“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” 
- Dr. Jane Goodall, scientist and activist 

For more than a century, scientists have been warning us about greenhouse gases, and their consequences on the Earth. While these gases might be useful in small quantities, ensuring that life can thrive, in large quantities they have devastating effects on our planet. Climate change is the consequence of this warming – from record high temperatures and rising sea levels to natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and droughts increasing in frequency and extent, every corner of the planet has been affected.  

In the past, the majority of carbon emissions have come from the Global North, as it underwent industrialization over the last two centuries – contributing over 92% of all greenhouse gas emissions over the same time span. Today, there is a massive push to reduce the usage of such harmful pollutants by the very same people: putting into jeopardy the economic growth of the global South, as it attempts to industrialise its own production. 

This unequal impact of climate change and the relationship between the Global North and Global South has been a focal point of academic research on climate justice for decades, beginning in the late twentieth century when the field of post-colonial studies highlighted the after-effects of colonialism on the people of the global South. From basic healthcare to education and food infrastructure, the global South lags behind due to its historic oppression at the hands of the global North, with the global South dealing with the majority of the destructive side effects of climate change. Companies from the global North also attempt to offset their own climate footprint by shunting production and high-carbon-emission activities to the Global South, adding to the unequal relationship.  

These activities have led to irreparable loss, and the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 (the United Nations’ annual Convention of the Parties conference on climate change, in 2022). This Fund seeks to assist countries that are deeply vulnerable to the effects of climate change, through economic and non-economic assistance and to essentially pay damages to countries that face irreparable damages related to climate change. 

In ‘Climate Justice in South Asia,’ we will explore the terms currently in use to understand the climate crisis, including climate justice, which focuses on addressing the disproportionate impact that climate change has on marginalized communities and members of the global South; climate debt, which is the compensation owed to developing countries by developed countries for the damage their historic emissions of greenhouse gases have brought them, and the position of countries in South Asia in the world today. What are some solutions that are changing the nature of this relationship, and how are different countries in South Asia responding to this debate? Our panelists are Harjeet Singh, founding director, Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, Kasia Paprocki, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Tushar Shetty, producer and host, The Diplomat's 'Beyond the Indus' podcast, who will be moderating the conversation. 

This is the first session of Wide World: Climate in South Asia, this year's edition of our annual summer learning series, taking place virtually over June and July. Over four sessions and with panels of experts, we will explore the ways in which climate change affects South Asia, and the steps being taken to mitigate its effects. The programs look at climate justice; climate advocacy; climate finance; and wildlife conservation.  

SPEAKERS

Kasia Paprocki is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work draws on and contributes to the study of the political economy of development and agrarian change with a focus in South Asia. She is the author of Threatening Dystopias: The Global Politics of Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh. Links to her other popular and academic publications are available at kasiapaprocki.com.

Harjeet Singh is an activist advocating for climate and social justice globally. He is the Founding Director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. He specialises in advancing just transitions, strengthening adaptation and resilience programmes, and addressing climate impacts and migration. Harjeet also serves as the Strategic Advisor to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. Previously, he served as the Head of Global Political Strategy at Climate Action Network (CAN) International and led ActionAid’s global climate justice programme. Harjeet has also held board positions at CAN International and the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR).

Currently, he is a member of the United Nations’ Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management, under the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage. Harjeet has authored and overseen numerous publications on climate justice and disaster resilience.

Tushar Shetty is an economist-in-training at the International & Development Economics programme at HTW Berlin. He is the producer and host of Beyond the Indus, The Diplomat Magazine's South Asia podcast, where he interviews leading academics, journalists and policymakers about political, economic and geostrategic issues in and around South Asia. His work and interviews have been featured in platforms and outlets like The Diplomat Magazine, The Telegraph, Human Rights Watch, THF Radio and Alex Radio Berlin.