As the rich and developed nations continue to evade their responsibilities, the serious problem of climate change is not getting adequate attention. Instead of tackling the biggest threat to humanity collectively, the nations seem more interested in the blame game. This is why various crucial measures proposed to combat the threat over the years still lie only on paper without implementation. In this context, the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has depicted a worrying and disturbing picture. According to the report, if steps are not taken right now, the world will experience multiple climate hazards which will adversely affect nature and human life. The report, which has been prepared by compiling the assessments of scientists from 67 countries, states that heat and humidity will create a situation beyond tolerance if emissions are not controlled at once; droughts, heat waves, floods, etc. will become regular features; sea levels will rise putting coastal cities worldwide in danger. Further, global warming will severely affect agriculture and the food system which may create scarcity of food in the world, a dangerous situation which should be averted at any cost.
The IPCC report has predicted a grim future for India too. As per the report, entire northern India may face tremendous heat waves and the coastal cities of the country like Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata are in danger of being submerged, apart from disturbing crop production. The report has also pointed out that climate change may affect 50 million people in India by the end of the century, out of which 35 million will be affected within the next two decades. It will indeed be a challenge for the country to prevent global warming from reaching such a stage. To thwart the impending danger, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced five important steps during the world summit on climate at Glasgow in 2021. These five steps are net zero carbon emissions by 2070; 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030; fulfilling 50 per cent of the country's energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030; reducing total predicted carbon emissions by one billion tonnes and lowering carbon intensity by 45 per cent. Successful implementation of these five objectives will definitely keep India safe; but financing these projects may not be an easy task for India until the country gets adequate support from other nations. As a matter of fact, while increasing the budget allocation for the infrastructure projects, India has had to curtail allocation for some environmental organisations.
This is why the nations should join hands in combating the threat arising out of climate change instead of tackling the problem separately as currently most countries are unable to spend such huge amounts on environmental projects. At the same time, it should be mentioned that rich nations contribute hugely to global warming and cannot leave others to fight the menace. This is why the IPCC report has called for ‘equitable adaptation’ efforts all over the world as no one is safe until everyone is.