An unprecedented pandemic is sweeping the world and has affected millions of people so far. Amid the lockdown and disruptions, are we forgetting another pressing issue, climate change?
In the coming years, climate change might affect India as much as the current pandemic if left unchecked. Even though the lockdown imposed by many countries including India has reduced the pollution levels and allowed nature to flourish again, the threat is big enough and we should start planning out a robust strategy for the post-COVID-19 period. We are already seeing countries relax environmental regulations allowing greater air, land and water pollution. What efforts can be made to stop this?
In a 3-day panel discussion by The Nudge Foundation, Charcha 2020 - 14 May-16 May - Experts explored 'Reimagining the future: Resilience and green recovery'.
On Friday, 15 May, the first key session was 'Livelihoods and Resilience of Small-Holder Farmers'.
Improving smallholder farmers’ climate resilience is critical, and requires increased access to crucial production resources - land, water, energy, credit. Speakers - Vidya Shah, Girish Sohani, Mridula Ramesh and Ganesh Neelam - discussed the issue here:
Another important session that took place today was 'Rethinking Climate Response after the Pandemic'. Extreme weather conditions led to 495,000 human deaths across the world from 1999-2018. Due to the lockdown, CO2 emissions are likely to record an annual fall of 5.5 percent but it falls short of the needed 7.6 percent decline. This webinar panel discussion focused on the technical, social, and political response needed at various levels to enhance climate action after the pandemic.
The other key topic of the panel discussions on 15 May was - Assessing impacts in divergent ecosystems.
'Climate finance for development outcomes – A renewed imperative' was discussed on Thursday, 14 May. You can watch the session here.
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