A Liveable Planet Must Remain on the Agenda

People of over 340 districts are highly vulnerable to the health effects of climate change

- SIDDHARTH SHARMA

tivity, and deepen poverty. Heat exposure in India in 2022 alone resulted in an estimated income loss to the tune of US$219 billion—6.3% of the country's GDP, according to an India Spend report that cited Lancet data. Observing the interconnectedness of India's climate and health crises presents an urgent reminder that our window of opportunity to act is closing and we cannot afford to carry on business as usual, in today's day and age.

A critical target that we must steer action towards is reshaping the climate action agenda around health—and the World Health Organization's emphasis on embedding health into conversations at the UN COP29 marked an encouraging step forward. As we approach the upcoming Union Budget FY25-26, we hope to see a greater impetus for climate action that also integrates a focus on public health, with allocations across clean energy, climate surveillance and research, and community-level interventions to mitigate adverse effects. It is paramount to highlight that climate change does not affect everyone equally—and efforts to build resilience into our systems must focus disproportionately on protecting the climate-induced vulnerable.