‘States should spend to make infrastructure, assets climate proof’, says Abinash Mohanty

NAGPUR: Be it Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra or North India — the country is drowning in floods. The IPCC report, which was released on Monday, warns that there are going to be more as monsoon extremes are likely to increase over India. To dig into the causes and mitigation required, TOI speaks to climate expert Abinash Mohanty, who is also the programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). Excerpts:
CEEW analysis says there has been a six-fold increase in frequency of extreme floods in the state in last 50 years. What would you attribute this to?
The changing patterns in extreme climate events are triggered by local climate change drivers such as land-use surface change, deforestation, and encroachments upon natural ecosystems. The analysis suggests that 40% of Indian districts are showcasing an extreme event swapping trend — flood-prone areas are becoming drought-prone and vice versa. Geographically, all regions have natural drainage which is either encroached or blocked due to flawed urban planning, resulting in increased frequency of urban flooding. Further, due to climate change, monsoons are delayed, erratic and incessant, resulting in a surge in extreme rainfall events.
How has been the government’s response to this extreme climate crisis?
India, as a country, has spearheaded the climate action agenda globally. It’s leadership has conceptualised a 21st century multilateral organisation — CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) to climate-proof infrastructure across vulnerable regions. While our national-level model is replicated and acknowledged globally, we need to step up our sub-national and localised disaster risk reduction actions, which are often the missing links. The quantum of lives lost has come down substantially, but the loss of property, livelihood, and infrastructure is at an all-time high. This needs razor-sharp focus on identifying the compounded impacts of climate change at localised levels and strengthening the adaptive capacity to build back, better and stronger.
How is the state performing when it comes to mitigation measures and adaptation?
There is no straight answer to this. States like Odisha and Kerala have surpassed disaster preparedness compared to their peers. While states are gearing up adaptation actions, financing remains a challenge. Providing dynamism to the national action plan on climate change and its sub-national predecessor — state action plan on climate change is critical since financing climate actions needs a shared vision and responsibility. The mitigation actions at the sub-national level are now both public and private-led, but adaptation actions are primarily borne by public expenditure.
All these years, we have been witnessing a climate change denial. Often, a link between these events to climate change and ultimately loss of human life would not be accepted. Your views on this.
Climate change is a lived reality, and each one of us is witnessing it. There is more acceptance since we have empirical evidence to show the impact that climate change poses on lives and livelihoods. In recent decades, India has averted the extent of loss of lives due to effective disaster response and rehabilitation. What it lacks is the climate-proofing of its assets and infrastructures, where the maximum extent of loss and damage is witnessed. Enhanced disaster preparedness can avert the extent of loss and damage.
Hundreds of people have died in Maharashtra due to floods. Is it OK to state now that the state is reeling under growing threat of climate change? What should be done by the government?
States across eastern and western coasts are witnessing compounding impacts of climate risks and ecosystem damage. Restoring natural ecosystems like mangroves, forests and wetlands can mitigate the microclimatic changes leading to increased dry spells and desertification, and act as shock-absorbers against other extreme events like floods and cyclones. Further, climate-vulnerable states like Maharashtra must accelerate the climate-proofing of critical infrastructure, industry and communities.