New Delhi: According to the latest report by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter International titled “Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2023", the large majority of Indians are “moderately worried” about various environmental hazards harming their local areas.
These include agricultural pests and diseases (87%), extinction of plant and animal species (86%), severe heat waves (85%), droughts and water shortages (85%), severe air pollution (85%), famines and food shortages (83%), severe cyclones (76%), and severe floods (71%).
As the scientists and environmentalists have been coming up with regular reports since the last few years because of the changes being observed in the weather pattern including the delays in rainfalls, shrinking of glaciers, longer summer season and others, the report says that majority of the people in India think that global warming is happening.
"A large majority of people in India (78%) said they think global warming is happening. By comparison, only 9% of people in India said they think global warming is not happening, while 13% said they don’t know", it said.
"A majority of people in India say that if global warming is happening, it is caused mostly by human activities (52%), while 38% say it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment", it added.
Support for Climate and Energy Policies
As per the report, 86% of Indians favor the government’s commitment to reduce India’s carbon pollution to nearly zero by 2070 while 85% say that transitioning from coal to wind and solar energy to produce electricity will reduce air pollution, and 82% say doing so would reduce global warming.
However, 61% say doing so will increase unemployment in India while 58% say it will cause electricity outages, and 57% say it will increase electricity prices.
“Indians strongly support the clean energy transition, which they see as beneficial for the economy and their health,” said Dr. Jagadish Thaker of the University of Queensland. “And importantly, majorities support the 2070 ‘Net Zero’ goal to reduce carbon pollution to nearly zero and are personally willing to commit to actions to achieve it.”
It is pertinent to note here that at COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a global mass movement for behavior change, Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE), and asked people to take the following three pledges: to make big changes in their daily life in order to protect the environment, to persuade their family and friends to take environment-friendly actions, and to publicly demonstrate environment-friendly actions in order to influence others.
Indians Moving because of Weather Related Disasters
The world all over the globe is witnessing extreme weather related disasters and India is no exception.
The report claims that "about one in three people in India (34%) say have either already moved or considered moving because of weather-related disasters such as extreme heat, droughts, sea-level rise, flooding, or others."
This includes 14% who say they “have already moved because of weather-related disasters” and 20% who say they “have not moved but have considered doing so.” About two-thirds of people in India (64%) say they “have not moved or considered moving.”
Lack of Awareness
The Report claims that most people in India know just a little about global warming or have never heard of it.
"Only 10% of people in India say they know “a lot” about global warming, while 34% say they know “something” about it. By contrast, the majority of Indians (54%) say either that they know “just a little” about global warming (22%), or that they have “never heard of it” (32%)", it said.
Impact of Climate Change and Response from the People
The report claims that majority of Indians believe that global warming will have a variety of dangerous impacts.
"Half or more think global warming will cause “many more” severe heat waves (60%), extinctions of plant and animal species (57%), droughts and water shortages (56%), severe cyclones (54%), and famines and food shortages (50%), and 46% think global warming will cause “many more” severe floods", it said.
Willing to Take Action to Contribute Towards Greener Environment
The report claims that a large majority of Indians are already making changes and doing things in ther daily life in order to protect the environment. A large majority of people in India (93%) say they are either “already doing this” (25%) or are “definitely” (54%) or “probably” (13%) willing to do it.
In contrast, few people (7%) say they either “probably” (3%) or “definitely” (4%) would not do it.
"Asked how willing or unwilling they are to persuade their family and friends to take environment- friendly actions, a large majority of people in India (92%) say they are either “already doing this” (26%) or are “definitely” (52%) or “probably” (14%) willing to do it. In contrast, few people in India (7%) say they either “probably” (4%) or “definitely” (3%) would not do it", the report said.
