All posts by : Prachi Jain

“Become an active citizen through your wardrobe.”

Livia Firth (Founder & Director, Creative Age)

“Imagine a scenario where a group of teenage girls are flipping through the fashion magazine at a shopping complex somewhere in London. The girls are flooded with shopping bags and are furthermore tempted to buy more after flipping through the magazine. Simultaneously, somewhere in South Africa, a young man is flaunting his American basketball t-shirt, a t-shirt made on different continents. Two different scenarios in two different parts of the world are explaining a product lifecycle.”

Globalization and urbanization make it possible for a young boy in South Africa to initially wear a t-shirt from the USA; we call it “fast fashion”.

Fast fashion makes clothes affordable, but it does have an environmental cost. A cost that affects the environment globally and adds to the GHG emissions makes the ecosystem hotter and unbearable for species other than humankind to survive in their natural environment. The garment industry accounts for more than 10% of the global climate impact, more significant than the air flights and maritime shipping trips combined.

Clothing has complex supply chains that make it difficult to account for all of the emissions produced by producing a pair of trousers or a new coat. Then, the clothing is transported and disposed of when the consumer no longer wants it anymore. It is hard to visualize all of the inputs that go into producing garments, but let us take denim as an example: the United Nations estimates that a single pair of jeans requires a kilogram of cotton. Moreover, because cotton tends to be grown in dry environments, producing this kilo requires about 7,500–10,000 litres of water. That is about ten years’ worth of drinking water for one person. There are ways to make denim less resource-intensive, but in general, jeans composed of material that is as close to the natural state of cotton as possible use less water and hazardous treatments to produce. This means less bleaching, less sandblasting, and less pre-washing.

The fashion industry has a disastrous impact on the environment and is the second-largest polluter in the world after the oil industry. It would be unfortunate to understand these figures that the environmental damage is increasing manifolds with the fashion industry’s growth. In order to substantiate the fact that the fashion industry is the second-largest emitter of GHG emissions, it would be interesting to highlight some facts and figures:

1. The fashion industry consumes nearly 93 billion cubic meters of water every year, enough to meet approx’s water consumption of 5 million people.

2. Nearly 20% of wastewater worldwide comes from fabric dyeing and treatment.

3. Of the total fibre input used for clothing, 87% gets disposed of in a landfill.

4. If the lifestyle patterns continue to grow with the current pattern, global apparel consumption will rise to approximately 102 billion tons by 2029.

5. Half a million tons of plastic microfibres are dumped in the ocean every year, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles. These microfibres cannot be extracted from water and can spread throughout the supply chain.

The UNEP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation published the above facts and figures to assess the global fashion industry’s damage. These facts and figures highlight the dark side of the glamorous glamour world. The world, which has a massive employment generation, completely neglects the impact of its activities on the environment and humankind. To understand the garment industry’s impact on our ecology, it becomes essential that we understand the industry’s carbon emissions at various levels, i.e., at the production, manufacturing and transportation level. However, it is very discouraging to note that the garment emits nearly two-third of its GHG emissions at the raw-material stage and leave adverse impacts on the global environment.

In addition to the above, polyester production accounts for nearly 55% of the total fashion industry emissions, releasing nearly 700 million tonnes of CO2 every year into the atmosphere. The polyester emission is closely followed by the cotton production emissions that account for nearly 23% of the fashion industry’s fossil fuel-based fibres.

Beyond the raw materials stage, the energy used at various levels of any garment lifecycle like manufacturing, transportation, packaging, and selling makes an enormous contribution to the GHG emissions. To understand these emissions, let us explore the contribution of the harmful gases the garment industry is making to the global ecological system:

Fashion and Water Pollution

In countries where garments are produced, untreated toxic wastewaters from the factories are dumped directly into the rivers. These wastewaters contain harmful chemicals like lead, mercury, arsenic that are highly harmful to aquatic life and the health of millions of the people living across the river bed. Such contamination reaches the sea and eventually spreads across the globe. This water contamination further happens due to the fertilizers used in the cotton production by polluting the run-off waters and evaporation waters.

After understanding the contamination of waters due to fabric production and other processes, the garment industry is expected to reduce its water consumption or to use sustainable ways of producing the garment to avoid polluting the water any further. However, in contrast to the expectations, the garment industry being the primary water consumer uses high water consumption fabrics and is highly polluting. An example of water usage is nearly 200 tons of freshwater used per ton of dyed fabric.

