Assignment Code: MEV-025/TMA/2020/2021-22

Course Code: MEV-025

Assignment Name: Climate Change and Society

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Max. Marks: 100

Note: This assignment is based on the entire course.

Answer any five questions. All question carries equal marks. The marks for each question are indicated against it within brackets on the right-hand side.

Please write all answers in your own words.

Q1. Write short notes on the following:

a. Social Vulnerability

Ans) When we talk about social vulnerability, we're talking about the qualities of a community that affect their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related hazards and disasters. To put it another way, it can be defined as "the differential capacity of organisations and people to deal with hazards, based on their places within physical and social worlds," or "the incapacity to adopt effective actions to protect against losses."

When it comes to social vulnerability and livelihood, Adger proposes the following definition: "the exposure of groups or individuals to stress as a result of social and environmental change, where stress refers to unexpected changes and disruptions to livelihood." Although all communities are exposed to the same threats, social vulnerability sheds light on why some are more vulnerable than others. This suggests that social vulnerability is a "pre-existing condition" or an intrinsic quality of civilizations that is unrelated to the nature of the danger.

It's difficult to evaluate social vulnerability directly because there are so many variables that interact and influence it. As a result, there are a few broad markers that academics employ to assess societal risk. Socioeconomic status, gender, age, special needs, employment status, geographic locations, occupational status, education, family structure, housing ownership patterns, availability to emergency medical services, degree of development, and geographic locations are among the most common indicators.

According to local and contextual needs, additional indicators can be added to the list. These indications have a variable impact on the amount of vulnerability, both individually and in combination, as they either raise or decrease vulnerability. For example, a high per capita income will lower vulnerability; but a large percentage of the young and old population in the area will increase social vulnerability since these groups of individuals may not be able to respond to danger or hazards without assistance.

Q1. b. Dimensions of human security

Ans) Climate change will have an impact on seven different aspects of human security. They are: 1) economic security (individual income); 2) food security (availability to basic foods); and 3) environmental security. 3) Personal security-protection from violence and other personal problems; 4) Environment security-protection from natural catastrophes and other occurrences attributable to climate change and anthropogenic risks; 5) Health security-protection from diseases; 6) Community-protect culture, traditional relationships, and ethnic values from extinction; and 7) Political security: States and governments must ensure that their citizens have access to basic human rights and freedoms through policy and constitutional rights.

Climate change puts economic and livelihood security under jeopardy. Shelter, water, food, employment, and health are all aspects of livelihood security. Climate change has an impact on water, food, health, and employment because they are all linked to a region's weather and climate. Climate change poses major hazards in a variety of areas, including basic necessities, livelihoods, cultural change, migration, and economic factors.

The negative effects of climate change on human health would eventually lead to the obliteration of the world's human capital. Many individuals have been displaced as a result of climate change's effects on livelihood sectors. The term "environmental migrant" refers to people who are forced to leave their homes due to environmental calamities. According to the IPCC study, natural disasters and extreme weather patterns have displaced about 19 million people around the world.

Several studies imply that shifting rainfall patterns, harsh heat/cold, and increasing sea levels are putting millions of people in East, Southeast, and South Asia at risk of migration. Climate change's effects on human security, on the other hand, may raise the chance of violent conflict. Understanding the consequences of climate threats on human fundamental needs and security at the regional, national, and global levels will be a major focus of future climate summits.

Q2. Write short notes on the following:

a. Climate refugees

Ans) People's mobility, or migration, is influenced by a push or pull element. Pull factors are related with the profitable predicted opportunities of the destination, and push factors are usually associated with events and happenings in the native location. Importantly, the push forces appear to play a critical role in the case of climate refugees. People are being compelled to relocate due to the effects of climate change. It's mostly due to the fact that climate change has an impact on people's health, as well as their land, natural resources, and livelihood. People are forced to migrate from their homes due to the effects of extreme weather events.

Extreme climate occurrences, in general, cause people to relocate, either temporarily or permanently. Importantly, whether migrations are temporary or permanent is determined by a variety of circumstances, including the severity of catastrophic climate occurrences. Because of the less severe climate event and the likelihood of speedy re-settlement, relocation is only temporary. However, because of the severe incident that directly affects a significant part of the region and reduces the chances of resettling in one's native land, migration has become permanent. Climate-induced migration occurs at the regional, national, and international levels in both scenarios. In a nutshell, people migrate from one climate zone to the next.

Climate refugees is a phrase that is closely related to climate-induced migration. It's a phenomenon that involves individuals being displaced temporarily or permanently as a result of the negative effects of environmental change. Extreme climatic circumstances, such as increasing frequency and amplitude of floods and droughts, have a significant impact on the displacement of people. However, without a universally accepted definition for "climate refugees" or "environmental refugees," categorising migration as climate-induced or other migration is problematic. In fact, in some circumstances, migration occurs directly as a result of environmental factors. However, in many cases, social, economic, and political elements all interact to impact an individual's migration decision.

