Isuue related to Climate Change
Source: The Indian Express
Context:
The author discusses India's effort for small island governments, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS).
Editorial Insights:
What's the issue?
The Indian Prime Minister will announce a new programme to protect and reinforce essential infrastructure in tiny island states from climate-related calamities.
The Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, or IRIS, is the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure's first major effort (CDRI).
About Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):
- It is an endeavour to ensure that vital infrastructure in member countries is climate-proofed.
- It has a total of 20 members.
- The coalition will not build new infrastructure; instead, it will function as a knowledge centre where member countries may share and learn best practises for disaster-proofing infrastructure.
- It will aim to make current and planned infrastructure in member nations more robust and resilient to climate calamities such as floods, cyclones, and other natural disasters.
According to the CDRI, every $1 invested in making infrastructure more robust in low- and middle-income countries can potentially save $4 in disaster costs.
CDRI tries to reduce the amount of damage and disturbance.
The CDRI is India's second international climate initiative, following the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which was launched at the Paris climate conference.
The primary goal of ISA is to promote large-scale solar energy harnessing and utilisation.
It is working to increase the use of solar power in the region, primarily by lowering the cost of technology and finance that enable rapid, mass deployment of solar energy.
It hopes to achieve this by pooling demand from a large number of countries, standardising equipment and grid, and promoting research and development.
One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG), an initiative of the International Solar Alliance, proposes a common grid spanning more than 100 countries.
It aims to stabilise energy supply, overcome local and natural fluctuations in sunlight availability, and always maintain reliable base-load capacities.
ISA and CDRI are India's attempts to claim global leadership in climate mission.
While the solar alliance will result in GHG reductions through a large-scale shift from fossil fuels to solar energy, it will also address energy access and security issues.
The CDRI aims to achieve adaptation; together, they form India's vision for global climate action, which also considers issues of equity, development, and the special needs of developing and least developed countries.
The Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS):
IRIS intends to operationalize the CDRI initiative, while OSOWOG is a specific work programme to achieve the ISA's objectives.
The IRIS' main task would be to mobilise and direct financial resources toward building resilient infrastructure, upgrading existing infrastructure, developing early warning systems, and developing and sharing best practises.
The most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are small island states.
They are in danger of being wiped off the map as sea levels rise.
As a result, a number of tiny island states have joined the IRIS platform and developed implementation plans.