Another example can be cotton production that requires a considerable amount of water at the initial stages, i.e., nearly 20000 litres of water is required to produce 1kg of cotton; a massive pressure on the natural resources that is extremely scarce in the present world. If cotton is produced similarly as it is now, nearly 85% of the Indian population will drink water, reducing the almost nill. Furthermore, to reduce the water contamination and impact of garment pollution on the environment, the following measures can be adopted:

a. Choose clothes produced with strict environmental regulations adopted by the factories manufacturing them, ensuring a positive impact on the environment.

b. Adopt the usage of garments that are made from organic or natural fibres that require less or maybe no chemicals for its production.

c. Adopting a shift and focusing on more environmentally friendly fabrics like linen instead of cotton uses less water for its manufacturing.

d. Emphasize usage of recycled fabrics that helps environmental sustainability.

These initiatives can help in conserving water and emitting less hazardous gases, and achieve global environmental sustainability.

Water and Air Pollution

Gaseous emissions by the garment industry have been cited as the second-largest pollution problem after water pollution since most of the garment industry processes produce atmospheric emissions. However, little information is available, but as per the percentage data available on the garment industry’s pollution every year, the garment industry accounts for nearly 10% of carbon emissions by air. Some specific air pollutants produced by the industry are:

· At the energy production stage: nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide

· During the drying stage, volatile organic components (VOC) are produced during coating, wastewater treatment, and chemical storage.

· At the dyeing and bleach stage: aniline vapours, chlorine, chlorine dioxide

The garment industry’s primary air pollution source is boilers, thermo packs, ovens, and storage tanks. Various other sources also produce air pollution during the manufacturing stage of a garment lifecycle, but the above mentioned have been most influential. In order to curb these pollution sources that are prevalent in the garment industry, some significant steps are required:

i. Designing and manufacturing of products that do not produce toxic air pollutants

ii. Avoid fugitive air emissions from chemical spills through improved work

iii. By optimizing boiler operations to reduce the emissions of nitrous and sulphur dioxide

iv. Emphasize on use of scrubbers to collect particular matter

v. Ensure pre-screening of chemicals with the use of material safe data-sheet to ensure chemicals are not toxic

vi. Encourage the use of water-based products to decrease emissions of organic solvents

Such steps can help controlling air pollution to an extent; however, a collective effort at the global level by the textile industry to adopt sustainable ways will help achieve the objective of clear and breathable air.

Fashion and Microfibres in Oceans

Microfibres in oceans are significant concerns that the textile industry must address to achieve its commitment towards environmental sustainability. Whenever a synthetic garment such as polyester and nylon are washed, it releases nearly 1900 microfibres into the water, making its way to the oceans. Of many many observations made by the scientists, few observations explain that these microfibres are ingested by tiny aquatic organisms eaten by small fish and then by the larger fishes, eventually introducing plastic to our entire food chain.

It is estimated that nearly 1.9 million tons of microplastic fibres are released in oceans every year, making them present in every smallest part of our food chain. Additionally, 85% of human-made debris on the shoreline across the globe are microfibres.

Understanding the above facts and figures makes it mandatory that the textile industry start focusing on the semi-synthetic fibres that are less polluting and more ec0-friendly.

Fashion and Wastes

Clothes are disposable, and with the emergence of fast fashion, this has become a dark reality that impacts the global environment drastically. In terms of statistical figures, a family of four people throws away nearly 30 kgs of clothes every year, and of the 30 kgs, just 15% is recycled, and the rest gets wasted. These are startling figures that explain the harsh reality of the amount of pollution the textile world adds to already exhausted global GHG emissions.

In continuation with the above 30kgs disposal of clothes by an average household, then of the 30 kgs of the clothes disposed of, 5.2% are dumped in the landfills exhuming the flames creating global warming.

These wastes have been disturbing our ecological balance to a great extent and adding to the troubled ecology; another disturbing fact is that 72% of our clothes are made of synthetic fibres such as polyester, which again takes nearly 200 years to decompose. At this rate, the textiles will only be exhuming gases making the environment worst and non-livable.

The obvious question is, what can be done about it?

· Choose semi-synthetic fibres

· Recycle clothes

· Increase the lifecycle of clothes from three years to at least five years

· Environmentally friendly use fabric

Fashion and Chemicals

Trivia: 1 kg of chemicals are required to produce 1 kg of textiles

Chemicals are essential components of our clothes and are used in almost every stage of the garment manufacturing life cycle; starting from fibre production to dyeing or even wet processing; chemicals are available everywhere, adding to the already disturbed ecosystem’s woes.

