Kota Sriraj
As the world prepares to revert to the old template of putting the economy first and the environment second, India must steer clear and chart a more ecologically responsible economic recovery strategy that is based on investing in the environment.
It is a popular opinion that economic growth runs contrary to ecological preservation, but the pandemic period has shown that sole economic growth in the absence of ecological safeguards is prosperity without insurance. India must build on this learning by shifting the focus away from the scarcity of raw materials towards the deterioration of natural regulatory functions such as the climate system, water cycle and biodiversity. This is critical because we can find substitutes for scarce natural resources, but we cannot replace a natural regulatory system, which is incredibly complex and forms an integral part of the nation’s environmental green capital.
As a part of conserving the natural regulatory system, India must also develop a method to assign value to the costs of damage to these regulatory functions of nature incurred in the course of achieving economic growth. This change in perspective justifies innovations like the carbon tax, which addresses not the scarcity of carbon but the inability of the atmosphere to absorb large amounts of carbon without upsetting the climate system.
This approach to natural resources will not only benefit both businesses and the environment, but will also help quantify the loss to the environment in monetary terms on account of economic progress.
India’s environmental investment initiative must start with its urban spaces. Rapid urbanisation, coupled with incoherent policies and inadequate urban infrastructure have made our cities among the most vulnerable to climate change and a deteriorating environment.
The outbreak has already shown how global shocks can further unearth the evils of decades of mismanagement of cities. Ironically, but not surprisingly, urban residents of slums and squatter settlements bear the maximum brunt and this, in turn, exacerbates existing socio-spatial gaps in our cities. Investment into green infrastructure as a development priority can remedy India’s urban sprawls and help create liveable, environmentally sustainable and efficient cities for all citizens.
India must set a global example whereby investments in the well-being of the environment should occupy the top spot. This will ensure an economically and ecologically secure future of the nation.
The writer is an environmental journalist. The views expressed are personal.
