Make India Climate Smart: We have big infrastructure plans but forget to review them through a climate change lens
India will invest billions of dollars in public infrastructure over the next few years. Government policies also aim to massively increase private investments across sectors – manufacturing, services and agriculture. Each of these policies and investments will have time horizons spanning five to 50 years.
Examples of planned infrastructure include – 100 new airports with an investment of $60 billion, interlinking of rivers at a budget of Rs 5.5 lakh crore, a linked network of ports through Sagarmala at an outlay of Rs 4 lakh crore. At a different scale, just one project – the 29.2 km coastal road planned in one city, Mumbai – will cost Rs 10,000 crore.
All these initiatives will impact the lives and livelihoods of millions, and will compete for finite and scarce public resources. But are any of them being screened against the biggest existential threat humanity has ever faced – climate change? Unfortunately, the answer is NO.
You may also want to read
The Indian Express | Rohini Nilekani Writes: Why Heat Action Plans must factor in access to ‘smart’ fabrics
Natural fibres have served India well – but climate extremes demand innovation in what we wear, especially for those who can’t escape the sun. The monsoon arrived early this year,[...]
Hindustan Times | Rohini Nilekani writes: India’s biodiversity is a strategic advantage
Biodiversity markets are deepening, with a growing demand for high-quality carbon credits with biodiversity safeguards As India’s geopolitical future sways with the swings of the global political pendulum, it is[...]
The Indian Express | Rohini Nilekani writes: Vultures, now have more than carrion to feed on — plastic
With the population pressure on land and the unmanageable byproducts of our economic growth, new conflicts emerge. How can we better manage this new tension between humans and animals, between[...]