Dear readers,

We re-orient to cities in South Asia in this edition and ask how climate action — necessary and urgent — can be just and equitable too.

As heatwaves sear our cities and floods inundate them, as poor quality air and lack of green spaces make life unbearable for the vulnerable millions, it becomes important to frame climate mitigation and adaptation in the context of justice and rights. The widening gap between the wealthy few and marginalised many in cities across South Asia exacerbates during extreme weather events. This places an unequal burden on those living in informal settlements, doing informal work, on women, children, the elderly and the disabled. The absence of gender-inclusive and participatory approach while drafting climate action makes it less just.

We focus on these issues as we close the QoC-CANSA Fellowship series with this edition. This body of work done during the last 10 months on ecology in cities, right to the city for millions, and the urgency of climate action across six cities — Delhi, Dhaka, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Karachi and Kathmandu — is unique and important. We hope this will be a valuable addition to the conversations on climate in South Asia.

In the lead essay, environmental journalist and climate issues veteran Shailendra Yashwant opines that South Asia, with nearly 2.5 billion people and a limited capacity to adapt to climate change, shows how inequity and injustice lie at the heart of climate action. Billions in informal settlements in cities remain extremely vulnerable to climate-driven extreme events of heatwaves, floods and severe air pollution. Long-term resilience for South Asian cities will require large and immediate investments in climate vulnerable sectors. This calls for public investments and for subnational and local governments to be the key enablers of a just transition, he writes. Read it here.

Architect Arshiya Syed’s essay examines the market-led ‘sustainable’ development approach shaping Hyderabad Vision 2050 and Telangana’s State Action Plan for Climate Change which places development in the neoliberal context. Climate adaptation is intended to increase economic development by augmenting the state’s economic, institutional or technological capacity. This, masquerading as climate action, inflicts vulnerabilities on the environment and communities even as the climate crisis intensifies. This is hardly climate justice. Read it here.

Zofeen T Ebrahim, veteran Karachi-based journalist, digs out the connect between plastic pollution and urban flooding. In 2022, catastrophic floods in Karachi claimed many lives and devastated the city. Even as climate change increased the frequency and intensity of rain, the widespread misuse of plastic was reportedly a cause of flooding besides unplanned urbanisation and a poor drainage system. Although the perfect solution would be a zero-plastic culture, it is a tall order. Reducing its use and recycling on a large scale are the steps forward, so is data collection which can inform policy on plastics, she argues. Read it here.

The rising temperatures in Guwahati underscore the need for trees and green areas to combat climate impacts, but the city does not have dedicated projects to preserve or enhance them, write Barasha Das and Harish Borah, journalist and carbon studies expert respectively. There has been an 87.8 percent reduction in dense and moderately dense forests while the non-forested area increased twelve-fold in only 42 years from 1976 to 2018, an analysis showed. The Assam government’s introductory Green Budget for 2023-24 failed to provide for urban greens while Guwahati’s budget is limited to the Silsako Beel rejuvenation project. Protecting and augmenting the city’s green cover is critical for its future. Read it here.

Climate change is a human rights issue too, as judgments in India and abroad recently underscored. This recognises that not all people are equally affected by climate-related events in countries or cities. The marginalised, women and girls, informal and outdoor workers, the elderly, children and the disabled are the worst affected. This brings the concept of climate justice into play. It pins responsibility on governments to protect the vulnerable and safeguard their rights even as they take climate action. Team QoC compiles a compendium on the ground work and study reports on the subject from around the world. Read it here.

In our News Digest section, read interesting and must-read stories about cities and the environment.

Hope you find the essays engaging and worthwhile. Have you subscribed to Question of Cities? It’s free. Sign up and have your friends subscribe too. If you have something to say, write to us at [email protected]. 

Thank you,
Smruti
May 3, 2024