Dealing with climate change
EARLIER THIS YEAR, CANADA faced extreme heatwaves and Germany encountered massive floods. In India, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been braving floods, while some parts of the country are dealing with deficient rainfall. The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, and if a new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is to be believed, the situation will only worsen in coming years.
The IPCC has been highlighting a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in temperature, but this year’s report shows that we may reach there a decade early. The report highlights that even in the very low emission scenario, the temperature would increase by 1.4 degree Celsius by the end of the century, compared to 1850-1900, and 0.4 degrees when compared to 2019. In the worst case, it can rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius. The medium-term outlook (until 2060) shows that the temperature is set to go above 1.6 degrees (chart 1). This, the report posits, is expected to make heavy rainfall 1.5 times more likely if temperatures rise by another 0.5 degrees Celsius (chart 2) and double the likelihood of droughts as well (chart 3).
Meanwhile, efforts from developed countries have been inconspicuous.
While the developed countries had promised a $100-billion fund to help developing nations with technology transfers, only $8.9 billion worth of commitments have been made till now. The utilisation of the green climate fund is even lower at $5.8 billion (chart 4). India has been doing its bit, though. The share of renewable and hydropower in total installed power capacity increased from 25 per cent in 1997 to 37 per cent in 2021. Most of the gains have come from renewable sources (chart 5). However, concerns remain as the country has completed a third of its 450 Gw ambitious target, and with nine years to go, 304 Gw remains to be added