Security Implications of Climate Change for India: Report of the IDSA Working Group

Based on the idea that climate change cannot be unlinked from the overall energy security and economic growth, this report from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (ISDA) states that the National Action Plan on Climate Change is a good beginning but its time-bound implementation needs to be ensured. Future projections of surface warming over India indicate that the annual mean area averaged surface warming is likely to be between two and three degrees Celsius and 3.5 and 5.5 degrees Celsius by the middle and end of 21st century, respectively. Trends in sea level rise indicate a possible rise between 1.06 to 2.75 mm per year, and every one-degree rise in temperature would reduce wheat production by four to five million tons. Water scarcity will threaten food supplies in India and a quarter of the biodiversity could be lost. This report purports that India needs to improve energy efficiency in the industrial, household, and transport sectors and looks at the possible adverse impact on the strategy and tactics of Indian armed forces. It concludes that all countries should use climate change as an opportunity to make socioeconomic development more sustainable.