Climate refugees refers to persons who have been displaced temporarily or permanently as a result of climate change. There has been a lot of discussion over how to classify environmental or climatic refugees. However, for the purposes of this unit, we will use the definition proposed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which states that "Environmental Migrants are persons or groups of persons who are forced or choose to leave their habitual or permanent residence for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive changes in the environment that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, and who move either within.

Climate migration, according to the IOM International Migration Law Glossary on Migration, is "the movement of a person or groups of people who are forced or choose to leave their habitual place of residence, either temporarily or permanently, within a State or across an international border, primarily due to sudden or progressive changes in the environment due to climate change."

Q2. b. Climate Action Network

Ans) Climate Action Network (CAN) is the world's largest climate network, bringing together over 1,500 civil society organisations from over 130 countries to combat the global warming catastrophe. CAN has evolved into a robust, member-driven network with a membership covering all six continents and over 130 countries since its beginning in the 1980s.

It is particularly active during United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sessions. It published the satirical Fossil of the Day Awards to countries that are blocking progress at the climate negotiations in implementing the Paris Agreement, as well as civil society's ECO newsletter, which presented the views of civil society and communities around the world during the climate negotiations. It also supports and coordinates its global network's members through capacity-building, campaigns, projects, and mobilizations to persuade governments and other stakeholders to address the climate emergency.

Members of the Climate Action Network seek to achieve this goal through coordinating information exchange and non-governmental organisation strategy on global, regional, and national climate challenges. Members of CAN place a high value on a healthy environment as well as development that "meets the requirements of the present without jeopardising future generations' ability to satisfy their own needs" (Brundtland Commission). Climate Action Network's mission is to conserve the environment while allowing for global development that is both sustainable and fair. Michael Oppenheimer created it in Germany in 1989.

The Climate Action Network International has made a number of recommendations for dealing with the difficult issue of climate change. It situates wealthy countries that control a 'Kyoto track' of engagements in overall emissions reduction, poor countries adapting to the concept of decarbonization, and so on. It is also said that there is a focus on per capita recommendations that provide information on allowance factors such as location, climate, energy supply, domestic economic structure, and 'national circumstances.'

Q3. Explain the impacts of climate change on human health.

Ans) The normal functioning of the earth's ecosystems will be impacted by a change in the global climate. Some countries may have bitterly cold winters, and residents in these locations would prefer warmer climates. Similarly, certain places may experience extremely high temperatures, and residents would prefer cooler conditions. Climate change can have both positive and negative consequences. Climate change caused 2.4 percent of diarrhoea and 6 percent of malaria in middle-income nations, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report of 2002. Changes in the seasonality of some infectious diseases could be one of the first things to notice.

This includes vector-borne ailments including malaria, dengue fever, salmonellosis, and others that are more prevalent during the summer. Furthermore, during hot weather, certain forms of virus outbreaks are common. Individuals, plants, and animals may perish as a result of rapid changes in climate variability. Some plant species, on the other hand, can adapt to extreme climatic circumstances. Disturbance ecosystems that affect food production, agricultural distress and social concerns, land degradation, population displacements, and increasing sea levels are some of the additional potential repercussions of climate change.

1. The Planet’s Natural Climate

2. Human Induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

3. Environmental Impacts: To comprehend the link between climate change and health, it is necessary to comprehend some of the environmental consequences of climate change. This is due to the fact that certain environmental factors have a direct impact on health in specific regions or localities.

   
   

Arise in temperature would lead to the following consequences:

1. Rapid extinction of biodiversity and depletion of the planet's natural resources

2. Changes in rainfall and monsoon patterns are possible.

3. The melting of ice caps and glaciers is a possibility.

4. Furthermore, rising temperatures will lead the oceans to expand thermally, causing the sea level to increase. Floods will occur in the productive deltaic zones as a result of this. Many islands in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian oceans may vanish as a result of rising sea levels.

5. Climate change has the potential to have severe consequences for several ecosystems.

6. It has the potential to disturb marine ecosystems and trigger coastal wetlands flooding.

7. It has the potential to cause numerous storms in many areas where storms have never occurred before.

8. Floods caused by climate change have the potential to spread a variety of infectious diseases.

9. Finally, it has the potential to contaminate groundwater and endanger human health.

   
   

Q4. Explain the climate change impacts on critical infrastructure.

Ans) The climate change impacts on critical infrastructure are:

Climate change is having a big impact on weather patterns and the global ecology, and it is providing significant difficulties to the world's water supply, creating poor water quality and shortages, as well as putting strain on water infrastructure. Even if humans limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, scientists believe that more than a quarter of the Earth's surface will become significantly drier.

