Group1_B | SDG 13 : Climate Change

The fight against climate change needs to begin yesterday

Team: Aditya Hardikar (BJ21067), Anusha Pandey (BJ21073), Oishik Bandyopadhyay (BJ21096), Pranav Doshi (BJ21100), Snuhee Roy (BJ21114)

“There is no Plan B because there is no Planet B” – Ban Ki Moon

Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals intends to "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact." A warmer climate is predicted to have an influence on essentials such as freshwater, food, and energy, and these consequences will be felt most strongly by the least developed countries, which will find it more difficult to adapt to these changes.

The effects are already visible and would be catastrophic unless necessary changes are made to protect the planet.

• Between 1880 and 2012, the worldwide average temperature climbed by 0.85°C.

• As oceans spread, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm.

• Since 1990, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increased by about 50%.

• Between 2000 and 2010, emissions increased at a faster rate than in the prior three decades.

Global average temperatures are forecast to rise by 30 degrees Celsius if we do nothing. Around the world, progressive measures are being taken, but much more needs to be done. To address rising emissions and global temperatures, the world must restructure its energy, transportation, and food businesses.

The United Nations has set five goals to track progress on climate change mitigation, which can serve as a guide for individuals and businesses, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it makes good business sense.

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

• Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

• Target 13.A: Implement then UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

• Target 13.B: Promote mechanisms to raise capacity for planning and management.

Figure 1: How climate action contributes to other SDG targets
(https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-42488-6_13)

ANALYSIS: WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS AND IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE?

Long story short – human activities have been responsible for climate change and global warming, ever since the Industrial Revolution. We use two simple infographics to explain the drivers and the outcome of unchecked climate change.

Figure 2: Concentric circle drivers and impact areas of climate change (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change)

Figure 3: Climate risks of a 0.5 degree difference in temperature rise (https://visme.co/blog/climate-change-facts/)

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON INDIA

Physical implications of climate change in India:

· The three primary waterbodies that surround India - the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean will likely see an increase in their temperatures by 1-2°C.

· Flash floods like the one in Rishiganga and Dhauliganga valleys (originating from the glacier breach in Uttarakhand) are likely to become more commonplace. The last such occurrence wiped away the Rishiganga hydel project and National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan Vishnugad project.

· Annual mean temperatures will increase by 1-2°C relative to 1850-1900 period in case of 1.5°C to 2°C global warming. There are likely to be 90 to 120 days in a year with maximum temperatures above 35°C in case of 1.5 to 2°C warming and over 180 days in case of 4°C warming.

Economic impact of climate change in India:

· If India does not move to low-emission fuels and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, it could lose around $35 trillion across various sectors by 2070, as per the Deloitte report. The total damage could be 12.7% of India’s GDP.

· An inaction to move to sustainable fuel sources could cost India 12.7% of its GDP. The services (government and private), retail and tourism, manufacturing, construction, and conventional energy industries make uo for 80% of India’s GDP. They could witness an annual loss of $1.5 trillion per year.

· However, if India succeeds in decarbonising its economy, then it would lead to a GDP growth of 8.5% by 2070, and about a $4 trillion gain in economic output.

· Moreover, if the mean temperature of the world goes up by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 F), the resulting decline in agricultural productivity, rise in sea levels and negative health outcomes are projected to cost India about 3% of its GDP.

Socio-political impact of climate change in India:

· Health: Malnutrition and child stunting are projected to increase by 35% by 2050 (compared to a scenario with no climate change), and the effect will be more pronounced on the poor. Child mortality is like to increase due to vector borne diseases as they would spread into areas where colder temperatures had previously limited transmission.

· Water sharing: The Indus and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins are major trans boundary rivers and the increasing demand for water will certainly lead to tensions among countries over water sharing. Similar tension is expected among states in India due to the increasing scarcity of water as a resource.

· Food: Despite overall rice yields increasing, rising temperatures and lower rainfall at the end of the crop growing season have caused a significant loss in India’s rice production. Without climate change, average rice yields could have been almost 6% higher (75 million tons in absolute terms). Extremely high temperatures in North India (>34°C) have had a tremendously dampening effect on wheat yields and it is only going to get worse.

Figure 4: The impact of climate change on India

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/factsheet/mapping-climate-change-in-india-61797

BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS

Bajaj

From using wind power for energy needs to using alternative fuels like CNG and LPG for its commercial vehicles, green plantations and water treatment in its manufacturing facilities, and advanced engine technology like the DTS-i to reduce emissions, Bajaj Auto has been at the forefront of adopting various measures for a greener and cleaner environment.

In January 2000, Bajaj Auto entered the Wind Power market, investing around Rs. 3 billion over the next three years. The investment was made to create a natural hedge against rising energy costs and to contribute to a renewable energy effort in Maharashtra that was just getting started.

Approximately 90% of Bajaj's electricity requirements for plants in Maharashtra are met by this effort.

