Group4_C | SDG 13: Climate action

 SDG 13: Climate Action

Authored by: Chinmayi Lanka (BJ21136), Ishita Thakur (BJ21143), Kashish Malhotra (BJ21145), Komal Modi (BJ21146), Nihar Raichada (BJ21152), Suraj Raiyani (BJ21175), Varun Mikkilineni (BJ21178)

Introduction

In the rapidly changing world of today, a cause for serious concern is the swiftly advancing climate ‘crisis’ which has already thrown early warnings of the perils in store if our planet is neglected and continued to be the subject of blatant abuse. This global warming has caused not only the temperature of oceans to rise but also increased ocean acidification. The global sea level has also risen due to the melting of ice with 1.07 million square kilometers ice loss every year.  To combat climate change and its impact on environment and the world as we know, the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 13 seeks to keep the Global Community cognizant of the impending crisis and take necessary actions to curb it. This goal aims to break the vicious loop of human activities causing climate change leading to stronger human interventions with its five-point plan forming the bedrocks upon which the future of Mother Earth depends.

The goal of 2030 set for the SDG on Climate Action sets five targets to accomplish, which are further divided into three output targets and two ‘means of achieving’ targets. The first target that aims to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related disasters across all countries seeks to curtail the occurrence of disasters and aim to build better disaster management infrastructure. Minimizing the economic exposure of those regions affected by disasters is also a major factor that this target encompasses. The second target seeks to integrate climate change measures into policies and planning measures of countries. The third target aspires to raise awareness and enlighten people through means of education about the immediate and long-term threats of climate change, and the capabilities of humans to keep this change in check. The fourth target is to implement a Framework Convention that would raise funds for the Green Climate Fund from the developed country parties of the UN to support the developing nation members in their climate efforts. The last target focuses on promoting determined contributors in raising capacity for climate change related planning and management.

Relevance of SDG 13 to India

Since the turn of the century, India has witnessed an alarming increase in the number of climate change related disasters. From torrential cyclones in the Bay of Bengal that cause havoc along the eastern coast, the 2004 tsunami to the devastating floods in Kerala, Mumbai and Chennai among many other parts of the country in recent years, India has become susceptible to the consequences of climate change. In the year 2020 alone, India lost $87 billion[1] to climate disasters. The implications of these disasters result in inflation, massive disruptions in India’s supply chain system and severely impact the economic growth of the country. The direct impacts of these disasters have been serious in nature, leading to death, famine, displacement, loss of livelihood in humans and have had far reaching consequences on the environment.

Standing as the fourth largest energy consumer and third in the list of highest emitters of carbon dioxide by contributing nearly 6.9% of global emissions, India holds a massive responsibility in addressing climate change within the country as well as across the globe. In the historic Paris Agreement, India pledged to reduce its emissions intensity by 20-25%[2] by 2020. India managed to reach the 21% mark over the 2005 figures and is striving to reach the 35% mark by 2030. To achieve this target, India launched the National Mission for Green India and adopted the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The plan laid down missions for harnessing solar energy, enhancing energy efficiency, water conservation, building sustainable habitats, conserving water, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem and for dispensing strategic knowledge on climate change. The National Clean Energy Fund is another initiative by India to promote clean energy undertakings and help support research in the area.

As India transitions from a low-income predominantly agrarian country to a middle-income industrial country, it must focus on its push for renewable energy and phasing out of fossil fuels and coal in order provide an energy lifeline for its people.

Business Implications & Responses

Climate change impacts not only the ecological harmony but also the world economy. Business and the environment are both closely intertwined. Enterprises depend on the environment for raw materials and impact it with their operations. The climate change which the world is witnessing today is human induced. Corporations, governments, and scientists have discussed its implications on business for many years.

Climate change impacts businesses in different ways. Besides the evident operational threats arising from erratic weather conditions, climate change exposes companies to transitional risks. These arise from the urgent need to respond to climate change by adopting eco-friendly technologies, adhering to new rules and guidelines, improvising operations and supply chains, etc.

According to the research conducted by consultant firm McKinsey and Company, business operations across industries have evolved. Factors driving this change include:

Value-chain or supply chain risks: 

Value chain refers to the set of activities through which a business provides value to its consumers. For instance, the paper supplies industry sources raw material from forests, manufactures and processes it in factories, and then pushes it into the market. Climate change has its effect on every stage in the value chain.

  • Operational and Physical Risks: Erratic weather conditions can destroy raw materials, make working conditions harsher and disrupt supply chains.
  • Prices: Climate change can make raw material procurement and transporting finished products more challenging. The low supplies and high demands can then lead to increased costs.

Change in Consumer Behaviour risks:

Climate change also influences the buying patterns of consumers. As consumers become more environmentally conscious, they are expected to turn to more eco-friendly products pushing current standard products out of the market. According to the survey by Nielsen, about 73% of the customers said that they would change their purchasing habits to have a positive impact on the environment. [3]

Stakeholders’ risks: 

The stakeholders bear various costs associated with climate change. As more rules and regulations come into play, formerly simple operations complicate and shoot up costs. Moreover, a company’s response to climate change defines its reputation and profits, directly impacting the stakeholders. Therefore, investors and stakeholders are pushing for corporations to become greener.

