Handbook of Climate Change and India: Development, Politics and Governance

425 Pages·2012·2.552 MB·English

by  Navroz K. Dubash

Handbook of Climate Change
and India
How do policymakers, businesses and civil society in India approach the challenge of
climate change? What do they believe global climate negotiations will achieve and
how? And how are Indian political and policy debates internalizing climate change?
Relatively little is known globally about internal climate debate in emerging indus-
trializing countries, but what happens in rapidly growing economies like India’s will
increasingly shape global climate change outcomes.
This handbook brings together prominent voices from India, including policy-
makers, politicians, business leaders, civil society activists and academics, to build a
composite picture of contemporary Indian climate politics and policy. One section lays
out the range of positions and substantive issues that shape Indian views on global
climate negotiations. Another delves into national politics around climate change. A
third looks at how climate change is beginning to be internalized in sectoral policy
discussions over energy, urbanization, water, and forests. This volume is introduced
by a chapter that sets out the critical issues shaping climate politics in India, and its
implications for global politics.
The chapters show that, within India, climate change is approached primarily as a
developmental challenge and is marked by efforts to explore how multiple objectives
of development, equity, and climate mitigation can simultaneously be met. In addition,
Indian perspectives on climate negotiations are in a state of flux. Considerations of
equity across countries and a focus on the primary responsibility for the action of
wealthy countries continue to be central, but there are growing voices of concern on
the impacts of climate change on India. How domestic debates over climate gover-
nance are resolved in the coming years, and the evolution of India’s global negotiation
stance are likely to be important inputs toward creating shared understandings across
countries in the years ahead, and to identify ways forward. This volume on the Indian
experience with climate change and development is a valuable contribution to both
purposes.
Navroz K. Dubash is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi,
India.

Handbook of Climate Change
and India
Development, Politics and Governance
Edited by Navroz K. Dubash
First published 2012
by Earthscan
2Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Earthscan
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Earthscan is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
©2012 Selection and editorial material, Navroz K. Dubash; individual chapters to their
authors
The right of Navroz K. Dubash to be identified as the author of the editorial material,
and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice:Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Ahandbook of climate change and India : development, politics, and governance /
edited by Navroz K. Dubash.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Climatic changes–India. I. Dubash, Navroz K.
QC903.2.I4H36 2011
363.738'740954–dc23
2011023209
ISBN: (hbk) 978–1–84971–358–0
ISBN: (ebk) 978–0–203–15328–4
Typeset in Sabon
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
Notes on contributors xv
Foreword by Jairam Ramesh xix
Preface and acknowledgements xxiii
Introduction 1
NAVROZ K. DUBASH
PART I
Climate science and potential impacts 27
1 Impacts of climate change on India 29
J. SRINIVASAN
2 Sea level rise: impact on major infrastructure, ecosystems and land
along the Tamil Nadu coast 41
SUJATHA BYRAVAN, SUDHIR CHELLA RAJAN AND
RAJESH RANGARAJAN
3 The impact of climate change on a shift of the apple belt in Himachal
Pradesh 51
RANBIR SINGH RANA, R.M. BHAGAT, VAIBHAV KALIA AND
HARBANS LAL
4 India in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 63
R. RAMACHANDRAN
PART II
Past as prologue: early Indian perspectives on climate change 79
5 Global warming in an unequal world: a case of environmental
colonialism (selected excerpts) 81
ANIL AGARWAL AND SUNITA NARAIN
vi Contents
6 Present at the creation: the making of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change 89
CHANDRASHEKHAR DASGUPTA
PART III
The international climate negotiations: stakes, debates and dilemmas 99
7 International climate negotiations and India’s role 101
SANDEEP SENGUPTA
8 The reach and limits of the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities in the climate change regime 118
LAVANYA RAJAMANI
9 Equity and burden sharing in emission scenarios: a carbon budget
approach 130
T. JAYARAMAN, TEJAL KANITKAR AND MARIO D’SOUZA
10 Equity in climate change: the range of metrics and views 147
NARASIMHA RAO
11 Climate change debate: the rationale of India’s position 157
PRODIPTO GHOSH
12 India’s official position: a critical view based on science 170
D. RAGHUNANDAN
13 Views from the outside: international perspectives on India’s climate
positions 180
EUROPEAN UNION, BERT METZ
BANGLADESH, SALEEMUL HUQ
PHILIPPINES, VICENTE PAOLO YU III
CHINA,YING CHEN
USA, MICHAEL LEVI
PART IV
Domestic politics of climate change 195
14 Climate politics in India: three narratives 197
NAVROZ K. DUBASH
15 Climate change and the Indian environmental movement 208
SHARACHCHANDRA LELE
16 The Hiding Behind the Poor debate: a synthetic overview 218
SHOIBAL CHAKRAVARTY AND M.V. RAMANA
Contents vii
17 Climate change and parliament 230
COMMENTARY: SURESH PRABHU
EXCERPTS FROM LOK SABHA DEBATES
EXCERPTS FROM RAJYA SABHA DEBATES
18 Climate change and the private sector 246
TARUN DAS
19 Corporate responses to climate change in India 254
SIMONE PULVER
20 A change in climate? Trends in climate change reportage in the
Indian print media 266
ANU JOGESH
PART V
Integrating climate change and development: a sectoral view 287
21 Energy, development and climate change 289
GIRISH SANT AND ASHWIN GAMBHIR
22 Climate change and urbanization in India 303
PARTHA MUKHOPADHYAY AND AROMAR REVI
23 Agriculture in the environment: Are sustainable climate friendly
systems possible in India? 317
RAJESWARI RAINA
24 Framework for India’s strategic water resource management under
achanging climate 328
HIMANSHU KULKARNI AND HIMANSHU THAKKAR
25 Mitigation or exploitation? The climate talks, REDD and forest areas 341
SHANKAR GOPALAKRISHNAN
26 The technology agenda 352
ANAND PATWARDHAN AND NEHA UMARJI
PART VI
Looking to the future 367
27 Mainstreaming climate change 369
SHYAM SARAN
28 The geopolitics of climate change 373
NITIN DESAI
Index 385

