Climate Change, Civil Society, and Social Movement in India (original) (raw)

Crowding-in: how Indian civil society organizations began mobilizing around climate change

The British journal of sociology, 2017

This paper argues that periodic waves of crowding-in to 'hot' issue fields are a recurring feature of how globally networked civil society organizations operate, especially in countries of the Global South. We elaborate on this argument through a study of Indian civil society mobilization around climate change. Five key mechanisms contribute to crowding-in processes: (1) the expansion of discursive opportunities; (2) the event effects of global climate change conferences; (3) the network effects created by expanding global civil society networks; (4) the adoption and innovation of action repertoires; and (5) global pressure effects creating new opportunities for civil society. Our findings contribute to the world society literature, with an account of the social mechanisms through which global institutions and political events affect national civil societies, and to the social movements literature by showing that developments in world society are essential contributors to na...

Climate Change and Social Movements

World Focus, 2022

The Climate Change movement has been defined as “an amalgam of loosely networked individuals, groups and organization springing out of the environmentalist, development, anti-capitalist, and indigenous movements, combined with a new wave of activists and groups that has no previous ties to other social movements (Nulman, 2015: 2).” Andharia and Sengupta (1998) have attempted to categorize various environmental movements in India on the basis of issues addressed by them. One would be surprised to note that none of the categories mentioned in the list deals exclusively with climate change. This paper tries to understand the specific nature of social movements related to climate change and how they had been and are still being carried out globally and with special reference to India. The paper also tries to understand the future directions of climate change movements.

Climate Change and Environment: A Case Study of India

The environment has become a prominent, but complex and multidimensional issue on the public policy agenda of nations and in international organizations. This transformation after a long period of benign neglect, began in Rio in 1992.The issue of the environment is today perceived not simply as a narrow ecological problem of how to ensure a symbiotic and congruent interface between man and his environment. It is more than that. Its inner core has political, developmental, sociological and scientific ramifications all of which are anchored to the new concept. Human being is not only dependent on the physical environment for livelihoods, but also in a number of ways they are capable of controlling and influencing the physical environment. However, in the quest to improve the standard of living and to fulfill their ever increasing diversified and sophisticated needs, human use of the physical environment is often excessive and uncontrolled. Environmental degradation is often mentioned as the consequence of human negligence on the one hand, but on the other hand it is more often than not is the influential individual or collective actions that has put economic gains as of utmost importance .As such in the process of economic infrastructural development, environment has not been given its due and often sidelined which leads to further degradation of the environment. In recent years, economists have become increasingly aware of the important implications of environmental issues for the success of developmental efforts. We now understand that the interaction between poverty and environmental degradation can lead to a self- perpetuating process in which ,as a result of ignorance or economic necessity , communities may inadvertly destroy or exhaust the resources on which they depend for survival. Rising pressures on environmental resources in developing countries can have severe consequences for self-sufficiency, and future growth potential in the developing world. Climate change can slow down the pace of development either directly through increased exposure to climate variability or indirectly through erosion of the capacity to adapt. Climate change necessitates that the developing countries, though not responsible for climate change, adapt to it and implement response strategies so as to minimize impacts on livelihoods and natural resources. Further, mitigation measures have to be adopted at the global level with a view to minimize further change in climate, and eventually stabilize it. Both these strategies cast additional social, human, and economic burdens on developing countries. Large amount of national resources have to be committed for adaption measures. Besides for actions for mitigating climate change that may involve emissions reduction have huge implications for the growth of developing countries, particularly in those sectors such as energy generation, and transport where emissions emanate largely from consumption of fossil fuels and the use of alternative sources of energy is limited by resources, technology, and access availability. With the pro-active measure pursued by the governments in the domestic and international fronts, it is hoped that climate change issues will be addressed significantly and seriously in future years. Increasing awareness about climate change and concentrated action of the central and state governments will help fulfill the goal of climate stabilization. Climate change is the most imminent environmental challenge faced by the global community, and one that requires a concerted response at global, national and local level. In addition there are several economic opportunities that a more sustainable development path offers, such as more efficient resource use and greener industries. India is uniquely positioned with regard to the issue of climate change, and thus should aim to contextualize its economic growth objectives with an awareness of these opportunities, as well as its climate vulnerabilities. Several recent policies have had a sustainability orientation, and maintaining this while engaging civil society and the private sector would ensure that the momentum of climate action is sustained as well as integrated into mainstream development objectives. In this paper entitled “Climate Change and Environment: A Case Study of India” an attempt has been made to analyse the impact of climate change in some of the developed countries in general and India in particular.

Is climate justice a socio-economic issue in India-a critique

Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges of our times. Recent events are the emphatical demonstrations of growing vulnerability to climate change. Climate justice recognizes the climate crisis as an environmental and socioeconomic issue. It acknowledges the crisis, injustice, oppression, and interconnected struggles faced by different categories of mankind and finds solutions for excess emissions, and creates a fair and more just world for the future. Irrespective of creatures' birth and living conditions on the earth all are equally affected by the climate crisis. Introduction: Indian Vedas compare the environment to a family tie, like "The sky as the father, earth as mother and the space as a kid" if any of these got disturbed the entire family will get disturbed. Same as the human family, if any of the environmental elements got disturbed entire globe faces deadly consequences like climate change, global warming, and so on… 1 When nature is destroyed the ecological balance and human survival are getting highly imbalanced. Here one of the main environmental imbalances is climate change. Since a few years ago, the human race on earth is enduring tremendous climate change. Many countries are facing a rise in climatic contradictions in air, water, and land such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, acid rains, rising sea levels, melting icebergs, tornados, and so on… Eventually, small interest groups and multiple actors realized the emerging need to fight for environmental crisis and place sustainable developmental goals for future generations.

Climate Change – The Challenge and the Emerging Alternatives in India

This paper was presented to the "Economics For The Anthropocene Initiative" at York University. This paper explores the current state of affairs in regard to the Indian environment and its relationship with the larger political and economic undercurrents in the global north. It examines the Indian encounter with the west, giving its historical colonial context, as well as the economic changes taking place in India, currently, and how they are impacting the environment and its people. The second part deals with the efforts being made in India, at various levels – civil society, political, academic – to question and contest the ongoing neoliberal project.

Climate Change and India

Th e Rosa Luxemburg Stift ung (RLS) is a Germany-based foundation working in South Asia as in other parts of the world on the subjects of critical social analysis and civic education. It promotes a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic social order, and aims to present alternative approaches to society and decision-makers. Research organisations, groups for self-emancipation and social activists are supported in their initiatives to develop models which have the potential to deliver greater social and economic justice.