The massive usage of chemicals in cotton farming adds to the devastation already existing in soil erosion and freshwater and even ocean water pollution. The chemical usage further takes away many cotton-producing farmers’ lives due to harmful effects on human health. Though cotton is considered an extremely breathable and excellent option for the severe heat facing nations, manufacturing and production are harmful to the people concerned. The obvious options are to shift to more organic fabrics and brands that are more sustainable.

Another option is to look for garments available with certification label controlling chemical content, such as OREO-TEX®, GOTS, BLUESIGN® and more. To shift to a more environmentally friendly garment is essential since 27% of the weight of any “100% natural” fabric is made of chemicals.

SCARY- ARE WE WEARING CHEMICALS?

Fashion and GHG Emissions

It is a well-known fact that the fashion industry accounts for 10% of global GHG emissions. It is even more shocking to know that 23% of these GHG emissions of the 10% GHG mentioned are generated for each kilo of fabric produced. The contribution to the global GHG emissions comes from the entire lifecycle of the garment purchased. Apart from the manufacturing phase, it is the production of raw materials (used at the manufacturing phase) that generate massive harmful gases.

Furthermore, it is even more discouraging to know that 400% more carbon emissions are produced if a garment is just worn five times instead of 50 times and is discarded instead of donating or recycling it. Cotton, synthetic fibres used in the manufacturing of any garment, are all made from fossil fuels adding to the already suffering ecosystem’s vows. A simple fact can understand that nearly 700 barrels are used every year to produce polyester, which is the raw material for a finished garment. Facts like these explain how much GHG emissions are happening due to cheap or substandard apparel and drastically disturbing the global ecosystem.

Fashion and Soil Degradation

Soil: a fundamental element of our ecosystem, is facing a severe threat, and if soil conservation is not taken up seriously, it will have serious consequence on both humans and the ecological system. Because healthy soil is essential for food to grow, degraded soil will not help food production, adding to humankind’s worries. On the ecological system, healthy soil helps in absorbing CO2, which will help control global warming.

The apparel industry’s contribution to soil degradation has been in different ways: one of which is overgrazing of pastures through cashmere goats and sheeps raised for wool. (TRIVIA: 90% of Mongolia’s surface is facing the threat of desertification, principally due to the breeding of cashmere goats).

Another reason is that degradation can happen due to the massive use of chemicals used to grow cotton. If the soil is degrading at this rate, it will decrease by 30% in food production over the next 30-40 years. Lastly, degradation can happen due to deforestation caused by wool-based fibres like rayon.

Fashion and Rain Forest Destruction

TREES: a lifeline for the planet

Trees are being cut at a very rapid pace for humankind’s usage, and if this continues, there will not be any trees left on earth, and humankind will be doomed. It is saddening to note that nearly 70 million trees are being cut down each year to make our clothes.

There is one question that I want to ask everyone. Do we plant trees at the same pace? If yes, then we indeed contribute to our planet’s health, and if no, where are we heading then?

Thousands of hectares of endangered species and forests are cut and are being replaced by plantations used in making wool-based fabrics like rayon, viscose, and modal to meet the demands of the textile industry. It is, however, estimated that 30% of these fabrics come from endangered forests; conserving those should be of utmost priority to prevent the ecological balance and protect some rare and endangered plants and other species. As already discussed, the loss of forests is not only a loss of ancient and diverse ecology, and it is about destroying what we have received as a gift of nature.

With so many harmful effects of the textile industry on nature and its resources, the industry must innovate and adopt eco-friendly ways to maintain the ecological balance and minimize the damage caused to the environment caused due to the emission of GHG because of its activities. The ultimate aim must to minimize these emissions and create a cleaner and greener environment.

To minimize the harmful effects, some measures that the textile industry can adopt are:

1. A Green Supply Chain is something that every textile manufacturing and retail company must aim at achieving. A green supply chain that involves the use of renewables and fabrics that are eco-friendly and organic must be adopted. Additionally, the above said supply chain must be green and short that at every stage is eco-friendly.

To achieve this, brands must ensure that they eliminate coal from their supply chain and aim to form partnerships with those who embrace sharing of capital costs. It is also essential that these textile brands further adopt green energy policies like green energy grids and transportation infrastructure.