Figures
1.1 Increase in global mean temperature for various scenarios 30
1.2 The increase in global mean sea level, past and future 31
1.3 The simulation of seasonal variation of rainfall over India by different
climate models in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 36
1.4 The prediction of changes in rainfall over India by different climate
models in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 36
1.5 The prediction of changes in rainfall over India by MRI climate model
in the future compared to the 20th century 37
2.1 Global mean temperatures and sea levels 42
2.2 Probable maximum storm surge (PMSS) above tide level in Tamil Nadu 46
3.1 Apple growing regions of Himachal Pradesh 53
3.2 Cumulative chill unit trends (Utah model) at Bajaura in the Kullu
Valley, 1986–2003 57
3.3 Cumulative chill units (Utah model) of Shimla, 1990–2003 58
3.4 Cumulative chill units (Utah model) at Bhang, Kullu, 1983–2001 58
3.5 Cumulative chill units (Utah model) at Dhundi, Kullu (2700 msl),
1989–2001 59
3.6 Annual average snowfall trends in Satluj catchment, 1984–2005 60
4.1 IPCC structure 64
4.2 IPCC review procedure 65
5.1 Permissible emissions vs total emissions of carbon dioxide of select
countries on the basis of population (in million tonnes of carbon
equivalent) as calculated by CSE 83
5.2 Permissible emissions vs total emissions of methane of select
countries on the basis of population (in million tonnes of carbon
equivalent) as calculated by CSE 86
5.3 Percentage distribution of net emissions of greenhouse gases by
industrialized and developing countries 87
9.1 Development of emissions for Annex-I countries under three
effort-sharing approaches 134
9.2 Development of emissions for non-Annex-I countries under three
effort-sharing approaches 135
9.3 Correlation between cumulative emissions and cumulative GDP for
all countries 141
11.1 An international comparison between Human Development Index
and per-capita energy consumption 158