Question

What climate change is important for India's foreign policy

Answer 1

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of this century. It is a global challenge that calls for global solutions. There is a need to think out of the box. Business as usual is no longer adequate. Foreign policy must do its part. The threat of climate change is not only global. It is also multidimensional, invisible, unpredictable, and transcends national borders. Traditional strategies and alliances are becoming ineffective against climate change, when the cause (greenhouse gas emissions) is not the result of a “hostile” enemy.

First we need to understand what is climate change exactly means. Climate change is basically a change in the pattern of the climate that lasts for a few decades to centuries. Various factors lead to the changes in the climatic conditions on the Earth. These factors are also referred to as forcing mechanisms. These mechanisms are either external or internal. Climate change is having a negative impact on the forests, wildlife, water systems as well as the polar region on the Earth. A number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct due to the changes in the climate on the Earth and several others have been affected adversely. It is important to keep a check on such activities in order to control climatic changes and ensure environmental harmony.

The Paris Agreement signed in December 2015 builds upon the Convention and for the first time brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. India is responsible for 6% of the global CO2 emissions. This would mean India will have to shift significantly from coal-based power generation to renewable energy sources. As part of the initial commitments to the agreement, India also plans to reduce its carbon emission intensity – emission per unit of GDP – by 33-35% from 2005 levels over 15 years. It aims at producing 40% of its installed electricity capacity by 2030 from non-fossil fuels.

At the international level, India is emerging as a key factor in climate negotiations, while at the national and sub-national levels, the climate policy landscape is becoming more active and more ambitious. It is essential to unravel this complex landscape if we are to understand why policy looks the way it does, and the extent to which India might contribute to a future international framework for tackling climate change as well as how international parties might cooperate with and support India’s domestic efforts. At each level of decision making in India, climate policy is embedded in wider policy concerns. In the international realm, it is being woven into broader foreign policy strategy, while domestically, it is being shaped to serve national and sub-national development interests. While our analysis highlights some common drivers at all levels, it also finds that their influences over policy are not uniform across the different arenas, and in some cases, they work in different ways at different levels of policy. We also indicate what this may mean for the likely acceptability within India of various climate policies being pushed at the international level.