Adaptation measures key to robust climate response

The world must make progress on adaptation, and loss and damage funding, at COP28, so that the next Global Stocktake is based on a more holistic climate response and future assessments can duly account for these critical factors.

- Vibha Dhawan, Dipali Khanna

India's G20 presidency comes before the Global Stocktake at COP28 and at the midpoint for achieving the goals laid out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. India's G20 leadership will be based on the five pillars of the Green Development Pact: Lifestyle of Environment (LiFE), circular economy, climate finance, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals (SDGs), and energy transitions and energy security. All these pillars are needed to strengthen action towards energy transitions. But to have a full-fledged climate response, more action is required.

The Global Stocktake at COP28 will largely focus on mitigation and emission reduction goals rather than adaptation since the global goals for adaptation, loss and damage funding mechanisms are still being discussed. But while we debate, the impact of rapid warming an increase of 1.1° Celsius since 1880 - is already being felt across the world, affecting communities and people least responsible for the problem. That's why, along with mitigation, developing adaptation measures is crucial to helping the communities bear the brunt of climate change.

The world must make progress on adaptation, and loss and damage funding, at COP28 so that the next Global Stocktake is based on a more holistic climate response and future assessments can duly account for these critical factors. As India prepares to host the G20 Summit this September, and the United Arab Emirates prepares to host COP28 in November, three main considerations need to drive conversations.

Firstly, the question of equity is central to climate justice because it is often the people who contribute the least to emissions who feel their impact the most. A composite index on lifestyles developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) - based on consumption in food, transportation, and household energy, as well as waste management found that India has the lowest consumption among G20 countries.