Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the world. To address its threat, India has pledged to take targeted action as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and is well on track to achieve its goals as it seeks energy-efficient methods. and switches to climate-friendly technologies. To take its efforts forward, India raised its level of climate commitments during the COP-26 held in Glasgow last November. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced five goals (‘Panchamrit’) on climate action: achieving net zero emissions by 2070; To reduce our total estimated carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030; increase the share of renewable energy in our total energy needs to 50% by 2030; reduce India’s carbon intensity by 45% by 2030; and to increase our non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. To achieve these, the Union Budget for 2022-23 envisions “Energy Transition and Climate Action” as one of the four key pillars of the India@100 (Eternal Period) roadmap. In her speech conveying the country’s intention to fight climate change, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated the “need for careful and deliberate use rather than mindless and destructive consumption”.
As climate change progresses, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. This has resulted in clear effects on the natural environment – such as global warming, sea level rise and melting of glaciers – which have adversely affected human health, food production, water availability and biodiversity. India has 2.4% of the world’s geographical area and 18% of its population, with a coastline of 7,500 km and only 4% of the world’s fresh water resources, making us more susceptible to climate shocks. India is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases and accounts for 6.8% of total global emissions. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) estimates that India could lose 3-10% of its annual GDP by 2100 due to climate change. According to a CEEW report, more than 80% of India’s population is vulnerable to extreme climate events. Addressing these challenges requires greater use of technology for adaptation as well as mitigation.
Like many other problems, emerging technologies are increasingly being seen as better able to predict and limit the effects of climate change. These technologies offer innovative applications usable in all fields. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) has immense potential to help reduce planet-warming emissions. It can process massive amounts of unstructured data such as pictures, graphs and maps, releasing “huge opportunities for understanding sea level rise and the dynamics around ice sheets.” A practical solution to disaster management and accelerating our disaster response by arming local governments with accurate insights in real time.
Big data is being used to trace harmful emissions along supply chains, while advanced 3D printing can help reduce carbon emissions and reduce manufacturing waste. In addition, machine learning techniques are being used to effectively enforce national and international regulations, including those related to the environment, in a fair and transparent manner. The 5G-based smart grid will make it possible to connect and process multiple data points over large distances on everything from wind turbines and rooftop solar panels to electric vehicle batteries.
Even blockchain technology has opened up new possibilities for tackling climate change. This has the potential to improve transparency, accountability and traceability of greenhouse emissions in real time. Smart contract-powered blockchain systems can bring together stakeholders from around the world to reduce carbon footprint.
New technologies can be key advocates of environmental sustainability, presenting significant opportunities to help assess, mitigate and adapt to climate change. In India, there are five ways in which these technologies can help. First, data can be aggregated from a variety of sources to generate actionable insights. Second, these techniques can be used to optimize highly complex systems. Third, they can help accelerate scientific discoveries. Fourth, their application will make climate simulation faster and smarter. And fifth, they can improve climate forecasts and make them more reliable.
However, emerging technologies are a double-edged sword, as they may prove to be a “costly distraction from more effective ways of tackling climate change”. According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “the storage and processing of data needs to be done thoroughly. Training a large algorithm can consume a huge amount of energy – 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide”. Estimates from the International Energy Agency show that “data centers that process and store data from online activities, such as sending email and streaming video, already account for about 1% of global electricity use. Some estimates say that that of computing.” The share will be up to 8%.The world’s total electricity demand by 2030 is fueled by concerns about fossil-fuel use.
Although these technologies pose some risks, the opportunities they provide are far greater. As such, they would need to be “cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, culturally friendly and socially acceptable”.
India should aim to adopt a balanced approach to their use. This requires capacity building and increased awareness of new policy tools and strategic options.
These are personal views of the author.
Munesh Sood is an Indian Economic Service officer, Ministry of Finance.
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