Climate change GD topic is one such topic that never going to out of fashion (at least, not in the near future). So, read this blog carefully to make yourself impressive in front of the group discussion panel. It’s an indispensable GD because it affects the environment, economy, and society. Now, let’s discuss all the important aspects of climate change here for a strong GD performance. You can also use all these points on your environment gd topic as well.
What is Climate Change?
Climate change, in simple words mean, change in the earth’s climate system. The fluctuations can happen because of long-term alterations in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other elements. It’s already known to us that natural cycles do bring some major changes but the current climate condition is primarily influenced by our (human) activities like deforestation, industrialization, biodiversity loss, and the burning of fossil fuels. These activities have given rise to issues like global warming, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and increased occurrence of climate-related disasters.
Climate Change as a Real and Pressing Issue
Evidence Supporting Climate Change:
Let’s review some of the pieces of evidence that show that climate change is real.
Rising Temperatures: WMO reported that all the world’s oceans in 2023, experienced a significant temperature rise. Almost a third of the ocean is affected by marine heatwaves on any given day and over 90% are affected at some point during that year.
Extreme Weather Events: As per The IPCC’s 2021– human-caused greenhouse gas emissions give rise to intense extreme weather events. (NASA’s satellite). Now that the Earth’s climate is changing very frequently, it also impacts extreme weather across the planet. We are witnessing record-breaking heat waves both on land and ocean, unstoppable rains, severe floods, years-long droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes are commonly seen every other year, and that too in so many regions.
Melting Glaciers: Melting glaciers is one of the biggest evidence supporting climate change. Because of this, there are rising sea levels and coastal regions are getting eroded and experiencing severe storms. The Greenland ice sheet is melting four times faster than in 2003. If this continues and all ice melts in Greenland then global sea levels would rise by 20 feet. And then, increased coastal erosion and worsened storm surges. Air would be warmer and ocean temperatures would lead to frequent and intense coastal storms.
Desertification: This means when fertile land becomes dry dry desert. This can happen because of various reasons like: unsustainable farming, overgrazing, mining, deforestation (being the topmost), and other factors like clear-cutting. Since several regions in Africa and Asia are becoming expanding deserts, it threatens biodiversity and livelihoods.
Plastic Pollution: The production and usage of plastic (in any form) contributes to climate change. Sources says plastic has generated 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. There’s also a correlation between plastic and oil-
Also, don’t forget the consequences of microplastics. It interferes with the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide and reduce the growth of microalgae. Plastic while degrading releases harmful gases like methane and ethylene.
Global Efforts to Combat Climate Change:
Globally all the developed and developing countries are working towards combatting climate change. Some of their initiatives are:
International Agreements: The Paris Agreement of 2015, is all about limiting global temperature to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was signed and the purpose was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the industrialized nations. The motive of initiating ‘The Montreal Protocol,’ is to protect the ozone layer by removing ozone-depleting substances.
Renewable Energy: Wind, solar, and water are the top renewable energy sources. These produce notably fewer emissions than fossil fuels and we should cumulatively use these to fight climate change. United Nations reports that investing in renewable energy will generate employment and save financial resources up to $4.2 trillion per year by 2030.
Sustainable Practices: Last but not least, being sustainable in all aspects is the way to go. Not using single-use plastics, using sustainable transportation, promoting planting trees, saving noin renewable resources, not creating any type of pollution, banning hazardous industrial activities and so much more will save us and our climate from changing drastically. Let’s all take our steps towards ecological balance for Mother Earth.
Counterarguments: Climate Change as a Hoax
Even you must have heard people saying- ‘climate change isn’t real’. Even well-known figures don’t think twice before saying something like this. Now, let’s talk about their justification.
Points Against:
Historical Climate Cycles: Our planet Earth has witnessed drastic climate changes way before industrialization. There have been eight cycles including the Ice Age or Jurassic Era. The earth’s climate experienced warmer times in the last 8,00,000 years alone when human civilization hadn’t even begun. We came into existence around 11,700 years ago when the ice age finally ended.
