Current affairs October 27, 2021

India and Net zero emission

As the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made it clear, limiting the increase in the world’s average temperature from pre-industrial levels to those agreed in the Paris Agreement requires global cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide to be capped at the global carbon budget.
It is a truism that such a cap means that eventually emissions must go to zero, or more precisely, net zero.
The top three emitters of the world China, the U.S. and the European Union even after taking account of their net zero commitments and their enhanced emission reduction commitments for 2030, will emit more than 500 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide before net zero.
These three alone will exceed the limit of about 500 billion tonnes from 2020 onwards, for even odds of keeping global temperature increase below 1.5°C.
Claims that the world “must” reach specific goals by 2030 or 2050 are the product of specific economic models for climate action.
These are designed to achieve the Paris goals by the “lowest cost” methods, foregoing equity and climate justice.
Less than a fifth of the world has been responsible for three-fifths of all past cumulative emissions, the U.S. and the EU alone having contributed a whopping 45%
India is responsible for no more than 4.37% cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial era, even though it is home to more than a sixth of humanity.
India’s per capita emissions are less than half the world average, less than one-eighth of the U.S.’s, and have shown no dramatic increase like China’s post 2000.
For India to declare net zero now is to accede to the further over-appropriation of the global carbon budget by a few.
India’s contribution to global emissions, in both stock and flow, is so disproportionately low that any sacrifice on its part can do nothing to save the world.
Nor can it proceed with the expectation that the developed world and China would limit their emissions further in the future
The allocation of property rights, without grandfathering, is essential to ensure equitable access to any global commons.
The global carbon budget has been subject to no such restriction allowing the developed countries to exploit it fully, in the past and the present
Technology transfer and financial support, together with “negative emissions”, if the latter succeeds, can compensate for the loss of the past.

Concern for India

India’s resource-strapped small industries sector, which provides employment and livelihoods to the majority of the population outside agriculture, needs expansion and modernization.
The agriculture sector, the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for India after energy, needs to double its productivity and farmers’ incomes and build resilience.
Infrastructure for climate resilience in general is critical to future adaptation to climate change.
All of these will require at least the limited fossil fuel resources made available through a fair share of the carbon budget
Developed countries and China, on the other hand, if they are serious about the Paris Agreement targets, must reach net zero well before 2050.
For a target of 2°C, there is more room for the rest of the world, since the cumulative emission limit for it, with the same even odds, is 1,350 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP)

The prosperity of the Pollachi region of Tamil Nadu is attributed to the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP).
The project paved the way for surplus waters from eight west-flowing rivers to irrigate eastern Tamil Nadu. Of the eight rivers, six — Anamalaiyar, Thunacadavu, Sholayar, Nirar, Peruvaripallam and Parambikulam — are in the Anamalai hills.
Two — Aliyar and Palar — are in the plains.
The project is an exemplar of co-operative federalism, in this case between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Using inter-basin diversion, the project irrigates drought-prone areas in the Coimbatore and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu.
It also stabilises the existing irrigation system in the Chittoorpuzha valley in Kerala.
The PAP agreement was signed between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on May 29, 1970, with retrospective effect from November 1958.
It provides for the diversion of 30.5 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) annually from Kerala to Tamil Nadu. It also provides for Kerala 7.25 tmc ft through the Manacadavu weir and 12.3 tmc ft at its Sholayar dam annually (19.5 tmc in all).
This major project with an outlay of ₹138 crore was completed in 1972
Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (ABHIM)
COVID-19 overburdened the country’s health system and services.
The early months of the outbreak were particularly taxing for the States with weaker health systems.
The inability of the private sector to share the burden drove the point home that healthcare services cannot be left to independent forces.
The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (ABHIM) is another addition to the arsenal we have to prepare for such oubreaks in the future.
This was launched with an outlay of ₹64,180 crore over a period of five years.
In addition to the National Health Mission, this scheme will work towards strengthening public health institutions and governance capacities for wide-ranging diagnostics and treatment, including critical care services.
The latter goal would be met with the establishment of critical care hospital blocks in 12 central institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and in government medical colleges and district hospitals in 602 districts.
The importance of laboratories and their lack of readiness during an outbreak in terms of having a robust surveillance system and diagnostic interface has never been more pronounced than in recent times.
The government will be establishing integrated district public health labs in 730 districts to provide comprehensive laboratory services
The latter goal would be met with the establishment of critical care hospital blocks in 12 central institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and in government medical colleges and district hospitals in 602 districts.
The importance of laboratories and their lack of readiness during an outbreak in terms of having a robust surveillance system and diagnostic interface has never been more pronounced than in recent times.
The government will be establishing integrated district public health labs in 730 districts to provide comprehensive laboratory services
Pandemic research strengthening would be realised via four regional National Institutes for Virology, the regional research platform for the World Health Organization Southeast Asia Region, and nine Biosafety Level III laboratories.
In India’s endeavour to keep ahead of the infectious organisms that bring our life to a halt, expanding and building an IT-enabled disease surveillance system is on the cards too.
A network of surveillance labs will be developed at the block, district, regional and national levels for detecting, investigating, preventing, and combating health emergencies and outbreaks
The upgraded and intensified system of surveillance will be in addition to a state-of the-art national digital health ecosystem for IT-enabled healthcare service delivery, for managing the core digital health data and for ensuring national portability in the provision of health services through a secure system of electronic health records.
This will be based on international standards and easily accessible to citizens.
A major highlight of the current pandemic has been the requirement of local capacities in urban areas.
The services from the existing urban primary health centres will be expanded to smaller units Ayushman Bharat Urban Health and Wellness Centres and polyclinics or specialist clinics.
The urban primary health centres will be established closer to the community to meet the needs of the urban population and polyclinics will guarantee care through improved access to expanded high-quality services and establish referral linkages

AIIB

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia.
The bank currently has 103 members, including 16 prospective members from around the world.
The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having potential for “scaling up financing for sustainable development” and to improve the global economic governance.
The starting capital of the bank was US$100 billion, equivalent to 2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.
The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014.
It received the highest credit ratings from the three biggest rating agencies in the world, and is seen as a potential rival to the World Bank and IMF.
AIIB enable clients to build Infrastructure for Tomorrow (i4t)green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation and connectivity at its core.
We do this by unlocking finance that brings this vision to fruition.
As a multilateral development bank focused on developing Asia, but with members from all over the world, our investments in infrastructure and other productive sectors seek to foster sustainable economic development, create wealth and improve infrastructure connectivity.