ACCELERATING
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Climate Change is a threat that is posing great danger to all of us. And Carbon Emission is one of the main reasons behind climate change. As of now, India finds itself in the top five carbon emitters along with China, the US, Russia & Japan (Source - https://bit.ly/3BMK0sn). It's a collective responsibility to fight against Climate Change and Companies can play an important role in this regard.

We will tell you about the exact course of action companies can take to fight climate change at an organizational level.

1. Measure and analyze the emissions

It's crucial to know for a company that how much Greenhouse gas emissions are happening at their watch & how are their existence is affecting the climate. For this, many private agencies calculate the carbon footprint and measure the organization's various emissions. Upon analyzing the situation measures can be taken to reduce the overall impact.

2. Reduce energy consumption

Reducing what is already being spent is wise than waiting it out & chasing the after-effects while watching the damage being done in real-time.

Turning off the lights in the office when not in use, Turning off the ACs when not in use. Not engage live sockets when they are not needed, etc can be some of the daily routine actions companies can take to reduce energy consumption at their end to minimize the daily addition of impact on climate.

3. Opt for renewable sources

Renewable sources of energy are again one of the best options; the organization should switch on to. Renewable sources like Solar power, Hydro Power, Wind energy, etc can be used instead of oil, coal, natural gas, etc which are exhaustible & creates an inhabitable environment for all kinds of life forms.

4. Control & Reduce waste generation

Reducing waste generation can be the most effective first-hand job for any company which will directly add value to their initiative against climate change. What it can do is; avoid using disposable cups, the number of paper prints, reusing printed papers as drafts, adopt ways for recycling correctly so that it is properly neutralized, etc can be some of the steps that can be taken.

5. Optimize employees’ transportation

As we know transportation is one of the largest sectors of greenhouse gas emissions but we don't usually consider it as an organization's problem. Well, it counts, everyday travel can bring about successively collective damage which can not be put to rest factoring the comfortability of commute. Nevertheless, introduce new ways to minimize this big chunk of your carbon emission quota. Green Vehicles which runs on CNG can be introduced to cut the emission happening from this part

6. Raise awareness

Being a crucial part of this earth, we are also accountable & responsible for how this planet has come to be. As an individual or an organization; raise awareness amongst peers, friends, colleagues, superiors, and all the stakeholders, so that the ball sets rolling everywhere.

These are some of the best ways which companies can adopt to fight climate change and turn our planet into something much better than what it already is. Continuous efforts will help us get closer and closer to win over the adversities we were doomed to face in the future.

Connect with us if you want to make a change and reduce your carbon emissions as a company/organization.

As the global crisis is looming over the world, even developing countries are doing their share tocut down carbon emissions. At the 26th climate summit (COP-26) in Glasgow-UK, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India announced that it will become a carbon-neutral nation by 2070.

Achieving net-zero will mean a balance between the greenhouse gases produced and eliminated from the atmosphere. Being the 3rd most carbon emitter in the world, it is the first time India has set targets and strategies on an international platform to counter the climate crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the following 5-point strategy that will ultimately make India Net Zero by 2070:

• India will get the non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. Currently, the non-fossil energy capacity is 136 gigawatts.
• India’s 50% energy consumption will come from renewable energy.
• It has set to reduce 1 billion tonnes of carbon emission by 2030
• By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity by 45%
• And finally, by 2070, India will achieve its net-zero target.

India’s action to counter the global crisis

India is the third most emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. However, it is important to note that there's a stark difference between India’s emissions as compared to the other top polluters. India nearly emits 3 gigatonnes every year, while US and China emit 5 gigatonnes and 14 gigatonnes, respectively.

In addition, India has the lowest per capita emission of 1.9 metric tonnes and contributes to 7% of world pollution even when it makes up 17% of the world population. Realistically speaking, India has a higher chance of reaching the net-zero goal before the US, EU and China.

The progress in building renewable energy infrastructure looks promising. As per Invest India, over the past 5 years, solar capacity has increased from 6.7 GW to 40 GW in 2021. Wind capacity has also increased by 2.2 times since 2017.

