



Climate action: India’s NDCs could show how to achieve both health and economic resilience
I have been visiting India for more than 40 years and speaking publicly about climate change for more than 25. Over that time, India’s transformation has been extraordinary. Few nations have had such rapid economic growth, technological progress and social change in such a short period.
India today is one of the most influential voices shaping the global response to climate change. That leadership counts.Globally, climate change is no longer just an environmental challenge. It is increasingly visible as a public health risk and an economic stress.
Heatwaves strain hospitals and reduce labour productivity. Changing rainfall patterns affect food systems and water security. Air pollution imposes health and economic costs across many cities.Climate policy must therefore be part of a country’s economic strategy.
India’s next Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), currently under preparation, offer an opportunity to frame its climate ambition in exactly those terms. NDCs are often described as climate pledges submitted under the Paris pact, but they function as strategic roadmaps. They shape long-term decisions about energy systems, infrastructure, transport, agriculture and industrial development.
Designed well, they help governments align growth with resilience.A new report from the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, Protecting People: Health-Centred NDCs for the Overshoot Era, argues that climate plans should be understood as instruments to protect populations from escalating climate risks. In a world entering a period of climate overshoot, governments must focus not only on emission reduction but also on reducing the harms already faced by societies. Such as health risks.Extreme heat is one of the most serious climate
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