26-03-2020
Businesses & government form umbrella body to fight climate change
Insurance AlertssBusinesses & government form umbrella body to fight climate change
More than 40 organisations - including major industrial corporations such as Tata, Godrej, Mahindra and Wipro through their various philanthropic organisations, plus academic thinktanks, business schools, aid agencies, and the government's scientific advisers - have rallied together to co-operate on climate solutions.
They have formed an umbrella organisation, called the India Climate Collaborative (ICC), that also includes international institutions such as Bloomberg Philanthropies and the MacArthur Foundation, according to Climate News Network. Although there have been many individual initiatives in India on climate change, and there has been government support for renewables, particularly solar power, efforts so far have been fragmented.
At the ICC launch ceremony, Mr Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, said, "It is clear that the world cannot continue to pursue a business-as-usual approach, and nobody can solve the problem on their own. Business, government and philanthropy must collaborate within and among themselves themselves to drive results quickly and at scale. The India Climate Collaborative can make this happen."
The ICC has identified three critical risk factors for India:
- The first is that an astonishing 700m people are still dependent on agriculture and they are the most vulnerable to an erratic climate.
- The second is that around the country's approximately 7,500km coastline are several major cities. Many of these important economic hubs, which include all the country's main ports, are a metre or less above current sea level.
- Third, even with the increasingly rigorous focus on renewable energy, there is continued heavy reliance on fossil fuels for producing electricity, which is still in short supply.
The ICC plans to increase spending on tackling climate change.
Another hindrance to India's many plans for adaptation or mitigation is the lack of capacity among government departments. Something as basic as preparing workable proposals for funding action is a tough task for many state governments.
The ICC plans to conduct technical training as "there are gaps to be filled to take care of the talent shortfall, and there is overall lack of capacity". There is some concern that while the India government is represented on the ICC by Prof K Vijay Raghavan, its principal scientific adviser, there is no representation from the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), which represents the country at the climate talks.
Critics claim that this is particularly worrying because the various government departments are already seen as not working together, or often working at cross-purposes. There are also fears of a lack of community involvement, particularly among farmers who are the largest single group most affected by adverse weather conditions caused by climate change.
Source: Asia Insurance Review