2. Adopting a rental closet is another crucial way the clothes are available for rent in all price ranges and all occasions. Designers and brands must encourage the feature to create a sustainable wardrobe to lessen our environment’s burden. Encouraging the consumers to rent an outfit will reduce dumping the clothes, thus ensuring a green environment.

To encourage the “rent an outfit” culture, brands must work on factors like affordable prices, maintaining a high quality of the product, adopting sustainable clothes to create green brand awareness can be highlighted to achieve environment neutrality.

3. One other way is to adopt a consignment and resale strategy where the designers aim at producing garments with a future goal to extend the life of luxury goods with the quality and craftsmanship that makes it possible for the garments to stay in circulation for a relatively long period. Promoting the brand in association with sustainability will motivate the consumers to shift to this alternative medium. This will prove to be environmentally friendly, but it will be cost-effective for the brands as well.

4. Minimizing the impact of GHG emissions by manufacturing the textile industry is by shifting focus to more plant-based textiles such as organic cotton or pure viscose that can significantly reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. These fabrics can be further helpful in resolving the ecological balance and natural resources to a great extent.

In addition to these initiatives, the textile industry, in association with the United Nations on December 10, 2018, fashion stakeholders worked during 2018 to identify ways in which the broader textile, clothing and fashion industry can move towards a holistic commitment to climate action. They created the Fashion Industry Charter on Climate Action, which contains the vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Fashion Industry Charter was launched at COP24 in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action goes beyond previous industry-wide commitments. Work under Fashion Charter for Climate Action is guided by its mission to drive the fashion industry to net-zero GHG emissions no later than 2050, in line with keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees. It also includes a target of 30% GHG emission reductions by 2030 and a commitment to analyze and set a decarbonization pathway for the fashion industry, drawing on methodologies from the Science-Based Targets Initiative. This target – which is one of many goals enshrined in the Charter – is a clear demonstration that the fashion industry is serious about urgently acting on climate change and is keen to set an example to other sectors around the level of commitment required to meet the scale of the climate challenge.

Under UN climate change, the Signatories and Supporting Organizations of the Charter will work collaboratively to deliver on the principles enshrined in the document. This will be done through Working Groups, which will bring together relevant stakeholders, experts, and initiatives in the fashion and border textile sector. The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, with its Working Groups, will identify and amplify best practices, strengthen existing efforts, identify and address gaps, facilitate and strengthen the collaboration among stakeholders, and join resources and share tools to enable the sector to achieve its climate targets.

The industry charter specifies the following overarching areas of work to be further developed by specific Working Groups:

· Decarbonization pathway and GHG emission reductions

· Raw material

· Manufacturing/Energy

· Logistics

· Policy engagement

· Leveraging existing tools and initiatives

· Promoting broader climate action

· Brand/Retailer Owned or Operated Emissions

Forty-three leaders, including Adidas, Burberry, Esprit, Guess, Gap Inc., Hugo Boss, H&M Group, Inditex, Kering, Levi Strauss & Co., Puma SE, PVH Corp., Target; leading membership organizations, including Business for Social Responsibility, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, China National Textile and Apparel Council, Outdoor Industry Association and Textile Exchange; global logistics company Maersk; and global NGO WWF International have committed to implementing or supporting the 16 principles and targets that underpin the Fashion Climate Charter. The Charter, which is open for other companies and organizations to join, recognizes the crucial role that fashion plays on both sides of the climate equation: contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and as a sector with multiple opportunities to reduce emissions while contributing to sustainable development.

With this Charter, one can only hope to achieve climate sustainability by the textile industry and reduce its emissions to nill. Change within the fashion industry needs to happen, and it seems that there is progress. Personal choices have a role in mitigation- there needs to be action at all levels from individuals to big corporations, and from local to international governance, as only by working together and changing behaviours will see results. However, the individual actions of consumers and businesses can send a strong message and spark change. Just need to know….

“HOW SOON?’

“Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, commodities, and countries dearly today & even more tomorrow. People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, including changing water patterns,

rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events”.

“The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.”

-GOAL (UN Sustainable Development Goals) accessed

18th Nov.2016

Climate change is no more an environmental concern. It has emerged as the most significant development challenge for the economies as a whole. Its economic impacts, particularly on the developing nation, make it a governance issue.

