Navigating the Mitigation of Climate Change

While there can be no doubt that there is an urgent need for checking climate change, how exactly this challenge is to be met needs considerable debate. Will this challenge be taken up in ways which will reduce inequality and injustice or perpetuate and increase inequalties? Will this be taken up as comprehensive protection of environment or will increase the risks from other hazards like those from large dams, nuclear plants, and untested disruptive technologies introduced in a hurry? These are only a few of the important questions that face us.

As the World Inequality Report 2022 pointed out recently, the top 10% emitters are responsible for close to 50% of the carbon emissions, while the bottom 50% are responsible for only 12%. Hence, there is a strong case for going after the top emitters and their high luxury life, but the policies so far have generally failed to do so. This raises apprehensions that the response such which increases inequalities and injustices at various levels, while a response that reduces inequalities significantly is certainly possible.