Sustainable and Secure Future

India’s aviation market is the third largest worldwide, after the United States of America (USA) and China. Various government policies and initiatives, including the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Policy, which aimed at enhancing rural connectivity, have aided in the growth of the sector.

Land degradation, extending over 96 million hectares is a primary ecological issue for India that has resulted in catastrophic biodiversity loss and exacerbated extreme weather occurrences. One of the major sources of land degradation is large-scale coal mining to realize country's expanding energy demands. By 2050 climate change and land degradation, will result in $1730 billion loss for India.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought on unprecedented adversities for rural populations worldwide, endangering livelihoods and causing psycho-social impacts. These catastrophic effects have been further exacerbated by climate change, with a disproportional impact witnessed among the most vulnerable populations.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, between 2000 and 2018, agricultural expansion led to almost 90% of global deforestation, which is one of the leading causes of habitat destruction of numerous species. Besides land clearance, several other activities within the sector — land preparation, production and use of fertilisers and pesticides, use of farm machinery, crop residue burning, yield storage, and transportation — are responsible for the emission of some major air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

Climate change will amplify the existing risks and create new risks for natural and socio-economic systems. These risks are unevenly distributed and experienced. They are often greater for the disadvantaged or marginalised people (particularly women and girls), and also depend on the geographic location of these communities or ecological systems, such as coasts or mountains. Failing to assess climate risks—current and future—can lead to resource wastage, or worse, maladaptation.

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India has grown significantly over the last few years. There is a three-time jump in EV sales in 2022 compared to 2021. More than 90% of the EVs sold are either two-wheelers or threewheelers. The growth in EV sales could mainly be attributed to policies, such as production-based incentives and the FAME scheme. However, we are still way behind the Government’s target of achieving 70% of all new commercial vehicles and 80% of all two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales to be electric by 2030.

A warming of the planet by 1.1°C due to human-induced climate change is being reported. Today, we are dealing with the consequences of higher temperatures, erratic and unpredictable rainfall, intense storms, and sea-level rise. To rein in temperature rise, rapid cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are essential, as are making significant investments to protect ecosystems and communities from severe impacts that will worsen over time.

We began ‘Climate On Our Mind’ on World Environment Day with the word Resilience. It made sense. We are now face-to-face with the crisis. But resilience is the final act — the third of three pillars holding up how we are addressing Climate Change. In today’s post — we look at the first two: Mitigation and Adaptation — actions that will determine the future and how we cope with it.

Circular economy seems a vital enabler for sustainable use of natural resources which is also important for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals. Therefore, a special session addressing issues of “sustainable solutions and remarkable practices in circular economy focusing materials downstream” was held at the 16th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology, where researchers and attendees worldwide were convened to share their experiences and visions.