Industrialized countries have managed to delink sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from economic growth but cannot do the same with CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. Per capita, CO2 emissions remain closely related to a country’s economic development level and, thus, standard of living. It is evident that till the time we reduce our dependence on CO2 (i.e., coal, oil, and natural gas), growth cannot be delinked substantially from CO2 emissions.

Understanding the usage of CO2, there is an urgent need to curb the use of fossil fuels (which are being used by every individual in one way or the other) by changing our lifestyle and shifting our focus towards a sustainable form of lifestyle. As the call for action is becoming urgent with each passing day, the world is looking for answers (with bated breath) from all the global economies collectively. Though the onus is on the developing economies to cut down on the CO2 emissions (due to the high industrialization), it is equally essential that the developed economies contribute equally and become more energy-efficient and reduce their energy emissions.

As they say:

“It is a collaborative effort.”

After years of brainstorming and discussions amongst the veterans of climate change analysts, the renewable energy (that is being considered the substitute for usage of fossil fuels) constitutes just 2% of the world’s primary energy in the world (data is since 2010). This is worrisome as renewable sources are being considered as the most significant substitute.

THE WORLD is yet to delink growth from carbon emissions, and we (INDIA) as an emerging world can leapfrog to make the transition to a cleaner technological regime.

INDIA: we all are aware that it is at the brink where it can make or break a path in terms of climate change (since it is developing economy and we are still building our infrastructure and cities). But, it is necessary to know how INDIA is getting affected by climate change economically???

Let me try and answer the same according to my understanding of the INDIAN economy:

IMPACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY

INDIA, one of the fastest-growing economies of the world, faces the challenge of lowering its carbon emissions, making itself reliant on renewable sources of energy (or sustainable sources of life) and yet driving impressive economic growth. More than 80% of India’s population still live less than $10 per day. According to the World Human Development Index: India stands at 129th position, ensuring an immense scope for improvement in the Indian economy. It is because of this reason, India has been crowned as the flag bearer of developing a green or sustainable economy.

According to Mc. Kinsey Global Institute, nearly 75% of India’s labour workforce, is exposed to heat-related stress, thus putting the country’s economic growth at risk. It also mentions that by 2030 the average loss in daylight working hours could put 2%-4% of GDP at risk, reducing efficiency to a great extent. Furthermore, the absence of any prudent legal framework (legislation that is in place to combat the effects of climate change) by the INDIAN government makes the task of achieving a sustainable environment more cumbersome to perform.

To achieve the ultimate goal of a sustainable environment, the closest laws in place are the Air (prevention and control of air pollution) act, 1981 and the water (prevention and control of water pollution) act, 1974. These have been amongst the earliest actions to combat climate change, though the two haven’t been implemented in the same manner as intended. In addition to the above two, there was the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 that was brought in to fulfil the gap of the laws mentioned above (that were already existing). However, the above also have not been implemented correctly both by the central and the state governments.

This ensures that the Indian system lacks a legal framework that binds the government and the individuals, both simultaneously to work collectively to achieve the mammoth target of climate sustainability. With these grim facts about India’s response to curbing carbon emissions, there has been a silver lining in the form of initiatives that have been undertaken in the recent past. These initiatives also lay importance to the fact that INDIA is indeed trying and is committed to achieving its part in the global response to climate sustainability. Seen from the global perspective, India’s per capita carbon emissions are marginal @ 4% of the global emissions (Singh 2019). In absolute terms, too, India’s emissions and energy intensity are favourably low compared to international countries. Over the years, the energy growth has been significantly lower (less than 4% p.a.) than the economic growth (over 9% p.a.) (Growth 2011).

This reduced energy intensity at the relatively low level of India’s GDP has been the result of a range of factors, including sustainable patterns of consumption, proactiveness (though at a somewhat lower level) to enhance the efficiency of the resources, and more recently, the use of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies (Purohit 2019). Furthermore, the globally computed indices, namely Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) and Climate Risk Index (CRI) indicate that INDIA has been fairing pretty well in taking up proactive actions for the adaptation and mitigation techniques to solve the issue of climate change.

According to the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) (the index indicates the efforts made by a country to tackle climate change effectively); amongst the 58 states that were ranked in 2017, India stands at 20th position, which is a positive sign and ensures that India is on track ahead. Still, a lot needs to be achieved. According to Climate Risk Index (CRI), India stands at the 14th position, which means that India is highly vulnerable to climate change. It is adversely dangerous.

