Climate Grasp: Miles To Go Before We Can Relax

Unlike the US, where denial of climate change does not make politicians unelectable and Donald Trump could yet win another term as president, India is unlikely to see democracy get in the way of climate action. In that sense, we are better placed. But what do Indians at large make of the crisis that has besieged the planet?

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An opinion poll conducted jointly by Mint and Development Intelligence Unit, a tie-up between research group Sambodhi and non-profit Transforming Rural India, has some answers drawn from a sample of 10,799 people across 25 states and Union Territories. That something is amiss is almost universally acknowledged. All but 5% agree that India’s climatic patterns have seen at least some changes over the past two decades. The terms in global use for the problem are less familiar to people. About 74% of urban respondents and 55% of rural folks are aware of either climate change or global warming. For a country with disparate levels of education and sources of information, these numbers are not bad, although we do need to close the gaps.