India Worst Hit by Climate Change-Induced Heatwave Among G20 Nations

A recent report indicated that despite suffering the most, the country was one of the lowest CO2 emitters, providing only 3% of global emissions.

India was the hardest-hit G20 country by the recent carbon emissions-induced rise in temperatures and subsequent economic losses, a latest Climate Transparency report has suggested.

As per the report, India lost about $159 billion, or 5.4% of its GDP in 2021 due to the reduction in the country's labor capacity caused by the extreme heatwave, with “workers, labor migrants, low-income households and the homeless" affected primarily.

Apart from India’s wheat yield, the report also warned that the country’s rice and maize production could decrease by 10–30% and 25–70%, respectively, due to temperature increases in the range of 1°C–4°C.

The report explained that G20 nations recorded high emissions in the energy sector despite warnings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that countries must halve them by 2030 to keep the 1.5°C warming limit enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

The United States was the worst infractor, contributing 25% of CO2 emissions, followed by the EU with 22%. India accounted for only 3%.

The report came at a time when western countries are pushing South Asian countries to cut CO2 emissions. In this regard, experts have raised the issue of climate justice.

South Asia, especially countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, have slammed developed nations, accusing them of being primarily responsible for the global climate disasters.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last month, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif blamed rich western nations for emissions that caused the floods in the country, in which more than 1,700 Pakistanis were killed.

Similarly, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called out the collective West for not coming through on raising $100 billion a year for developing nations to cope with climate change, as enshrined in the Paris Accord, during an interview with AFP.

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are some of the most densely populated countries in the region, putting them in the most vulnerable category of nations expected to be affected by climate change.

Climate finance and justice were first discussed at the COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. An annual target was agreed for the Global North to jointly mobilize $100 billion in mitigation and adaptation funding by 2020 and up until 2025.

Many experts have likewise assumed that western awareness of the severity of climate change was slow to permeate society.

“The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialization in the world added to great volumes of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realization of their adverse impact on climate came quite late,” a former bureaucrat told the Indian Express.

Speaking with Sputnik earlier, Dr. Anjal Prakash, one of the authors of the recent IPCC report titled “Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change”, said today's climate change was not generated by people living in South Asia.

It has come from the industrialized Global North, which means that it also needs to pay for the losses and damages that we are witnessing, Dr. Prakash said.