Skip to main content

​NITI Aayog-commissioned report unveils hypocrisy of Modi govt's climate concerns

Power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma writes to the chairman and members of the NITI Aayog:
***
May I draw your kind attention to an objective analysis of the recently commissioned NITI Aayog Report, as in the web links here, which calls it the hypocrisy of Modi government’s 'climate concerns'. Few other articles/ reports in these links indicate very serious issues confronting our people not only in the immediate sense but also in the long term; they are so especially in the sectors of environment and energy.
But sadly, the concerned authorities seem to be completely oblivious to these developments (or is it that they are completely ignoring them), and to the associated credible concerns of the people of this country. Hence, they are being blamed for continuing with a Business as Usual (BaU) scenario of relentless industrial and commercial growth, without rationally considering the enormous negative growth because of the social, ecological and health impacts of such an irrational policy.
Some of the highlights in the news links can clearly point to such conclusions are:
  • "A research brief prepared by Australian energy experts and published by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (ATSE) has called for an acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy, arguing the technologies needed to decarbonise Australia’s energy system are already available. Australia has the technologies to avoid a future crisis, but we must act now to lay the foundation of a truly modern energy system,” the former head of engineering and system design at the Australian Energy Market Operator, Alex Won has, said at the launch of the report."
  • “If we can have a coordinated effort around it, it should be possible to have all new homes electrified rather than having gas delivered. It would be better not to be making investments in gas infrastructure now in homes.“Every time you buy a new appliance, buy the electric version. Ditto cars and other parts of your infrastructure at home and at work,” “Every time you make that decision, you buy electric… it’s about making those decisions on a daily basis.”
  • "Despite climate change warnings issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1990, global emissions have continued to rise in the last decade, reaching their highest point in history. Drastic cuts to fossil fuel use. Growing forests and eating less meat. These are just some of the actions needed in this decade to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre industrial temperatures, as per a major report by the UN climate science agency. At this point, only severe emissions cuts in this decade across all sectors, from agriculture and transport to energy and buildings, can turn things around, the report says. Even then, governments would also need to bolster efforts to plant more trees and develop technologies that could remove some of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere after more than a century of industrial activity."
  • "Almost two-thirds or 163 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power capacity added last year had lower costs than the cheapest coal-fired power plants in G20 countries, a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showed."
  • "Renewables are by far the cheapest form of power today," said Francesco La Camera, director general of IRENA. "Renewable power frees economies from volatile fossil fuel prices and imports, curbs energy costs and enhances market resilience, even more so if today's energy crunch continues."
  • "Without shrinking energy demand, the report notes, reducing emissions rapidly by the end of this decade to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius will be almost impossible. Accepting a lower consumption lifestyle is almost the only fast-acting policy move we have left to prevent the disastrous impacts of climate change," said Daniel Quiggin, an environmental researcher at the UK policy institute Chatham House. This demand-side mitigation, as the report puts it, places the onus on governments to pass policies that incentivise sustainable choices.
Can the people of this country hope that the concerned ministries/ departments, bureaucrats and advisors take true cognisance of these developments/concerns, and on the basis of the same there will be urgent and effective course corrections to our policies and practices?
Without such urgent course corrections, our communities will not only face existential threats in many cases because of the consequences of Climate Change, but will also face the serious implications of denial of access to natural resources, which are much needed even to meet our basic needs. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) says that about 50 million people directly depend on the natural riches of Western Ghats alone.
In this context, the resources associated with our natural forests are of great relevance to a few hundred millions of our people; but deplorably the same forests are being allowed to be abused/ destroyed with the connivance of the governments at the states and centre. The humongous costs to our country because of irrational investment in conventional technology energy sources and the associated infrastructure will only escalate such concerns.
In this larger context, three areas requiring urgent and effective policy perspectives are: (i) a diligent review of the high GDP growth rate paradigm in our economic policies, keeping in objective view the true welfare of our people not only in the immediate term but also in the long term; (ii) a diligently prepared National Energy Policy keeping in view the needs of our people and the constraints of our country by 2050/60; (iii) the updated National Action Plan on Climate Change.
It will be a serious let down of our people, not to take cognisance of a large number of such concerns being expressed by civil society in recent years.

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.

अल्पसंख्यक कार्य मंत्रालय का बजट निराशाजनक: 19.3% अल्पसंख्यकों के लिए मात्र 0.0661% ठोस आवंटन

- मुजाहिद नफ़ीस*   1-2-2025 को भारत सरकार द्वारा संसद में वर्ष 2025-26 का बजट वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण जी ने पेश किया| इस वर्ष का बजट 5065345 करोड़ है जो कि पिछले साल के संशोधित अनुमान से लगभग 7.39% की बढ़ोतरी हुई है| वहीं अल्पसंख्यक कार्य मंत्रालय का बजट मात्र 3350.00 करोड़ है जो कि कुल बजट का 0.0661% लगभग है|  पिछले साल 2024-25 में 3183.24 करोड़ था|