Poor from the heat: India’s climate change challenge

DW (English)

More and more sun, more and more heat. Climate change not only endangers the health of hundreds of thousands of people, but also reduces their earnings. What are countries like India doing to slow down climate change and minimize the damage?

Transcript

00:00More and more sun. More and more heat.

00:03Climate change is endangering the health of hundreds of thousands.

00:07It will also mean less income.

00:09By mid-century, we will earn significantly less than we would without the climate crisis.

00:15How high will the cost be?

00:17So up until about 2050,

00:19we see that the world economy is going to be projected to a decline in income of 19%.

00:25Take India, for example.

00:27Economically, it stands to lose with climate change.

00:30Heat and drought are damaging agriculture.

00:33And who will bring in the harvest when temperatures are so hot?

00:38It's 40 degrees Celsius right now at 5 pm in Delhi.

00:434-0 degrees Celsius, yes.

00:45At least during peak hours of, say, 11 to 4,

00:49it's really not possible to work outdoors.

00:54Heat and drought.

00:56These consequences of climate change also threaten many African countries.

01:00The economic impact is enormous.

01:03Labour productivity and crop productivity,

01:07these show clear responses to temperatures,

01:10where in particular their productivity declines at high temperatures around 20 to 30 degrees.

01:15And of course, global warming is causing the greatest damage where it's already hot today.

01:21In the middle of the century,

01:22the regions south of the equator will generate significantly less income

01:27than they would have without the climate crisis.

01:30Which brings us back to India.

01:32The population there will lose 22% of its 2050 income by the middle of the century,

01:39although a few will benefit.

01:42Manufacturers of air conditioning systems are experiencing a boom,

01:46with major social consequences, however.

01:52Because as it gets hotter, the need for air conditioning multiplies,

01:56and more and more households can afford them.

01:59The problem? The high power consumption.

02:03With the increasing heat,

02:05of course the power sector needs to prepare itself for an excessive demand in coming years,

02:11and the infrastructure needs to be built on those lines.

02:14So far, however, most electricity in India has been generated from coal.

02:19Its enormous emissions are again driving global warming.

02:23It's a vicious circle.

02:25What to do? Many are pinning their hopes on technical progress.

02:30Of course, we will need energy efficient air conditioners

02:34to reduce the energy demand for this,

02:37which can really peak to multi-fold demand

02:40compared to the current energy demand in India.

02:47India has adopted a national action plan.

02:50Among other things, buildings are to be modified so that they heat up less quickly,

02:55and new buildings should be oriented according to old models.

02:59India also wants to expand renewable energies.

03:03However, this is happening far too slowly,

03:05a problem for the whole world and the next generation,

03:09because the climate crisis will not be ending in the middle of the century.

03:13Quite the opposite.

03:17A Paris-compatible world, let's say, has much smaller damages on the range of 20%,

03:22whereas a high-warming scenario has much larger damages on the range of 50%.

03:28If you weren't convinced before, climate researchers can now prove it.

03:32The switch to a CO2-neutral economy is expensive,

03:36but it's worth it to avoid even greater losses of income.

Category

Transcript

Recommended