Income loss of 5.4 pc to India due to heatwave

An income loss of 5.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was suffered by India. It is the highest among the G20 nations in 2021, according to the new report by Climate Transparency.

Experts from 16 partner organisations from the majority of the G20 group countries developed the “Climate Transparency Report.” It revealed that India witnessed a record heatwave which greatly affected workers, labour migrants, low-income households and the homeless. It also reduced the yields of wheat crops, which would have been useful to address supply shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.

          India is responsible for 3 per cent of the global emissions, but despite this fact, 142 milllion people in India maybe exposed or roughly 10 pc of the population to summer heatwaves at 1.5 degree celsius.

According to the report, exposure to greater temperatures and the ensuing shortening of working hours have resulted in significant income losses in services, industry, agriculture, and construction. 
The United States, which accounts for 25% of world emissions, came out on top, with the European Union coming in second with 22%. However, India accounts for only 3% of the world’s emissions.

“G20 members account for around 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population, and are responsible for around three-quarters of global emissions,” the report reads.

“To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the G20, therefore, carries a high responsibility. For developed countries, this includes providing climate finance to assist developing countries’ mitigation and adaptation actions, “the report added.

The Climate Transparency Report 2022 claims that the G20 countries are still not acting with the required level of accountability. 
According to the Climate Action Tracker, despite the fact that a number of nations, including India, have over time submitted stronger Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets, their total level of action and ambition is still insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“The combined mitigation effect of all 2030 targets assessed is projected to lead to warming of 2.4 degrees Celsius, with current policies leading to a 2.7 degree Celsius world by 2100. “This underlines the urgent need for G20 members to strengthen current climate policies, intensify implementation, and submit more ambitious 2030 targets that align with midcentury net zero targets,” the report reads.