Fast forward to 2023

2022 was horrible, just horrible. Last year brought the world to its knees. This was when we started with a sliver of hope. After two years of surreal and back-breaking events, when the novel coronavirus had shut down our world, we thought the worst was over. We hoped that this new phase of reconstruction would be based on learnings of past years. But how quickly all these unravelled.

By February end of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, our world became more divided, more polarised, and deadlier. The eventful year, culminating with the climate conference in Egypt (COP27), had two dominant trends.

One, the energy market was in turmoil. Europe learned that its energy policy had left it dependent on Russia and so deeply vulnerable to the crisis that unfolded. This past year, in spite of all the rhetoric and big talk, the developed world has already gone back to “drill baby drill”. Let’s be clear that even if Europe sticks to its green commitment — notwithstanding it being re-invested in brown energy — it is bad for climate and, worse, it is really bad optics. How can the emerging world, which is still in the throes of energy poverty, be asked to move to costly green transition, when at the drop of a hat, the rich go back to fossil fuels, including restarting coal plants and mines. They can call natural gas green or transitional but the fact is that it is a fossil fuel and needs to be phased out. This part of the world does not have any carbon budget left for the use of fossil fuel, even slightly cleaner natural gas. Let’s also be clear that the idea that these investments (like the opening of the UK’s coalmine in Cumbria) are somehow carbon-neutral because they invest in “offsets”— in most cases paying for trees to be planted in the parts of the world that are being told to switch off lights — is hogwash, if not downright immoral.

The second overwhelming trend of 2022 is the impact of climate change. It is now real, in our face and devastating every region of the world. In India, our report “Climate India 2022: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events January-September” shows that we have seen one extreme weather event a day in the first nine months. This number hides the human face of the poor, who suffer the worst devastations since they have to cope with repeated damages to their sources of livelihoods.

In the face of these two trends — growing insecurity of the rich and growing vulnerability of the poor — we have seen the worst manifestation of human behaviour. The global community, which till last year, was talking about the need for vaccine cooperation and interdependence, has gone back to shovelling dirt and provocation in others’ faces. Our leaders want to accentuate the differences, not the common objectives to work together for a secure future.

But we must change this. This is not a time for war; this is not the age for divisions — even those based on our values and views of the world. We need to have a common minimum programme that brings all countries together on the only issues that matter for humanity: How to avert the existential crisis we face and to build a just and inclusive world order. This is possible only when we go back to a rule-based system of global governance—one that sets rules for the rich and powerful and not just for the poor to abide by. In the case of climate change, this means that we must ensure there are global standards of responsibility based on the contribution of gases and these all must follow—this will set a level playing field so that old and new polluters are all required to do what is then agreed upon.

Then we need to reorder the financial systems so that there is enough money available to do development differently. The fact is that the deck is stacked against the emerging world when it comes to investment in cleaner energy sources. There is no money; the cost of finance is high; and high debt burdens mean that many countries pay more than what they even receive in the name of climate gratuity.

This year can and must be different. There is no turning away from the urgency of the change that is needed. What will make the difference, I believe, is our ability to speak truth to power. We need to start calling it as it happens; not because we want to name and shame, but because we deserve better. The second is about our ability to listen to each other. It is not that the world is divided; we are divided in our minds and thoughts. We do not even know that “another” exists. Dissent and dialogue are what we must celebrate in 2023. We will then build that new world that we all so desperately hope is still possible.

The writer is at the Centre for Science and Environment sunita@cseindia.org, Twitter: @sunitanar