'Mumbai has to think about its future in a warming world'

The morning we connect with Navroz K Dubash on his new collection of essays India in a Warming World Oxford University Press we have coincidentally read an alarming study published on the front page of a national daily It speaks of parts of the island city of Mumbai and its suburbs at the risk of annual flooding due to sea level rising by 2050 By 2100 they would be completely inundatedDubash professor at the Centre for Policy Research New Delhi who has been at the helm of this conversation for nearly 30 years isnt surprised The last book he edited Handbook of Climate Change and India attempted to provide a comprehensive review of the climate negotiations and domestic politics and policy The new book which has contributions from nearly 40 experts including scientists policy makers and negotiators examines why India can no longer ignore the climate problemThe science of climate change is such that even if you turned off the cap on greenhouse gases tomorrow we will still be locked into a certain degree of warming because these gases are in the atmosphere already says DubashEdited excerpts from the interviewIn the introduction to the essays you say climate change has been less than a priority in IndiaClimate change is not in the top 10 issues that drive the political lists in IndiaThe reason for this is that in the developing world we have immediate issues to deal with like education finding jobs and ensuring healthcare But this is also why we need to take it environment change seriously Climate change will start having an impact on how we can achieve these development goals The weather events will lead to decline in crop yields and therefore impact our food security Development that is innocent of climate change is no longer possibleIndia is also in a curious position because while it is as vulnerable as other countries it is also the third largest emitter in the world So there is increased pressure for India to do moreSeveral studies including the recent one by USbased Climate Central have pointed out how Mumbai is at high risk due to rising sea levels What can mitigate this Its in the nature of climate change that any individual city or country cant do anything Even the largest emitters like China and the US cannot stop this India has two options both of which it will have to pursue One we have to prepare our cities and other lowlying areas for some degree of sea level rise But we cant adapt if the risks are going to be catastrophic Therefore we have to also reduce our emissions Globally too India needs to be part of the group that calls for more serious action We have not put out our voice aggressively asking for more global action I dont think we have signalled that we are taking this seriouslyAt last months Climate Action Summit in the US Narendra Modi spoke about the need to act on climate change In the areas of renewable and solar energy we are doing a lot and that is useful commendable and sincere But are we using all the opportunities to become more climate changeresilient or to transition to low carbon Part of the reason why not is that we have very limited capacity within the government and outside More work and research needs to be undertaken across sectors Do you think there has been a shift in the conversation around climate changeIn 1990 it was a diplomatic problem and our job was to make sure that we dont get stampeded into doing things related to climate policies If you fast forward to 2010 we were under a lot of international pressure and the policy establishment had started to think about it India released its National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008 Now in 2019 the public has started to think about it They are able to make the everyday connections between their lived experiences and climate change For example the Kerala floods There is also better science now that allows you to track a particular weather episode and tell you how much this is likely to have been caused by climate changeThe National Action Plan on Climate Change was launched with great promise but it seems to have fizzledIt was undertaken under global pressure and thats how it is in most countries We built this infrastructure and it led to some useful things particularly on energy efficiency and solar power mostly because there were enterprising individuals who took it forward There has been a let up since then partly because globally many countries are falling down on their obligations Donald Trump is taking the US backwards Australia and Brazil are doing the same so there is less pressure on India to perform for an international audience But thats the larger point We have to perform for our own sake because this is going to impact our developmentHow can individuals make a changeThrough the choices we make Turning off your lights having more energyefficient light bulbs walking rather than driving using public transport thinking very hard about your holidays because air travel is a big issue There is another anglemdashwe need to start demanding change politically It has to become part of our voting patterns In Delhi for instance air pollution is likely to become an issue because the public is saying we are concerned about this As consumers and citizens we have to start internalising climate concernsIf sincere efforts are made is climate change reversibleWe are now unfortunately at a stage where we have to ask a different question ie to what extent can we limit climate change Unless we make effort to suck the greenhouse gases out which is expensive and environmentally destructive it is irreversible A city like Mumbai has to think about its future in a warming world Otherwise these impacts are going to become harder to deal with and the more we emit the more we will be locked into emissions in the future Its like a truck or super tanker that takes a long time to stop You turn the wheel now but its not going to turn for a whileCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs 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