India’s capital recorded an all-time high temperature yesterday of more than 126 degrees Fahrenheit, or 52 degrees Celsius, amid a heat wave that has kept temperatures in several states in northern India well above 110 degrees for weeks. The extreme heat is in part a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon, the effects of which have been amplified by climate change. (New York Times & Reuters)
Although the extreme heat in India this week has set records, it is also part of a broader pattern, coming amid the planet’s hottest 12 months on record. And just two years ago, the Indian subcontinent experienced an extended heatwave that forced the government to restrict wheat exports due to a drop in agricultural production. Intense heat waves are now expected to occur increasingly often in India, as frequently as once every three years.
The heat wave once again serves as a tangible reminder of the effects climate change already has on the planet and raises the level of urgency in responding to those effects. In India’s case, the government under PM Narendra Modi actually has made progress on climate mitigation. New Delhi has committed to halving the country’s carbon emissions by 2030 and decarbonizing the economy by 2070, and as such has steadily increased public investments in renewable energy and the green transition.
But as Tarun Gopalakrishnan wrote last year for WPR, India’s climate spending has a huge blind spot: adaptation and resilience.
Initiatives to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions … have had significant financial backing in successive budgets, including the current one, and they have delivered considerably in their respective policy areas. Similarly, laws governing energy, transportation, factories and air and water pollution could be extended and interpreted to encourage decarbonization in those areas. By contrast, India’s National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change is neither legally enforceable nor backed by a funding mandate. As a result, it has little practical impact on policymaking or the economy.
Part of the issue is that India’s economic view of climate measures is based on linking the green transition to continued growth, and investments in adaptation struggle to generate revenue streams. Their main effect is in “avoided losses” to climate change, which is harder to factor into economic modeling and growth ambitions.
Still, as the heat wave of the past few weeks has underscored, the effects of climate change in India, as elsewhere, aren’t just something to be mitigated anymore, and climate action now requires balancing mitigation and adaptation.
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Fourteen pro-democracy activists were convicted in Hong Kong yesterday, part of a landmark case brought under a Beijing-imposed national security law. The activists were among 47 democracy advocates who were prosecuted in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election.
The national security law, passed in 2020, criminalized “foreign interference,” secessionist activities and so-called subversion of state powers in Hong Kong, a move allowing Beijing to crack down on political dissent. As Benjamin Wilhelm wrote at the time, the legislation was considered by many observers to be a “nuclear option,” one that signaled the final blow to Hong Kong’s autonomy.
May 27, 2020 | China’s decision to impose a controversial national security law on Hong Kong was stunningly brazen. It’s also part of a broader pattern. Read more.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova, where he pledged $135 million in aid for energy security and to counter Russian disinformation. The U.S. has provided Moldova with $774 million in financial aid since the war in neighboring Ukraine began in February 2022.
Moldova maintains a pro-Western orientation, but in recent years, Russia has spent tens of millions of dollars on an influence campaign in the country aimed at turning the country away from the West and toward Moscow. As Frida Ghitis wrote recently, “there is no question that Russia is already in the midst of a major effort to undercut Moldova’s independence.”
May 16, 2024 | Russia may not need tanks to subjugate Moldova. Instead, the Kremlin can simply interfere in its politics. In fact, it’s already doing so. Read more.
Spanish lawmakers gave final approval yesterday to a divisive bill granting amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists, which PM Pedro Sanchez agreed to earlier this year in order to form a coalition. Read more about the deal, Sanchez’s return and how the amnesty law could affect Spanish politics in this briefing by Alana Moceri.
Indonesia’s Supreme Court has approved changes to the age requirements for candidates in regional elections, paving the way for President Joko Widodo’s youngest son to run for deputy governor of Jakarta, as is rumored. The eldest son of Jokowi, as the president is known, is set to become Indonesia’s VP in October after a separate controversial ruling last year tweaked the age requirement for that position.
Both rulings have raised concerns about Jokowi’s blatant attempts at dynasty-building in the country, which Erin Cook wrote about last year.
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