The Indian economy has benefitted immensely by investing in CDM projects. The total number of projects registered was 1452 compared to 8044 projects globally by the end of 2015. On the other hand, CDM projects in India facilitated an estimated investment of Rs. 1.6 trillion by the end of 2014, investing in CDM projects fruitful for the economy and the environment of India.

With all the above initiatives by the governments at the various fronts, India still lacks a legal framework and the will on the part of governments to work on a war footing basis to achieve the competitive target of climate sustainability. This, in turn, is impacting sectors significantly…. Let’s have a clear understanding of how sectors are getting affected by climate change:

A. TOURISM SECTOR

Tourism is the largest single sector in the world economy that accounts for 9% of global expenditure. Over 2 million people are dependent on the industry for employment.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “India will lose its tourism revenues if the temperature keeps rising.” With the climate change, there would be a threat to major tourist destinations in terms of extinction of species, decreasing freshwaters, increasing heat waves, inability to conduct/ play snow-based games as the people will not be able to visit these places.

Mumbai is the financial capital of INDIA, is expected to witness considerable losses in the number of tourists visiting the city by the year 2050. A rough estimate of about 19, 63,500 crores of rupees would be lost alone by the financial capital from its tourism sector by the year 2050. This figure could give a rough estimate of the magnitude of loss INDIA as a country would be facing due to lack of tourism.

The above is a petite figure to understand the losses; there are no significant facts and figures that can estimate the failure in the tourism sector in the decades to come. The only silver lining is to adopt a holistic approach in tackling the climate change problem in the industry and bring it back on the road to recovery.

B. MANUFACTURING SECTOR

It is incredibly discouraging to know that there is no concrete data available that can make us understand how the manufacturing sector will get impacted by climate change. The industry as a whole too is facing the heat of rising temperature and growth in environmental situations. More than 90% of manufacturing pollution comes from consumer used products such as electronics and vehicles. This contributes to the contribution of the sector to the global pollution of GHG (Green House Gases) for 19% and another 11% of the power used to produce these consumer goods. Furthermore, the temperature rise could add to the manufacturing sector’s fury, and in the year 2050, the global loss can be estimated to be around $47 billion.

Again, about INDIA’s financial capital, Mumbai could witness losses of around 15,08,138 crores rupees in the manufacturing sector by the year 2050. This is just an estimation that too, for only one city in the country. It is tough to imagine how devastating the figures can be when the entire country’s estimates are taken into consideration.

These figures are terrifying, but only a collaborative approach and the zeal to take dramatic steps will help curb the climate changes, thus, enabling the sector to flourish as it is desired.

C. INSURANCE SECTOR

Climate change is no longer a projection for emerging risks but is a reality for insurance companies worldwide.

Insurers have been researching what climate change effects mean to their businesses, and pricing of the insurances will be premium. However, the property, health, and life could still be left uninsured. According to estimates, the losses from global natural disasters in 2018 were approx. $160 billion, with half of the value, still left uninsured. Furthermore, the annual losses for more than 136 of the world’s largest coastal cities could rise from $6 billion in 2005 to over $1 trillion by 2050. This can be reduced if these cities invest about $50 billion annually in climate change adaptation without delay. The Bank of England warns that “Climate change could threaten economic resilience and financial stability severely.” According to Climate Wise: The insurance sector needs to use more of its $30 trillion of investments in funding society’s resilience to climate change effects.

Insurance is going to play a pivotal role in a country like INDIA, which is dominated by rain-fed agriculture. There is a vast scope for insurance to improve upon for INDIA and other developing countries and be the flag bearer for innovation. Lack of innovation and initiative by industry giants could prove a gargantuan challenge.

D. AUTOMOBILE SECTOR

Of the total global CO2 emissions, the transportation sector contributes to about 24%. The industry responsible for nearly a quarter of global emissions; road transport (which consists of cars, trucks, buses), accounts for a whopping 74% of international transport CO2 emissions.

In the year 2018, more than 86 million new cars were produced, and of these, there was a soaring demand for heavier vehicles (like SUVs) that are responsible for a notch higher emissions into the atmosphere.

INDIAN automobile industry is one of the largest globally, and by 2026, it is expected to be the third-largest automobile market (in terms of volumes) in the world.

