop in ance and poor participation in rural schemes. All of this enhances our vulner ity to a systemic shock such as the climate sis.
That leaves us with no other option b take refuge in nature-based economic ph ophy to ensure security for our citizens. B this could lie a winning strategy for the na to cement its status in the fast-emer global race for climate leadership.