Mastercard

They became a member of RE100, a group of leading companies working to achieve zero carbon emissions, to formally commit to sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity across their global operations.

They're lowering first-use plastic in payment card production by setting standards for recyclable, bio-sourced, chlorine-free, degradable, and ocean plastics, which are now used by more than 100 financial institutions.

Mastercard and Conservation International have teamed up to help humans, wildlife, and nature coexist. They are assisting Conservation International in protecting and restoring animal habitats all around the world, with priority areas totalling 40 million hectares of land and 4.5 square kilometres of seascapes by 2030.

Bain & Company

Bain has made environmentally sustainable efforts historically, achieving carbon neutral status consecutively since 2011, reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by 78% and converting to 100% renewable energy. The company has also been formally certified by Natural Capital Partners as a CarbonNeutral company across its global operations since 2012.

For its future goals in reducing its footprint, Bain has the Business Ambition for 1.5⁰C commitment letter in 2020, committing to achieve 100% net-zero carbon across all operations by 2030. Committing to reduce their scope 1 and 2 emissions, resulting from powering and heating offices spaces, by 30% till 2026 (baseline 2019) and scope 3 emissions, resulting from business travels by 35% over the same period of time.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

BCG has channelled its environmental sustainability efforts focussing on three domains

1. Partnering up with clients to help them realize their ambitions through BCG’s Center for Climate & Sustainability, a platform through which they bring together experts in various domains of sustainability to support their clients in making environmentally responsible decisions.

2. Shaping the global agenda by their engagement with leading climate actors, to be able to integrate them in different business endeavours

3. Managing their own environmental impact.

Some goals already achieved are 100% of its operations covered by CarbonNeutral certification, using 100% renewable electricity to power offices and 70% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions (against 2018 baseline).

Amazon Inc.

Amazon has made notable commitments towards climate change, being the founder of Climate Pledge in 2019 by along with Global Optimism, which aims towards getting its signatories to reach the zero carbon goal in their businesses by 2040, 10 years in advance of the Paris Agreement goals. The pledge focuses on regular reporting, carbon elimination and neutralising the other effects using credible offsets.

Amazon has also made efforts to make its operations more sustainable, reducing the water usage in data centres and making use of sustainable aviation fuels. It has also moved towards alternatives sustainable packaging materials as well as aiming for powering all its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

Additionally, the company has focused on making AWS the most sustainable cloud platform, with the carbon footprint of AWS cloud systems being up to 88% lower than competitors. The company has also invested in over 100,000 fully-electric delivery vehicles, and have future goals to invest $100 million in reforestation projects around the world.

WHERE WE ARE AT

Figure 5: The threat to South Asia from climate change – a snapshot https://www.adb.org/news/infographics/economics-climate-change-assessing-threats-south-asia

A thorough evaluation of the sustainable development targets surrounding climate change and the potential impact of delaying or avoiding action has been highlighted throughout the course of this article. We have understood what the guiding principles were behind adopting climate change as one of the fundamental pillars of humankind’s Sustainable Development Goals, the potential threats of this phenomenon in the Indian landscape and the business implications and efforts taken by them to combat climate change. The subsequent section chronicles the way ahead for us in our mission to achieve SDG targets and ensure a better future for our children.

THE WAY AHEAD

Figure 6: India’s targets towards combating climate change
https://selflearn.co/pick-of-week-post/indian-initiatives-combat-effects-climate-change/

“We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.” – Barack Obama, Former US President.

NAPCC and India’s commitment to Paris Agreement in 2015 are two major initiatives India has adopted against climate change. India has done exceedingly well to achieve its Paris climate treaty targets which are reflected in the 10th rank in Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2022. But there is always more that can be done:

1. Sustainability at home:

Everyone can contribute their bit to the climate. Switching off lights and fans when they are not being used, reducing wastage of food, using mass transportation whenever possible are some of the measures which can be taken at an individual level.

2. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA):

CSA aims to maximize agricultural produce and income while minimizing GHG emissions. This can be achieved through the rejuvenation of degraded land. Some means to achieve this are promoting agroforestry, cultivating climate resilient crops like millet and pulses. By land rejuvenation, over 50 gigatons of CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere while increasing food production by 17.6 megatons per year.

3. Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3):

Concrete constitutes 8% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions globally. The LC3 was introduced in 2014, it is a method in which a mixture of limestone and calcined clay is used as a substitute clinker. This reduction in clinker helps in reducing up to 40% CO2 emissions. It is also economically beneficial and is ready for industrial production, as was shown by full-scale industrial trials by JK Lakshmi Cement. Hence, it is a sustainable and profitable alternative to Portland cement.

4. Role of indigenous communities:

These communities have survived in traditional ecosystems for centuries with a low-carbon footprint lifestyle. Acknowledging their knowledge and using it to improve scientific knowledge is the way to go.