Climate change has become a big worry for agriculture systems all around the world. About 2.6 billion people are directly dependent on agriculture, yet soil degradation due to salt and drought has harmed 52 percent of agricultural area. Disruption of regular climate patterns across wide areas, increased incidence of drought and high temperatures, and increased levels of salt stress in both inland and coastal areas are all prominent signs of climate change in India. In terms of frequency and severity, these problems are growing increasingly serious.

Climate change is already having an influence on the environment and global health, according to public health systems. Extreme weather events, rising temperatures, drought, and rising sea levels are all having a severe impact on our capacity to cultivate food, get clean water, and operate safely outside around the planet. The transition will be so dramatic and devastating in certain locations that native populations will be dispossessed and compelled to seek new homes as environmental refugees.

Energy Production and Delivery: Changing climate conditions can have a variety of effects on the energy sector. Although the most immediate consequences of climate change are on energy supply and demand, it can also affect other parts of the energy sector, such as energy transportation and infrastructure, as well as having indirect effects through other economic sectors. Its structure is organised according to the steps of the energy chain, from energy resources to conversion and transit to final usage.

Transportation: The mode and operation of transportation networks have an impact on the supply of goods and services including food, energy, and so on. Infrastructure damage, changes in energy use, and changes in agricultural region and production can all have an impact on the transportation industry.

The transportation sector must be decarbonized if the globe is to stay below a 2°C increase in average temperature. Countries can now enact environmental levies and subsidies as a result of the Paris Agreement. Environmental taxes and subsidies will alter the relative prices of clean technologies, hence assisting in the development of clean infrastructure.

Impacts of climate change on infrastructure should be factored into a wide range of development decisions. Climate vulnerability, for example, should be assessed as part of national development strategies. Climate change implications should be assessed at the project level in a variety of programme areas, including water resources, food security, and disaster risk reduction. These climate-resilient development strategies can be adjusted to local and regional situations, as well as created within realistic fiscal and capacity limits. Climate change's possible consequences differ by area, and they must be evaluated at both the regional and local levels. Understanding that there are a variety of possible futures—each with its own set of climate circumstances and consequences—is crucial to make informed decisions.

Q5. Write short notes on the following:

a. Climate change and gender

Ans) In its policies and programmes, as well as those of its member countries, the United Nations is actively seeking gender equality. According to the UN's gender mainstreaming policy, which was adopted in 1997, the UN and its member countries agreed to include gender considerations in all of its endeavours. However, this process began in the United Nations. Agenda 21 was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and it identified women as one of nine primary groups whose active participation is critical to long-term development. Women's advancement requires a commitment to long-term growth. In the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995, the United Nations and its member states decided to implement a gender mainstreaming plan.

Gender equality was acknowledged as one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and gender is also incorporated into all other goals. Gender equality is explicitly called for in Sustainable Development Goal 5, which is seen as a necessary foundation for a sustainable future. Gender is a cross-cutting theme for the commission on sustainable development's activities from 2002 to 2017. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) resulted in the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since then, the climate change convention has been held on a regular basis, but it has failed to include gender issues in the discussion.

"The repercussions of climate change will differ based on gender, age, and class, with the poor most likely to suffer," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in its 2007 assessment report. Women and girls are vulnerable and disadvantaged as a result of gender inequities. Women are in charge of food production in the home and family health." Climate change has a negative impact on home food production as well as family health. As a family caregiver, women's responsibilities are multiplied by two.

Q5. b. Paris Agreement

Ans) A long-term goal was set by 196 entities in the Paris Agreement with the intention of fostering climate resilience (2015). This was signed primarily to protect livelihoods, food security, and nutrition, as well as to strengthen people's and institutions' adaptive capacity (UNFCCC, 2015). The Agreement entrusted world governments with the obligation of determining their own climate targets through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) (NDCs). The pact was signed by 62 countries, including India, which accounts for 52 percent of world GHG emissions (Koshy, 2016). In line with NDCs, India vowed in its climate action plan to cut carbon emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 33% by 2030. The Agreement aimed to include subnational governments in developing policies and implementation methods in response to global climate action.

The preamble to the climate negotiations recognises "the necessity of all levels of government and other actors engaging in climate change in accordance with distinct national legislations of Parties" (The Paris Agreement, 2015). Despite the fact that subnational governments did not sign the agreement, Article 7(2) states that climate change "is a global challenge faced by all with local, subnational, national, regional, and international dimensions...and contributes to the long-term global response to climate change to protect people, livelihoods, and ecosystems" (The Paris Agreement, 2015). Despite the United States of America's (USA) withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the state of California (USA) has expressed its support for global climate action, according to Pablo et al (2018). These activities aim to link subnational climate actions with global climate agreements, thereby making a significant contribution to climate change mitigation.