India’s Balancing Act

India has one of the largest populations in the world. With a country this size, many aspects of development and growth in the economic sphere become complicated. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, India is the third largest carbon emitter, behind the United States and China. However, its per-capita emissions are far lower than either country. This makes sense given that a majority of the population does not live with electricity or other amenities. In fact, only 6% of the population owns cars, and many live on less than $2 a day, according to NPR. As India marches toward its goal of complete modernization, both statistics will rise dramatically, which has major ramifications for the global climate if handled inappropriately. As the country continues to rapidly transform, there are several challenges that lie ahead.

While India is one of the most populous countries, it also is most affected by the consequences of climate change. Global warming has resulted in many negative effects for the Sundarbans, a rendezvous between three major rivers of India (Ganges, Meghna, and Brahamaputra) and the Bay of Bengal. Individual contribution leads to an increase in carbon dioxide levels when done collectively. Options like carbonclick.com/individuals/ and personal carbon offsets work in calculating reducing a person’s impact on climate change.This area is a network of islands, sandbars and mangrove forests which are being rapidly degraded due to the continuously rising sea levels. The problem is two-pronged as the increasing tides erode the islands and also raise salinity in the forests, causing them to suffer. Many endangered species live in the Sundarban area, and with loss of land comes a shrinking number of places they call home. The issue affects the Indian citizens as well. For the villagers who live in the Sundarbans, the habitable land is steadily decreasing, which is leading to increasing conflict with the native Bengal tiger population.

[su_pullquote align=”right”]The difficulty in eco-friendly development extends beyond logistical challenges.[/su_pullquote]In addition, scorching heat waves that devastated the population in the summer of 2015 are predicted to become more intense and commonplace. According to the New York Times, the 100 most populous cities worldwide are slated to have summer high temperatures of at least 95 degrees by 2050. Twenty four of these cities are within India, giving a heightened sense of urgency. The intense heat and humidity makes the use of air conditioning a requirement. However, with the increased use of AC comes two problems: AC itself is energy intensive, it uses refrigerants which are greenhouse gases, and many building designs are opting to rely on air condition to cool buildings, discarding architecturally efficient ways of circulation. This leads to a feedback loop where higher AC usage damages the environment further, increasing temperatures, which in turn necessitates the use of air conditioning. Because of these challenges, coupled with the size of the country, many are not optimistic about the future emission patterns. Although the Indian government has tried remediating these problems through aggressive clean energy goals, like outputting 100 gigawatts of power through pure solar energy, Ajay Mathur, Director of Energy and Resources Institute, says that no matter how fast India increases clean energy, it will probably double its coal usage by 2030.

[su_pullquote]Most highly advanced countries today grasped their position through unsustainable methods. India doesn’t have this option.[/su_pullquote]The difficulty in eco-friendly development extends beyond logistical challenges: India and her people are deeply attached to tradition and cultural values. Cremation is a sacred last rite performed for the deceased to release the soul from the body. However, cremation takes up to three days and the large burnings are harmful to the environment, using about 900 pounds of wood for each cremation, according to NPR. In response, companies have come up with eco-friendly cremation techniques that burn less wood, release less soot and take less time. Due to its religious and cultural significance, however, many are resistant to these new cremation methods and prefer to stick to tradition. Chitra Kesarwani, an owner of one such eco-friendly cremation company, indicates that the greatest challenge is educating averse individuals, and although progress has been made in recent years, it’s clear that it will take much longer before such methods are adopted on a larger scale.

[su_pullquote align=”right”]The world is heavily invested in India’s success, as their choices have consequences for decades to come.[/su_pullquote]Most highly advanced countries today grasped their position through unsustainable methods of farming, deforestation, or nonrenewable fuel usage. Due to the urgency and impact of climate change, India doesn’t have this option. The country has already taken steps to address this challenge through heavy investment in green energy, like solar power. Researchers have been toying with alternative cooling methods such as heat-reflective building paint and massive tree-planting initiatives, according to the New York Times. Although it’s a good start, India’s path to success is daunting. As the country continues to struggle balancing rapid development with environmentally conscious decisions, it’s important to watch how they end up positively or negatively affecting the environment and learn from their choices. The world is heavily invested in India’s success, as their choices have consequences for decades to come.

Akshay Thontakudi ‘19 studies in the School of Engineering & Applied Science. He can be reached at a.m.thontakudi@wustl.edu.