A new report from the Deloitte Economics Institute shows India must act now to prevent the country losing $35 trillion in economic potential over the next 50 years due to unmitigated climate change.
The report, titled, “India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future,” reveals how the country could gain $11 trillion in economic value by limiting rising global temperatures and realising its potential to ‘export decarbonisation’ to the world.
“We have a narrow window of time – the next 10 years – to make the decisions needed to alter the trajectory of climate change. For India this is a window of opportunity to lead the way as it aspires to be a $5 trillion economy, it is not just foreign and domestic investments that will be key in driving growth, we must also take this opportunity to align our ambitions with climate choices,” says Atul Dhawan, Chairperson, Deloitte India.
With no action taken on climate change, the average global temperatures could rise by 3°C or more by the end of this century. This will make it harder for people to live and work, as sea levels rise, crop yields fall, infrastructure is damaged, and other challenges emerge, threatening the progress and prosperity that the nation has enjoyed in recent decades.
Deloitte’s research shows that if governments, businesses, and communities act boldly and rapidly in the next decade to address climate change, average global temperature rises can be limited to around 1.5°C by 2050. India can achieve significant economic growth by supplying the products, services, and financing the world will need to limit temperature increases.
“We need to transform the world’s economies towards new, low-emission pathways and India is well positioned to play a leading role in this process globally. By making the right choices now, India could chart a more prosperous path towards a low-emission future, accelerating progress in the rest of the world by exporting key technologies, processes, and know-how,” says Viral Thakker, Partner and Sustainability Leader, Deloitte India.
Accelerated decarbonisation could bring significant benefits to India and the world. From 2030 to 2040, India and the world would need to complete large and coordinated shifts to reduce carbon emissions by tackling how energy is produced and consumed.
2040 to 2055 is the turning point, where the world avoids locking in temperature increases of 3°C or more. By this period, the process of decarbonising high-emission industries would be almost complete, the cost of green solutions would start to fall, and wider net economic gains would begin to emerge.
After 2055, India’s economy would have been radically transformed and be producing near-zero emissions. There would have been a rapid gain in economic dividends from global decarbonisation, while global temperature rises would have been limited to reaching a maximum of 1.5°C by the end of the century.