India could gain $11 trn in 50 yrs with climate action, says report
Unmitigated climate change can cost India $35 trillion in economic potential over the next 50 years. Therefore, India must act now to prevent the country from the colossal loss, according to the latest Deloitte Economics Institute.
The report, titled, “India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future”, reveals how the country could instead gain $11 trillion in economic value over the same period.
Deloitte’s report comes against the backdrop of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report that flags serious concerns related to climate change and its catastrophic impact on the world due to rising temperature. Glacial retreat in the Hindu Kush Himalayas; compounding effects of sea-level rise and intense tropical cyclones leading to flooding; an erratic monsoon; and intense heat stress are likely to impact India in recent years, indicated the IPCC report released earlier this month.
According to Atul Dhawan, chairperson, Deloitte India, India has a narrow window of time — the next 10 years — to make the decisions needed to alter the trajectory of climate change.
No one is immune to the impact of climate change but for India, points out Dhawan, this is a window of opportunity to “lead the way and show how climate action is not a narrative of cost but one of sustainable economic growth.”
As India aspires to be a $5trillion economy, it is not just foreign and domestic investments that will be the key in driving growth, the country must also take this opportunity to align its ambitions with climate choices, he says.
With no action taken on climate change, the average global temperatures could rise by 3°C or more by the end of this century. This will make it harder for people to live and work, as sea levels rise, crop yields fall, infrastructure is damaged, and other challenges emerge, threatening the progress and prosperity that the nation has enjoyed in recent decades.
Over the next 50 years, the top five most impacted industries in terms of economic activity are expected to incur a significant share of climaterelated loss, says the report. These industries —services (government and private), manufacturing, retail and tourism, construction, and transport — currently account for more than 80 per cent of India’s GDP. Together, they form the basis of the country’s contemporary economic engine.