Carpooling at Cognizant in Siruseri, Chennai on August 29, 2018. IT majors lead the way in carpooling. sRide and Quick Ride among several carpooling apps cater to the corporate sector in India.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Economic Survey 2024-2025 tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday (January 31, 2025), stated that carpooling could reduce 380 million litres of fuel in India. Listing several lifestyle changes like — carpooling, recycling newspaper, finishing food on one’s plate, the Survey extolled the ‘power of collective action’ which could contribute to climate change mitigation. 

Under the chapter titled ‘Climate and Environment’, the Survey extolled India’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) Mission which led a ‘widespread public movement to encourage low-carbon lifestyles and energy conservation behaviours’. Based on the NITI Aayog report on the LiFE mission, the Survey estimated that lifestyle change by 13% of global population can reduce carbon emission by 20%. 

“Encouraging citizen participation in sustainability decision-making at local and national levels is crucial for effective policymaking. Challenging existing habits and creating new norms around sustainability — such as promoting cycling or local food initiatives — can drive significant behavioural change over time,” stated the Survey.

Suggested collective actions

Small changes to public actions such as finishing food on plate, carpooling, recycling newspaper, composting waste food at home, using a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag, recycling non-functioning gadgets, switching off vehicle engines at traffic stops and turning off running taps are analysed in the Survey. Savings in fuel, wastes, water and food found by the Survey are substantial as shown in the tables below. 

Talking about the Centre’s LiFE mission, the Survey stated, “The goal is for at least 80 per cent of all villages and urban local bodies to become environmentally friendly by 2028”. It added that apart from environmental benefits, these public measures would reduce inequalities in energy consumption, save costs, enhance overall well-being and health. “By 2030, it is estimated that these measures could save consumers around $440 billion globally through reduced consumption and lower prices,” stated the Survey.

The NITI Aayog report, on which the Survey bases its estimations, has several other collective actions listed to conserve energy such as using – public transport, biogas for cooking, energy-saving mode on electronic devices, smart switches, driving in the correct gear in cars and running outdoors instead of a treadmill. These measures fall under the LiFE Mission 2022-23, which aims in nudging individuals, communities and institutions to practice simple environment-friendly actions in daily lives. 

Under the seven categories mentioned in the LiFE Mission, actions are suggested to save water, achieve sustainable food system, reduce waste, reduce single-use plastic, reduce e-waste and adopt a healthy lifestyle. By 2028, the Mission plans to make one billion people ‘pro-planet’ by adopting the above-mentioned measures.

Policy changes to tackle climate change

On a macro-level, the Centre has introduced various measures to promote environmental sustainability such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM) and PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana which promote solar power adoption, states the Survey. It also talks about how certification of s eco-friendly household products and the star-labelling scheme helped raise awareness on energy efficiency and electromobility. 

India’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and to become a developed nation by 2047 is on the Centre’s priority while tackling mitigation of climate change. “Given the backdrop of decreasing global financial commitments to support climate action in developing countries, India must increasingly prioritise building resilience to safeguard the benefits of its rapid economic growth against climate-induced setbacks,” concludes the Survey. 

The Union Budget will be presented on February 1, 2025, by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a joint session of Parliament. She is slated to deliver the Budget speech for the eighth consecutive time.

Climate change caused by human activity under a high-emissions scenario may halve the area covered by glaciers outside the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets by the end of the century, as per a study published in Nature. This will have marked ecological and societal cascading consequences, as novel ecosystems develop to fill emerging new habitats. However, there has been no complete spatial analysis carried out to quantify or anticipate the important changeover.

“Under a high-emissions scenario (in which global greenhouse gas emissions triple by 2075), about half of 2020 glacier area could be lost by 2100,” the authors write. “However, this could be curbed by a low-emissions scenario (in which net zero is achieved by 2050), which would reduce this loss to approximately 22%.”

As per the modelling exercise undertaken by Jean-Baptiste Bosson from the Conservatory of Natural Areas of Haute-Savoie, Annecy, France and others, the loss of glacier area will range from 22% to 51%, depending on the climate scenario. It would mean that by 2100, the decline of all glaciers outside the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets may produce “new terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems over an area ranging from the size of Nepal (1,49,000 sq. km) to that of Finland (3,39,000 sq. km)”.

In the deglaciated areas, the new ecosystems will be characterised by “extreme to mild ecological conditions” encompassing terrestrial, freshwater and even marine habitats. While such drastic changes might favour primary productivity, it may also lead to increased numbers of non-native species and those that can thrive under certain conditions such as cold-adapted species and generalist species.

“Such vast emergence on a relatively short timescale will add to the complexity of glacial dynamics and will increase the challenge of glacier conservation,” notes an accompanying News & Views piece in the journal. Ironically, less than half of glacial areas are located in protected areas.

In response to the possible scenarios, the authors “emphasise the need to urgently and simultaneously enhance climate-change mitigation and the in-situ protection of these ecosystems to secure their existence, functioning and values”. This is the first ever attempt towards getting a full understanding of the ecosystem shift associated with global deglaciation.