Climate Change

Biden has set an ambitious agenda to reinvigorate US global leadership by pursuing a proactive grand strategy. He will, however, have to reckon with the legacy of Trumpism that has made a significant imprint on American foreign policy.

An informed scenario would be to release the weight of unsustainable debts, allowing the developing countries to focus on domestic sustainable development aimed at achieving climate neutrality, instead of developed countries’ over-emphasis on fossil fuel in their economic recovery packages.

The spectre of climate change and increased global warming has spurred more action in recent years. However, with the global economic outlook not likely to pick up any time soon, the temptation to opt for cheaper but dirtier fuels could further complicate the climate change negotiations.

COP25 was expected to give prominence to science, streamline ambitious targets and raise trust among parties. Even after a marathon two-week talks, issues such as creating an international carbon market and climate financing were pushed to the next year.

China may emerge as the sole leader of global climate negotiations by supporting the Green Climate Fund, which faces a budget crisis with the US exit. This will also provide an opportunity for China to reshape its current global image.

Only by making the concept of dharma central can a balance be evolved between the trivarga of artha, kama and dharma and lifestyle changes introduced to cope with climate change.

The fact that the developed countries succeeded in making all commitments non-binding makes the Paris Agreement almost toothless.

Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 978-1-13-885599-1
Price: $145.00
In May 2013, China, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea (Asia 5) were given status as permanent observers in the Arctic Council. It was a symbolic and significant moment in the history of Arctic affairs. The list of stakeholders in the Arctic has now expanded to include both the Arctic littoral states and the five Asian states. The drivers and policies of these stakeholders on the Arctic vary, but research on climate change, possible changes to the global energy and minerals markets, adherence to international norms like the UNCLOS, and geopolitical considerations are issues of concern.

The standard narrative on modern geopolitics is being re-scripted. Previous ingredients that made up the literature on high politics such as securing resources, rivalries over the control of territory and war plans are increasingly being replaced instead by concerns about the ‘mundane’ politics of global energy plans, food systems, infrastructure and city design. Meaningful geopolitics in the time of climate change, in other words, would now have to grapple with the inescapable urgency for sustaining key ecological, biological and atmospheric indicators at the planetary level.

Pakistani planners are increasingly prone to recognize the many links between water, food, and energy security. The construction of new large dams is seen by many as a concrete measure to achieve resource security for Pakistani for a future marked by climactic variability and unpredictability. This article explores the geopolitical and political geographic implications of Pakistan’s strategic vision of building dams as a way to prepare for climate change.