Minimal Urban Impact: It’s been heard again and again that urbanization is contributing to climate change majorly. However, urbanization occupies a small fraction of the Earth’s surface while agriculture contributes to using more of the Earth’s land. So, there’s no way the climate is changing negatively because of development or expansion.
Responsibility of Developed Nations: Developed countries are way ahead of under-developed or developing countries in terms of growth, export, production, and manufacturing. And because of that, they have emitted the most greenhouse gages. So, technically western economies (developed countries) should take charge of emission reductions before asking developing countries to be sustainable. This is what developing countries believe in.
Impact of Climate Change on the Indian Economy
Discussing the Climate Change GD Topic while focusing on its impact on the Indian economy will get you more points from the GD committee. So, let’s talk further-
Agriculture
India is more towards agriculture, and that’s why it’s known as an agrarian economy. Its agriculture is heavily dependent on monsoons and that makes it highly vulnerable to climate change. When we receive unpredictable rainfall or extreme weather events, it reduces crop yields or even damages the whole produce. This causes economic strain and threatens food security.
Industry and Infrastructure
Infrastructure and industries easily get disrupted when there are extreme weather conditions or disasters. For example- Floods and earthquakes damage houses, offices, factories, and more. The economy hampers when there’s a loss of properties, that’s why it’s harmful for the economy when there’s any kind of disaster. Also, India has lots of trade and manufacturing hubs in coastal regions, they are at high risk because of any mishap.
Energy
India is dependent on hydropower for its energy, so, it faces disruptions due to erratic water flow from glaciers. Additionally, our country is warm and humid, during summer or heatwaves energy demand for cooling increases, straining resources.
Public Health
Climate change not only affects infrastructure but also aggravates public health issues. Diseases like malaria or dengue are widely seen across India as these are vector-borne diseases and affect the poorer people first. Climate change gives rise to such infections that lead to higher healthcare costs and reduced workforce productivity.
India’s Efforts to Mitigate Effects
These are a few steps India is taking as one of the big countries to mitigate climate change effects:
- India’s government has set targets to commit to sustainability by 2030. India aims to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity, reduce carbon intensity by 45%, and produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen (read National Green Hydrogen Mission GD Topic). To achieve these sustainable goals, govt. Initiated several programs, such as the National Green Hydrogen Mission, PM-KUSUM, and PLI schemes for solar PV modules.
- GOI has also launched Mission LiFE( Lifestyle for Environment) initiatives on Oct 20, 2022. The goal of this initiative is to encourage people to adopt environmentally sustainable lifestyles where people take action and protect the environment through simple yet effective changes in their daily lives.
- The Indian government has introduced policies to encourage Electric Vehicle adoption. The programs are the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles scheme, EMPS 2024, and PM E-Drive scheme. Moreover, GOI reduced GST on EVs, exemption from road tax, and other subsidies have also been implemented.
- India is doing its best to reduce environmental damage by shutting down the use of single-use plastics. We’ve banned manufacturing, selling, and using particular single-use plastics, like plastic plates, cutlery, and polystyrene, from July 1, 2022. Furthermore, India increased the plastic minimum thickness to 120 microns by December 31, 2022, to save the environment from plastic repurcussons.
Conclusion
The climate change GD topic is one of the most searched topics, especially by MBA candidates. And one has to gather all the perspectives and factual points before sitting in a group discussion. This blog will help you with all the authentic data that will make you an informed candidate in front of a panel. It doesn’t matter if you are pro-climate change or against it, the only thing that matters is your narrative remains logical and persuasive. Also, don’t forget to add how climate change impacts on Indian economy and beyond.
Also read: https://mbaroi.in/blog/national-green-hydrogen-mission-gd-topic/ https://mbaroi.in/blog/sustainble-transport-gd-topic/ https://mbaroi.in/blog/quick-commerce-vs-brick-and-mortar-store-the-battle-for-retail-supremacy/ https://mbaroi.in/blog/india-vs-canada/
