• Advertise
  • About us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Australian Times News
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
Australian Times News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Environmentalists must pressure the Indian government to take action on climate

Scorching heat waves, torrential rains and other extreme weather events make India one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Many Indian cities recorded temperatures as high as 48 C, in 2020. And by 2100, an estimated 1.5 million additional people will die each year from climate change.

The Conversation by The Conversation
05-10-2021 09:17
in News
Photo by Gyan Shahane on Unsplash

Photo by Gyan Shahane on Unsplash

Roomana Hukil, McMaster University

Scorching heat waves, torrential rains and other extreme weather events make India one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Many Indian cities recorded temperatures as high as 48 C, in 2020. And by 2100, an estimated 1.5 million additional people will die each year from climate change.

Several metropolitan cities including Delhi are expected to become unlivable in the next 80 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report stated that India is likely to experience more extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and floods in the next few decades that will lead to irreversible climate impacts.

India pledged to reduce its emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) by 33 to 35 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, yet the government fails to generate emissions data to monitor these targets and validate claims that it will meet the Paris objectives on time.

Non-governmental organizations play an important role in India because of their ability to provide feedback and act as harbingers of change for economic and social systems to thrive. But instead of pressuring the government, many NGOs are increasingly putting pressure on the public to mitigate climate change. For instance, NGOs promote lower meat consumption, cloth shopping bags, reusable straws, LED lightbulbs and so on.

Actions like these feed the “green me fallacy,” a term coined by American writer and filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield, which is the belief that an individual’s lifestyle choices will be enough to resolve climate problems and restore ecological health. But these solutions cannot work without institutional or policy-level support.

Instead of focusing on symbolic gestures or actions that raise one’s social capital, Indian activists need to pressure the government to establish effective environmental policies and programs. They should protest, picket corporate offices, petition the government and stage sit-ins, hunger strikes and vigils to strengthen climate action and spread awareness about the urgency of the climate crisis in India. As a climate scholar and activist I have participated in environmental campaigns in New Delhi and Bengaluru to understand the objectives of NGOs and how they operate.

AlsoRead...

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

8 July 2025
Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

5 June 2025

Acting with a sense of urgency

India is already experiencing the negative effects of climate change. Yet it is the world’s third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, and its electricity and heating sector produces more than 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions annually. With coal still central to the country’s energy sector — and more coal-fired plants planned — emissions are set to rise with economic growth. Additionally, 22 out of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India.

Boy mid-air above a river at sunset
A boy jumps into the Ganges River during a hot summer day in Prayagraj, India, in May 2020, shortly after an intense heat wave pushed temperatures past 45 C. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Except for a few NGOs, environmental advocacy groups in India have failed to campaign for the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and other industrial projects. Instead, many NGOs have introduced trivial campaigns such as “Monsoon Wooding” and “Pedh Lagao” (Plant Trees).

These initiatives act as weak solutions to India’s aggrieved environmental condition, at a time when environmental activists need to probe and have clarity on the most effective responses to climate change. These campaigns become problematic when they fail to ground themselves in science and begin to assert that they can resolve imminent threats, such as air pollution and climate change.


When poorly planned, tree planting can have negative consequences on ecosystems and climate change. For instance, planting trees in areas that have never been forested before, such as on grasslands, savannahs and dry lands, reduces carbon sequestration and increases air temperatures.

With the climate crisis at India’s front door, climate activists are being sloppy if they don’t hold industries accountable for their carbon output, and instead look to citizens to reduce their relatively minuscule carbon footprint.

Climate guilt and shame

The capitalist system induces our ideological guilt: If we cannot plant trees in our neighbourhood, buy solar-powered products or make green lifestyle choices, then we are not green enough. It heightens the individual’s sense of responsibility.

Yet changing our lifestyles may not meaningfully impact the environment, because individual lifestyle choices are not the problem, mass production and consumption are.

Even when we act with what we believe to be the best of intentions, our efforts are often at cross purposes with our goals. For example, low energy emitting light bulbs may lead us to keep the lights on more. Planting trees allows deforestation by corporations to continue by claiming reforestation elsewhere will make up for it. No matter what green initiatives we take, there is always encouragement to consume more.


Governments and corporations should not be let off the hook. NGOs must demand action from governments. They should engage in everyday forms of resistance and rights-based activism, campaign against poor and ineffective environmental policies and demand climate justice and action.

Only a handful of Indian environmental NGOs are challenging this mainstream narrative and speaking truth to power. One example is the Pathalgadi movement, which defies private sector advocacy by challenging the government over the management of Adivasi (Indigenous) resources in the state of Jharkhand. Pathalgadi activists emphasize their constitutional rights to landholdings by imposing blockades on outsiders and promoting self-reliance.

NGOs could reach out to other groups in solidarity and collectively pressure the government to restore the environment. Instead of the feel-good token gestures that exacerbate the climate crisis, Indian activists need to frame environmental inequities in ways that pressure governments to institute effective policies and programs. This is only possible by leveraging public opinion and avoiding a system where individual responsibility is seen as having more environmental impact than the state taking ownership of the problem.

Roomana Hukil, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science, McMaster University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Tags: SB001
DMCA.com Protection Status

SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER

[mc4wp_form id=”2384248″]

Don't Miss

The Dating Wealth Gap Is Getting Wider: What You Should Know

by Fazila Olla-Logday
11 July 2025
Source: Pixabay
Lifestyle

The divide between wealth and romance is growing. As income inequality widens, financial status is playing a bigger role in...

Read more

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

by Pauline Torongo
8 July 2025
The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO
Business & Finance

When faced with constant loan rejection or last-minute withdrawals of support, Trelos Finance stands out as a solution.

Read more

Common Mistakes When Buying a Telescope — And How to Avoid Them

by Fazila Olla-Logday
1 July 2025
Common Mistakes When Buying a Telescope
Technology

You’ve spent hours scrolling through telescope specs online, dazzled by features and grand promises. The excitement builds—until your newly arrived...

Read more

From Portugal to Bali: Where Aussies Should Go for Your Next Coastal Holiday

by Fazila Olla-Logday
20 June 2025
Source: Flickr
Travel

Aussies, here is a guide to where you should go for your next coastal holiday.

Read more

Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

by Pauline Torongo
5 June 2025
Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era
Business & Finance

If you're leading a software team today, you've likely noticed the shift: faster feature rollouts, routine automation, and AI taking...

Read more

How to Save on Airport Parking: Budget Tips Every Traveller Should Know

by Fazila Olla-Logday
3 June 2025
How to Save on Airport Parking
Travel

Saving money on airport parking can be a challenge,but here are some budget friendly tips to help you navigate.

Read more

Why Australian Investors are Betting on the Aviation Maverick Louis Belanger-Martin

by Pauline Torongo
28 May 2025
Why Australian Investors are Betting on the Aviation Maverick Louis Belanger-Martin
Business & Finance

Bélanger-Martin’s ambitions stretch beyond redefining inflight comfort—they’re rooted in resurrecting the romance of supersonic travel with a modern twist.

Read more
Load More

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status

  • About us
  • Write for Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • T&Cs, Privacy and GDPR
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status