India is all set to open the largest renewable energy park of 4750 MW in Gujarat. Besides, PM Narendra Modi’s upcoming plans to reduce India's coal dependency by not setting up any more coal energy plants and decarbonising Indian Railways by 2030 is a start in the right direction.

A challenge that lies ahead

The most obvious challenge for India is to secure climate finance. As a developing country, India depends on the developed countries to provide the finance for the formulation of new technologies and methods to reduce its coal dependency.

In the COP-26, PM Modi demanded the rich countries make 1 trillion USD available as soon as possible. Unfortunately, these countries already have many unmet promises regarding climate finance.

To conclude, the goal to become Net Zero will not be a cakewalk for any developing nation. However, it will become extremely challenging for developing countries to create groundbreaking technologies without the needed financial assistance.

Hence, the way forward to achieving the collective goal is for rich countries to take charge and lead the way. As they will be able to bear the heavy initial research & development costs, developed nations are more likely to create innovative decarbonisation technologies.

India will also have to change its energy infrastructure. Some strategies will even require lifestyle changes from its citizens. However, with strategizing and global support, India will surely complete its promises successfully.

Humans don’t realize the importance of saving the environment unless the effects of their doings dawn upon them to destroy their existence; It's not all their fault because the average human life is 79 years (give or take) & earth is so vastly big that the effects of what humans do, don’t reflect until the generation which actively got involved to do it, gets wiped off the face of the earth in a natural biological life course. The next generation then again takes time to get acquainted with the fact that there are ill effects of what is being done.

Talking about the health of our mother earth; here are 5 shocking facts to put things into perspective:

1. Witnessing irreversible effects by 2030

If global warming goes above the recommended limit; more than 70% of Earth's coastlines will have their sea-level rise greater than 0.66 feet (0.2 meters), resulting in excessive coastal flooding, beach-sand erosion, salinization of water supplies & other impacts on humans & ecological systems which will be very harmful to the human life on earth. (Source: https://climate.nasa.gov/)

According to the findings of the survey conducted by the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), critically urgent action is needed to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming over the world. Without the change in our actions towards our environment, we would see an increase in widespread flooding, extreme heat, drought & poverty.

2. Greenhouse gas levels are ever-peaking

Due to the rise in earth’s temperature, greenhouses gases accumulation is affecting nature’s natural processes more than ever. Fossil fuels combustion, Carbon-mono oxide emissions, & the environmental impact because of intensive farming has filled the atmosphere with CO2.

Scientists say that this is the fastest & the largest increase in CO2 emissions; the world has ever seen.

3. Species headed straight towards early extinction

One of the environmental deterioration signs is the extinction of various species from earth, be it animals, birds, reptiles etc. Most of other species' existence are endangered too

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which involved more than 1000 experts, says that about 24 species a day get wiped out from the earth which comes to about 8700s species, per year (Source: e360.yale.edu).

4. Climate change is creating a refugee crisis

As global temperature sees a rise, millions of people living in areas that are very much prone to sudden collapse due to any natural adversity are fleeing their homes to avoid the impacts of potential droughts and foreseeable extreme storms. These numbers are only set to rise in the coming future. The International Organisation on Migration gauges that up to 200 million people would be displaced by the effects of climatic changes by 2050.

(Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050)

5. Our oceans are dying

Our planet is only as healthy as its oceans. The UN has warned that marine life faces irrecoverable damage from the millions of tonnes of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans, every year. More than half of the world’s coral reefs have died in the last 30 years, and 2/3 of the Great Barrier Reef has been damaged by coral bleaching; due to sea temperature going too high up.

(Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/scientists-work-to-save-coral-reefs-climate-change-marine-parks)

The earth itself indeed acts like a living organism; it restores what is being destroyed. But we are causing more damage than the earth can repair. The natural flooding, timely earthquakes, the occasional droughts don’t affect the earth one bit but it destroys human, animal and plant life as we know it.

The Earth will stay alive and kicking much longer after the last traces of the human race could be found on its land. So, it is our decision to challenge the natural course of action or to get aligned with it.

It's high time we take control and make positive changes otherwise doomsday is just around the corner waiting for us