Climate Change and You: What's faith got to do with it?

Last Sunday, religious leaders, climate thinktanks and the government of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, got together for a rather unique event. On the sidelines of the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, the largest religious gathering in the world, the discussion centred on the role of faith in combating the climate crisis.

Chandra Bhushan, CEO of the environment non-profit iForest, put it succinctly: religion and faith have immense power to influence society, and climate action cannot succeed unless it resonates culturally and emotionally with the masses. Faith leaders can do better on that count compared to scientists and policymakers.

And one religious leader, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, president of the Paramarth Niketan, warned that if we fail to act now, the next Kumbh will be held on mere sand, not at the confluence of sacred rivers. Perennial rivers like the Ganga are fed by water from Himalayan glaciers, which are retreating due to less snowfall and high temperatures.

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“Our Upanishads teach us that the entire world is a creation of the almighty. (The philosophy of) Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam sees the world as one. Our rivers, animals, forests, and every life form in this entire ecosystem not only takes but gives back to the environment. We must understand our duty to the environment and learn to give," urged Swami Mukundananda, founder of Jagadguru Kripalu Yog Trust.

During the event, participants took a pledge to develop religious centres and shrines as models of sustainability. This will entail installing solar panels, implementing rainwater harvesting systems, recycling waste, banning single-use plastics, and creating green zones around sacred spaces. The state government promised to fund faith-based organisations to promote climate education, campaigns and actionable practices. You can watch the proceedings here.

State of the climate

For large parts of India, air pollution is a silent killer. However, the cloud of particulate matter pollution, which hangs like a shroud over our cities, also reflects sunlight back into the space, leading to a cooling effect.

A recent paper by leading climate scientist James Hansen terms this a Faustian bargain (in German mythology, Faust sold his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and magical powers). As global pollution control improves and clean energy is introduced, the cooling effect of aerosols – tiny particles in the air – is lost, leading to a rise in temperatures.

According to the paper by Hansen and others, the spike in global temperatures in the past two years was a result of increasing CO2 emissions compounded by the periodic El Nino, which leads to a warming of ocean waters. The other part of the global temperature spike was caused by a restriction on aerosol emissions by ships, which was mandated in 2020 by the International Maritime Organisation to combat the effect of aerosol pollutants on human health.

Possible underestimation of the cooling effect of aerosols means future climate projections could go wrong. Global warming in the next two decades is likely to be about 0.2-0.3 °C per decade, leading to global temperature rising 2°C by 2045, the authors said.

The news in brief

• Despite the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement, clean energy momentum will continue across countries, driven by commercial viability and business opportunities, Brian Motherway from the International Energy Agency told Mint in an interview.
• In the three decades to 2022, India was hit by over 400 extreme weather events, leading to at least 80,000 fatalities and $180 billion in economic losses, according a new report.
• A once-thriving craft, the kangri—Kashmir’s traditional fire pot—faces an uncertain future as warmer winters sap demand. Artisans whose livelihoods depend on this centuries-old craft are grappling with dwindling sales and a changing way of life.
• The world experienced its hottest January on record in 2025, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. Average global temperature in January was 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels. It marked the 18th time in the past 19 months that global surface air temperatures surpassed the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement.
• The FY26 budget allocation on schemes and ministries impacting India’s climate change readiness is a paltry 1.2% of its total estimated expenditure.

Climate Change Tracker

Climate impacts on real estate insurance

Markets, it appears, are more prudent than political leaders. While President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and has vowed to drill more oil and gas, a recent analysis shows how climate risks are reshaping the country’s housing market.

The residential real estate market in US is valued at $50 trillion, close to double the country’s gross domestic product. However, this market is facing a potential value erosion over the next few decades due to climate risks. As per the study, climate change is transforming the US housing market via two indirect but powerful forces – soaring insurance costs and shifting consumer preferences – driving population movements and reshaping property values.

Also Read Why 2025 is a do-or-die year for climate action

Insurance costs are rising dramatically faster than mortgage payments. Between 2013 and 2022, insurance as a percentage of mortgage payments more than doubled, from 7-8% to over 20%. Average premiums could increase by 29% by 2055, with Miami facing the highest anticipated premium increase of 322%.

By 2055, 70,026 neighbourhoods (or 84% of all census tracts), may experience some form of negative property value impacts from climate risk. Also, by that year, 55 million Americans may voluntarily relocate to less vulnerable areas. A staggering 5.2 million are likely to migrate by 2025.

What will be the fate of densely populated cities in South Asia, including in India? Will multi-crore luxury properties in Indian cities face a climate correction? In the meantime, can India bridge the insurance gap before it’s too late?

Know Your Jargon

 

Eco-anxiety

Eco-anxiety is mental distress or chronic fear associated with worsening environmental conditions. The feeling can also be described as grief and agony experienced following an adverse climate event. Imagine losing one’s home to a landslide due to extreme rains and living with constant fear, despite surviving. Eco-anxiety could also result from a sense of despair regarding an uncertain future, despite not being directly impacted so far.

Studies have shown that children are more vulnerable to climate change's mental-health effects as they have stronger responses to extreme weather events resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and sleep disorders.

Also Read Climate change in 2025: An era of record heat and rising disasters

A 2021 study of 10,000 children and youth (aged 16-25 years) from 10 countries, including India, found that 59% were extremely worried about climate change, with over half stating they were sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless or guilty. An overwhelming proportion of those surveyed said the future is frightening and that people have failed to take care of the planet.

You may also have felt it at times – that sense of doom; but here’s a lovely story, a reminder that it is possible to turn things around.

Prime Number

100

In her budget announcements earlier this month, the finance minister proposed to develop 100 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear energy capacity by 2047. The goal is to have at least five small modular reactors up and running by 2033. For this, budget provided funding of ₹20,000 crore.

In recent years, there has been renewed global interest in nuclear energy as a source of clean power, after it fell out of favour following the accident in Fukushima, Japan. This is largely driven by concerns around energy security and reducing the carbon footprint of the energy sector.

Nuclear power accounts for less than 2% of the installed capacity in India, far behind either solar (21%) or coal-based thermal power (53%). In France and the US, nuclear power contributes 65% and 14%, respectively, to power generation. India’s goal of developing 100 GW of power capacity means it is looking at a 12-fold expansion in two decades.

Movie of the Month

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Eating Our way To Extinction

Did you know that the livestock industry generates about 14% of all carbon emissions, equivalent to emissions from the entire transport sector? Also, meat and dairy contribute less than a fifth of global calories consumed but use over 80% of world’s agricultural land – because it takes a whole lot of land to first grow crops such as soy and corn and then use them to feed animals for meat and dairy. Besides, cattle release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and use up forests which are cleared for grazing.

The 2021 Kate Winslet-narrated documentary, Eating Our Way to Extinction, makes a powerful case against cattle and fish farming, while advocating a plant-based diet. But for a country like India, it’s not an easy choice to make: millions of small farmers and rural families depend on livestock as a source of income and insurance for a rainy day. Besides, a boiled egg is more affordable to a poor family, than say, an apple.

That’s all for now. Bibek will be back with the next issue in a fortnight.

'Climate Change and You’ is a fortnightly newsletter by Bibek Bhattacharya and Sayantan Bera. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox.

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