by the Editor: Siddharth Sehgal

A few days go in COP26 summit, our prime minister made claims and promises of becoming carbon neutral by 2070, he also made a promise that India will take half of its energy needs from renewable sources by the year 2030 and will reduce carbon emissions by one billion tons. Though from the look of it these claims look promising, the ground reality of climate and pollution in India tells a very different story.

Had our leaders cared about climate so much they would have made concrete policies and frameworks towards improving the pollution problem but in a country where the supreme court has to intervene to wake up the government to the alarming AQI in the national capital, achieving the COP26 goals seems like just another empty promise that our politicians are habitual of making. I haven’t seen a household that does not use a water purifier for drinking, even during summer days our air is brimming with smoke from factories and vehicles. Summers are in fact getting hotter due to rapid urbanization.

More than seventy years after independence we are still squarely dependent on petrol/diesel for our transportation needs. The main reason is not that we do not have the technological know-how but that we do not have the political will to move away from oil and coal-based resources. The companies both public and private that rake in huge profits and who contribute to the coffers of our political parties will not be happy that their interests are eclipsed by public interests. Our forests and sensitive ecosystems are cleared in the name of development.

The Himalayan region is witnessing increased flash floods and landslides every year, do our political leaders know that this increased frequency of natural disasters is a direct result of our intervention. Surely, if we look there might be ways to exist and develop in harmony with our nature but it takes guts and courage to bring change, qualities which no politician in India possesses.