The world is waiting for the G20 to firm up its stance on climate change

Up until recently, it was hyperbolic to say that climate change would burn up the world, but it’s actually happening today. The string of wildfires in Hawaii, Spain, Canada and Greece this year has destroyed entire settlements, but climate change is not merely about wildfires. It is also the primary reason behind the torrential rainfall and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Beijing’s worst flooding in 140 years and strangely enough, August 2023 was India’s driest August for 122 years despite the monsoons. The pattern is clear: Under the business-as-usual attitude, we have the makings of a serious challenge to organized life under runaway climate change. It will disturb sowing patterns, diminish crop yields, upend livelihoods and destabilize human development indicators. Excessive human-induced CO2 emissions are squarely responsible.