Staving off Climate Change for Assuring Sustainable Development: India’s Domestic Policies Amidst International Climate Dialogues

Climate Change has risen to a status of high-level environmental, socio-political, and economic issues encompassing the entire world at the diplomatic levels. India's carbon profile, economic success, and leading role in the developing world have made it a prominent player in climate talks on a global scale. As a developing country, India had emphasized poverty alleviation and growth over environmental and climate change issues; as a result, India primarily characterized climate change as a developed country’s responsibility and ignored its multidimensional impacts on humanity. Several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mentioned that Climate change is a monster that will impact most of the countries' long-term development, as it exacerbates the strains on natural resources and the environment. India appears as one of the world’s top ten most vulnerable countries to climate change-related hazards, particularly hydro-meteorological. On the other hand, the concept of sustainable development has changed the decades-long perception of development, and sustainability has become the center point for developmental activities. So, to ensure sustainable development, efficiently addressing of climate change issues is important. The climate is highly associated with the environmental phenomenon, so the erstwhile environmental laws or principles can be considered the predecessor of present climate change policies. However, since 2007, influenced by international diplomacy, India’s domestic policies for preventing climate change have significantly evolved toward a more sustainable and proactive approach.