The industry currently manufacturers 26 million vehicles, including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers, and quadricycles in March-April 2020. Of this, 4.7 million vehicles were exported. INDIA holds a strong position in the international market for heavy vehicles as it is the largest tractor manufacturer, second-largest bus manufacturer, and third largest heavy truck manufacturer in the world. This automobile sector is expected to reach $300 billion by 2026 (currently, it stands @ $118 billion).

With such promising figures, the automobile sector is flourishing rapidly (which is a positive sign). Having said so, if there is a time to take stock and recalibrate its sustainable strategy, it is NOW.

Stricter emission norms, higher taxes, lack of infrastructure (such as charging stations and cleaner fuels), and the uncertainty of mainstream consumer demand for electric and hybrid vehicles… creates innumerable challenges for the industry as a whole in terms of maintaining economic profitability and achieving environmental sustainability at the same time.

To achieve both of the parameters mentioned above at the same time, it is extremely important to innovate. Innovation is the key driver that can lead the way towards making INDIA a pioneer in eco-friendly technologies for cars. Adding to innovation, there is a requirement to influx fresh talent (that can add and create new ideas) and create an infrastructure base along with research and development (R&D) for promoting and achieving innovation.

This would be possible if both the government and industry stalwarts sit together and brainstorm with an ambition to achieve a cleaner and greener environment for the present and the future generations to live in.

E. OIL AND GAS SECTOR

Oil & gas firms have had far and more adverse climate impacts than thought off. According to a study, human emissions of fossil methane have been underestimated by up to 40%.

According to the UN Environment Program: Methane has a greenhouse effect that is about 80 times more potent than CO2 over 20 years, which is responsible for at least 25% of global heating.

Investments in oil and gas production over the next five years will lock in more than 1.5°C of global warming. 85% of global and gas expansion plans are in North America alone. The world today cannot afford and does not need more oil and gas development. In addition to catastrophic climate, change-expansion puts countries, communities, workers, and investors currently dependent on oil and gas financially at risk.

Indian oil and gas industry is amongst the eight core industries and plays a significant role in influencing decision-making for all other essential sections of the economy. The oil and gas sector is exposed to the range of climatic events and their potential impacts such as storm surges, floods, water scarcity, heat waves, etc.….. yet there is very little preparedness and planning for assessing how it may vary the future due to change in the climate. Indian oil and gas sector needs to be more concerned from the resilience point of view than mitigation of GHG (Green House Gases) emissions. To combat the impact of climate change, the sector needs to brainstorm over the following categories:

· Concerned companies take immediate actions about existing infrastructure and should within the next five years. The four most essential steps relate to conducting location-specific flood modelling exercises, exploring plant-specific water efficiency improvement options, and building a database to properly establish the impact of temperature rise on energy consumption and efficiency of operations.

· Maintaining long-term actions that pertain to existing and planned infrastructure and relate to building institutional capabilities at the national level in terms of building strategic knowledge and regulatory framework to understand climate change.

F. TEXTILE SECTOR

The textile industry is considered the most ecologically harmful industry in the world. The industry is enormous, and the environmental impacts occur at every stage of the fibres’ life cycle, yarn fabrication, fabric manufacture, wet processing, and manufacturing of the garment. The distribution and transportation to the stores, usage of the product, and the final stage of disposing of the product involve a massive amount of pollution.

The textile industry uses nearly 2000 different chemicals to transfer everything from dyes to agents. These chemicals pollute water significantly, causing water crises affecting the long-term environment ultimately. This contaminated water, pigments, de-fumer, bleach, and other powerful chemicals pollute the environment and increase heat, causing global warming.

Indian textile industry contributes 14% to industrial production, 3% to the GDP, 8% to the total excise revenue collection, and 17% to the country’s export earnings and employs nearly 40 million people. With these figures, the textile sector’s growth is enabled and facilitated by the use of material, leading to a manifold impact on the environment. The effects of the initiatives have been drastic both on human beings and the environment. This has given rise to the use of sustainable forms of fabrics that are ecofriendly in their usage and, at the same time, economically significant.

To maintain this kind of sustainability, the sector has developed considerably. However, this development has made the textile industry competitive in the global market but hurts human life and the environment as a whole. Automation and modernization increased the production speed, but the result has been extremely negative on water, air, and lead to severe health hazards.

It is now on the government and the industry together to sit and brainstorm to make their industry more environmentally sustainable and economically significant, together at the same time.

