A study by the country’s own experts shows that there are 800 million people living in areas where the temperature has already risen by 2°C, and where increasingly serious flooding is now a fact of life.
The report published in New Delhi came as India was announcing at the COP21 climate summit in Paris that it is launching the International Solar Alliance, a club of 120 countries aiming to boost the use of solar power
Even if this initiative succeeds, experts point out that India would still need more than US$1 trillion between now and 2030 to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Extreme events
The report says: “Government spending on developing capacity and adaptation in India has grown consistently over the last decade, and a mammoth US$91.8 billion was spent on adaptation in 2013-14 alone. This spending would have to reach US$360 billion (at 2005 prices) by 2030. The loss and damage from extreme events were estimated additionally at US$5-6 billion per annum.”
The study identifies India’s preliminary financial, technology and knowledge gaps in adaptation to climate change. It was jointly conducted by the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water thinktank.
As many as 800 million people living across 450 districts of India are currently experiencing significant increases in annual mean temperatures, exceeding warming of 2°C, the study said.
They warned: “India as a whole will experience 1°-1.5°C in mean annual temperatures from 2016 to 2045, which can have profound implications for agriculture and crop production. Extreme precipitation can result in flooding and significant damage to infrastructure.”
Before the Paris summit, India continually stressed the “polluter pays” principle, arguing that the industrialised countries that caused climate change should help the developing countries to adapt financially.
Read more at India Faces Trillion-Dollar Climate Squeeze
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