Climate Change –
Why India needs to take leadership

By Malini Mehra

Sixty years on from India’s Independence, the country is a rising global star with ambitions to match. But global climate change could wreck that rosy future. As a tropical country with a long coastline and a large population, India could be amongst the worst affected. The time to act is now. This paper makes a powerful case for enlightened leadership from India’s political class on climate change. Calling it the challenge of a generation, it argues that climate change must be re-framed not as an agenda of fear and entitlement, but of growth and opportunity. Addressing it now could be the best means for a country like India to secure peace, development and quality of life for its billion-plus people. If India truly aspires to greatness, there could be no other issue more timely or compelling.