India is one of the most vulnerable countries under threat from coastal flooding,extreme weather events & vector-borne

diseases (IPCC Special report on 1.5°C)

Impact 1.5oC 2oC

Global population exposed 14% 37% (2.6x worse)
to severe heat once every 5
years
Arctic region free of sea ice Atleast once in 100 Alteast once in 10 years (10x
in summers years worse)
Sea level rise by 2100 40 cm 50 cm (affects 1 crore more
people)
Specie loss (atleast 50%) Vertebrates-4% Vertebrates-8%
Plants-8% Plants-16%
Insects-6% Insects-18%
%
Reduction in coral reefs 70-90% >99% (virtually
virtuallllyy wi
wipe
wiped
ped
doout)
ut)
Ecosystem transformation 7% 13%%
(eg-Tundra to forest)
x By end of 2017, the world has already witnessed tnesseed about
abou
aboutt 1˚C rrise above pre-
industrial levels.
x In the Paris Agreement 2015, the he cocountries
oun
untr
trie
iess comm
committed to keep the
temperature rise "well below 2oC, and nd ppursue
ursu
ur sue effo
efforts to limit it to 1.5˚C".
However, the report points out that tha
hatt the
the present
presen INDCs by countries will
cause a rise to 1.5oC by 2030-2052 030-20 nd 3oC by
052 aand b 2100. Thus, present efforts
are insufficient.
x To avoid this catastrophic ophicc change,
cha
hang
nge,e, the rreport shows two main pathways:
Stabilize global
obal ttemperature
empe
em ratture aat or just below a 1.5oC rise by 2100:
pera
preferable,ble, bu
butt ve
very ry d ifficu considering we will breach the 1.5oC
difficult
mark by 20 2030
030 itself.
its
tsel
elff.
Temperature
emperrat atur
uree temporarily
tempor
te exceeds 1.5oC, then comes back down by
2100-"overshoot"
2100- -"o
"ove
verssho
hooot" pathway. This seems useful since we will breach
thee mamark off 1.5oC, but it has many practical constraints.
rk o
x To limlimit
mit warming
war arm
ming tot 1.5oC by 2100, global net anthropogenic CO2 emission
must
mu st ddecline
ecliline b
ec by 45% by 2030, and be net zero by 2050 (base-2010). For
this,
th
his
is,, fo
followin
following efforts are required:
1.. Gr
1 Gree
Greenhouse
eenhou Gas (GHG) Mitigation: more focus on emitting less CO2 and
other GHG
G than onCO2 Removal (CDR):
o CDR-a process of removing atmospheric CO2, thus causing negative
emissions. Methods are:
a. Widely accepted today: afforestation; reforestation; BECCS
(Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage)-involves use of
biomass (trees, crops) as fuel and storing CO2 released into the
ground
b. New: direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) using
absorption, adsorption, etc; enhanced weathering; ocean
alkalinization
o Reduction in agriculture emissions (nitrous oxide, methane) by
optimizing fertilizer application, using organic fertilizer
o Decarbonization of electricity: Renewable + nuclear to supply 75% of
primary electricity in 2050, Coal use to be 0%
o Urban areas:
a. Transport: demotorization and decarbonization of transport,
expansion of electric vehicles

Page 14 of 20
 b. Homes: greater use of energy-efficient appliances & building,
smart grids
c. Lifestyle changes: eat less meat, ride bicycles, reduce flying,
reducing food wastage
2. Climate change adaptation-Adaptation is the process of adjusting to
current or expected changes in climate and its effects. It must be
participatory (i.e. involve locals and their indigenous knowledge), focussed
on sustainable development (ensuring food and water security, reducing
disaster risks, reducing poverty and inequality). Adaptation required for
1.5oC rise will be smaller than that required for 2oC rise:
o Changing agricultural practise:
a. Mixed crop-livestock production systems
b. Improving productivity through biotechnological ogical interventions
inte
in terrven
(with safeguards)-eg-drought tolerant crops ps tto o dedea
dealal with
w
heatwaves
o Investment in physical, social infrastructure. cture.. Eg-health
Eg--he
Eg heal
altth (sa
(safe water,
vaccination), providing climate insurance, suraanc
nce,
e, Green
Gre
reeen infrastructure
in
(urban parks, trees, green roofs)-reduces educees ur
urba
urban
bannhheat
eat iisland effect
o Integrate with Disaster risk management. manag agem
emenent.
t. Eg-Flood
Eg-Flo defences (sea
walls, restoring mangroves)
o "Educational adaptation"-building on"-buuilildi
ding
ng aware
awareness and motivating
adaptation
o Solar Radiation Modification-very
odificaati
tion
on-ve
verry nascent,
nas limited potential due to
various constraints nts
3. Financing Mechanism: ism: Additional
Addi
Ad diti
tion
onaal annual
ann avg energy related investment
for the period 2016-20 2016-2050
2050
50 iiss estim
estimated to be around 830 billion USD
(increase of 12% ove verr 2oC rise
over ri pathway):
pa
o Green en Climate
Clim mat
atee Fund
Fun
Fund (GCF)-Target
(GC is to mobilize USD 100 billion from
2020. Needs
Need
Ne edss more
more replenishment (pledged amount is USD 10.3
billion
billio
ionn till
till May,
Mayay,, 2018)
20
o Ka Katowice
Kato
towi
wicce Packa
Package, 2018: Adaptation fund received USD 129 million,
World
Worl
Wo rld
d Bank pledged USD 200 billion from 2021-25, multilateral
development
dev
de velopm banks offered their support
o Challenges:
Chal
a le
eng
ngeses::
Ov
Overshoot pathway-may cause irreversible climate changes eg-
melting of polar ice caps, sea level rise, species extinction
meltin
Maladaptation: Poorly designed adaptation projects may cause
increase in GHG emission, water use etc
CDR at such large scale in untested
o Way forward:
Focus needs to be on reducing emission by bringing relevant
changes (low energy demand, lifestyle changes) rather than using CDR
method.
"Katowice Package"/24th CoP in Katowice, Poland (3-14 Dec,
2018):
"Rules to operationalize" the Paris Agreement from 2020
(transparency, etc) agreed to
“High Ambition Coalition” countries (EU, UK, Argentina, Mexico
Canada, etc) – pledged to “step up” their ambition by 2020-
appreciable effort. More countries should adopt it.

Page 15 of 20