The Climate Solution takes on a difficult task and delivers well. It describes the climate change challenge and then concentrates specifically on India and offers a range of practical solutions. The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides background information and explains the science of climate change, and the range of impacts especially in India. The second part is on action needed and focuses on different sectors. It discusses water, agriculture, food, electricity and waste (which is one of the best chapters). It also covers innovations taking place in some sectors, leaders in key areas who have brought about important changes and actions that individuals, institutions and government can take.
The important role of regulation in the case of the region’s most precious resource, water, is well illuminated in various chapters. The regulation and management of water in Israel has lessons for India and many countries. Information and management of water are housed in a single central authority instead of being splintered across departments. Water sources are regarded as public property. Thus, unlike most other countries, the Israeli government regulates water from springs, lakes, wells, tanks and groundwater. Even if one owns a piece of land, the water in and on it, still belongs to the state. This also includes water that is part of sewage and drainage. Water use is tightly regulated, as is its price.
The later chapters are peppered with good examples for illustration. In India, the earthen dams — johads — of Tarun Bharat Singh, a group established by Rajendra Singh, have increased ground water levels and brought numerous rivers to life. She uses the example of her own large family and how they changed the way they managed household waste to reduce the amount sent to landfills.
One shortcoming in the book is that it does not discuss consumption, the main driver of climate change. One needs to address consumptive lifestyles of the middle and above classes around the world and in India. It does not matter that per capita emissions in India are low, the aspirations set up by lifestyles of the middle and above classes, are what the poor aspire towards. Could stylish cycles replace cars in a flashy advertisement? While the author urges us to walk and cycle in cities, what is needed is better planning of urban space.
There are many clean technology innovations possible to improve efficiencies and better ways to create markets. But, how will negative emissions be achieved? The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is already around 410 ppm. The average increase in global temperature is headed to around 3.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times. Politics, power and justice issues are implicit in many chapters but more explicit attention to them would have been helpful, especially when one is covering climate change, which hinges on these.
The Climate Solution ; Mridula Ramesh, Hachette India, ₹550.
