We must put water at the heart of climate change solutions, says researcher aditimukherji
To limit warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels requires carbon emissions to plummet immediately, but too many carbon-removal efforts overlook demands on water. For example, inappropriate species used in tree-planting programmes to pull carbon from the air can consume scarce water and even change local rainfall patterns. Similarly, replacing fossil fuels with biofuels might require crops such as maize and rapeseed, which take water that could otherwise go to food production.
In climate-change hotspots, including the Sundarbans, there is only so much that farmers can do. Many farmers in the Sundarbans planted salt-tolerant rice varieties and grew shrimp in brackish water. Now cyclone damage and saltier water are making those changes increasingly ineffective. Unable to cope, many families are migrating out, often in precarious circumstances. Cases of human trafficking rise after every climate hazard, such as cyclones and floods.
Including voices that highlight these issues helps to create more feasible mitigation and adaptation efforts. Broad-brush solutions that do not consider issues of equity and justice in climate change will fail; to work, solutions must be specific to their contexts. In the IPCC’s latest assessment cycle, the number of participating scientists from the global south, like me, increased markedly. We brought our technical expertise and our lived experiences to the table and learnt from each other.