G. PHARMA SECTOR

For the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, the impact of climate change is two-folds, responding to the increased risk of certain diseases and conditions and decarbonizing their processes and products to prevent the worsening effect.

The sector is far from green. A study by environment engineers at the University of Ontario: found that the industry is significantly more emission-intensive (13% or more) than the automotive industry despite being 28% smaller.

According to an analysis, combined CO2 emissions from hospitals, health services, and medical supply chains across the OCED group (37 countries across the globe including US, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc.) plus China and India comprise 4% of total global emissions footprint…. more significant than either aviation or shipping.

The NHS (National Health Services) in the UK has been found to produce 5.4% of England’s total carbon emissions. The pharmaceutical company must retain a focus on driving decarbonization and best practice sustainability in the house as in product design. In 2015, the Global Pharmaceutical Industry produced 55% more CO2 than the automotive industry.

Understanding the above, the shift to a far more rapid decarbonization rate across the pharma industry, and the broader healthcare sector will require significant action. Focused efforts can deliver decarbonization results and can be delivered alongside economic growth and expansion service.

According to IDC: FutureScape, Worldwide Datacenter 2019, global pharmaceutical performance demonstrated that the company’s leading on emissions (Amegen, Johnson & Johnson, and Roche Holding) were also most profitable in the sector. This is clear proof that there are economic opportunities in innovating for the future.

H. AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place at the international level, i.e., global scale. Climate change affects farming in several ways, including through growth in the average temperatures, rainfall, and climate extremes (heat waves, etc.), changes in pests and diseases, changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone concentrations, changes in the nutritional quality of some foods, etc. to name a few.

Changes in the climate are already affecting agriculture, the impacts of which have been unevenly distributed across the world. The climate changes will probably increase the risk of food insecurity for some vulnerable groups; for example, South America may lose 1%-21% of its arable land area, Africa 1%-18%, Europe 11%-17%, and India 20%-40% approx. The accelerating pace of climate change, combined with global population and income growth, threatens food security everywhere. Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Higher temperatures eventually reduce the yields of desirable crops while encouraging weed and pest proliferation. Pests management becomes less effective, meaning that higher rates of pesticides will be necessary to achieve the same control levels. Heatwaves can cause extreme heat stress in crops, limiting yields if they occur during certain times of the plants’ life-cycle (pollination, pod, or fruit set). Also, heat waves can result in wilted plants (due to elevated transpiration rates), which can cause yield loss if not counteracted by irrigation. Heavy rains that often result in flooding can also be detrimental to crops and soil structure. The overall impacts of climate change on farming are expected to be negative, threatening global food security.

Indian agriculture remains vulnerable to the vagaries of weather, and the looming climate change threat can make it vulnerable further. It is estimated that farm incomes could reduce by 15-18% and 20-25% in unirrigated areas since agriculture accounts for a large share of GDP (16%) and an even greater employment share (around 49%).

The Economic Survey in 2017-18 has warned that “climate change could reduce annual agricultural incomes in the range of 15% to 18% on an average, and up to 20% to 25% for unirrigated areas”.

With all the above figures, sustainable development within climate change is the need of the hour. It is necessary for the government and the industry along with farmers at the grass root levels to effectively and swiftly achieve the desired sustainability.

After understanding all the sectors and their contribution towards INDIA’s economy, it is clear that the road towards a sustainable environment is a long way. There is an immense scope of improvement, and a sea of opportunities are in front of the CEOs that they can adopt to achieve climate sustainability. There are lots of opportunities, but the obvious question to be raised is….

Whether the CEOs are taking enough steps in the right direction, or do they view the problem of climate change as the corporate problem or no????

The answer to this is that CEOs do acknowledge climate change as the corporate problem but are clueless about the road ahead. Awareness levels about climate change are at the highest levels than ever; however, the shape of future corporate strategies is to be formulated at a large scale.

The issue of climate change needs immediate attention by the corporates and the governments, and to counter the effects of climate change, nearly 3% of the GDP could be spent. With such a vast population, inadequate infrastructure and lack of policies, climate change is a defining subject that must be addressed to maintain the economy’s pace. With the resilient economy and ecology that is fragile, INDIA is looking for ways to achieve sustainable development – economically sound, socially relevant, and environmentally friendly. Economic growth at the cost of degradation of the environment will aggravate poverty, unemployment, and disease. Thus, the integration of development with that of the environment has been at the forefront of India’s policymaking. The question is:

“Are we ready?”