India Must Play Proactive Role in Climate & Health Diplomacy
By: Manash Neog and Soma Das
It has been a strain to establish that farmer suicides in India are linked with the climate crisis, mediated by rise in temperatures, rainfall deficit, dropping crop yield, rising debts and mental health. This level of complexity is what has kept the climate-scientists and public health specialists away from what should have emerged as a discipline by now—climate and health. That seems set to change in the COP28 at Dubai which has for the first time promised to bring the yet to be articulated climate and health to the centre of global climate negotiations, and even dedicate a day to it. It’s clout in the space, as a leading voice for Global South, started building up during the recent G-20 presidency. The health track of G-20 under its presidency for the first time explicitly mentioned the need to address the nexus of the climate crisis and health, which Brazil has promised to carry forward under its G-20 presidency and Asia Development Bank is setting up its climate and health hub in New Delhi. This groundwork must be consolidated and carried forward during the COP28 negotiations.