Apart from all the threats and risks, Climate Change also brings business opportunities to unlock new market opportunities. First, it encourages businesses to improve their productivity by employing more energy-efficient processes, reducing costs. Second, it inspires innovation, for instance, the development of advanced techniques to curb emissions or the use of less carbon-intensive products. Third, it motivates companies to build more robust supply chains, such as using cleaner and renewable sources of energy and raw material.

Businesses will have to undergo significant transformation to stay relevant in this drastically changing world. One of the world’s largest e-commerce giants, Amazon assesses its impact with huge packaging material and transport-related emissions on the environment. Amazon has suffered enough backlash from different stakeholders. In response, it pledged to innovate and invest in becoming “net zero carbon” by 2040 and running on 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030.[4] It has also invested in 100,000 electric delivery vehicles and a $100 million investment in reforestation and other climate solutions.[4] Their research and improvements in packaging have reduced the packaging weight by 27% and eliminated over 810,000 tons of packaging material since 2008.[4] 

ITC is mindful of the negative impacts its operations have on the environment. In response, it has adopted advanced technology to reduce energy consumption and launched large-scale afforestation programs to absorb carbon dioxide. Social Forestry and Farm Forestry programs by ITC have greened nearly 7.33 lakh acres of land to date.[5]

As the world battles an urgent carbon crisis, Microsoft leaps towards becoming “carbon negative” by 2030.[6] By 2050, it also aims to remove all the carbon it has emitted since 1975 when it was founded.[6] To achieve this ambitious goal, the tech giant plans to leverage its technical competence and expedite the development of carbon reduction and removal techniques. With the new “Microsoft Sustainability Calculator,” Microsoft also tries to include consumers and clients in their plans. The calculator keeps the consumers informed about the carbon impact from their Azure services and helps track these Scope 3 emissions.

TATA group identifies itself as the steward of the environment. Also, it encourages its partner companies to operate responsibly by reducing carbon footprints, adopting clean and renewable energy, recycling, and preserving the biodiversity of the surrounding areas. Tata Chemicals which has salt and soda ash production operations in Mithpur, Gujrat, built 150 acres[7] of Biodiversity Park to preserve the ecosystem in the region against the widespread weed gando baval. Tata Steel, responsible for substantial GHG emissions and wastewater contaminants, is trying to mitigate its negative impact on the ecology by emissions control and wastewater management. By installing advanced pollution control equipment, it has successfully brought down the dust emissions by 68% at its Jamshedpur site since 2005.[7] Also, since steel manufacturing is a water-intensive process, the company implemented rainwater harvesting techniques and commissioned a sewage treatment plant to recycle wastewater and further reduce the future freshwater demand by 18%.[7]

The Path Ahead

Reducing dependence on coal 

More than 70% of the total power generated in India comes from coal. Many sectors in India are heavily dependent on cheap fossil fuels. The coal mining industry generates employment for more than 700,000 individuals [8]. However, it comes at an environmental cost. Coal is a major contributor to fossil fuel emissions. Besides carbon dioxide, coal-burning also produces pollutants like mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide that are responsible for acid rain and respiratory illnesses[9].

Suggestions:

  • Mobilizing funding for coal-dependent communities and generating sustainable sources of employment. This can be done via investments in schools and skill development institutions. These interventions must take into account the existing community’s traditional knowledge, skills and encourage community participation.
  • Decommissioning polluting coal-fired power plants and reducing future investments for new coal generating power plants. 
  • Increase research and development to find alternative sources to replace coal for industrial uses. 

Energy-efficient alternatives

A recent study[10] by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature found out that electricity and food were the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. In rural India majority of the population still uses stoves that burn firewood and dung, even after the distribution of LPG cylinders under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. These stoves contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and put the health of the users at risk. The same study reveals that among affluent Indians, expenditures that resulted in high emissions also came from private transport, durables, and energy extensive food items. 

Suggestions:

  • Introduction of carbon pricing of goods and services to promote carbon-friendly consumption among the affluent Indians.
  • Nudging the Indian population towards a dietary shift by including leafy vegetables and coarse cereals such as millets in their diet. Besides being climate-friendly, these food items would also help in fighting nutritional deficiencies.
  • Probing into the causes for low adoption of gas cylinders and installing community biogas units to power clean burning of stoves.
  • Adequate insulation of urban places and industrial units to minimize energy inefficiencies.

In conclusion climate change is the hard truth we face today and India needs to take big steps in order to curb its causes as well as effect. These steps have to be multifaceted and must involve participation right from rural households to government authorities. Only together can we fight climate change.

[1] Jayashree Nandi, ‘Climate change’, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/climate-change-india-lost-87-billion-to-natural-disasters-last-year-says-wmo-101635226813893.html

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