Indian way best for climate crisis

The global community is witnessing an alarming increase in frequency, intensity and scale of broken climate records, as the average global temperature is increasing at a rate of about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. Reports suggest that in 2025 alone, heatwaves in Europe killed thousands and wildfires caused more than 400,000 hectares of infrastructure damage, while the US lost a staggering $15 billion to weather disasters till June 2025.

- SHEHZAD POONAWALLA AND VIJETA RATTANI

Asia recorded warming at twice the global average, fuelling extreme weather events, causing severe strain on lives, economies and resources. Further, projected temperature rise likely to exceed more than 1.5℃ in near future would lead to widespread disruptions and intense damage to agriculture and water sectors, eco-sytems, infrastructure, health and developmental dividends.

The global climate regime is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The dominant discourse that has largely driven the global climate agenda has been the western worldview which sees nature as a commodity. This approach that has fuelled economic growth in Western countries since the industrial revolution, has come at a heavy environmental cost, resulting in current challenges of climate crises, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.

Reluctance to assume their historical responsibility towards the current carbon stock at the global climate negotiations (COP), developed countries have failed to honour their finance and technology commitments, flattened the equity and differentiated responsibility principles in the Paris Climate Agreement and have largely ignored the voices of indigenous peoples calling for climate justice, resulting in the growing trust deficit in the negotiation process and incremental climate outcomes.