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The failure of global finance to create a bridge between savings that earn low returns in the global north and the projects that would create much-needed infrastructure in the global south has caused a crisis that needs the attention of global regulators. Among the multiple causes of this crisis is the stringent regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis, including new lending norms for banks; the tardy response of institutional investors t

The agriculture sector’s contribution to India’s GDP and employment makes it crucial to the country’s growth. At the same time, the sector’s massive greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to India’s green transition. The ongoing farmers’ protests also highlight the need for a climate-smart agriculture strategy that will address fundamental issues like income support. This brief outlines a framework for India’s “new green revolutio

Green technology and capital is concentrated in rich countries. Here’s how to address the north-south divide.

Shoba Suri, Nimisha Chadha and Oommen C Kurian, The ORF SDGs Young Influencers Programme 2.0: Report from Three Workshops, October 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

Relentless urbanisation often has a heavy environmental cost, arising from activities such as the consumption of fossil resources to fuel industrialisation and infrastructure development. The resulting surge in greenhouse gas emissions is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, which leads to frequent extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves. Such events pose an existential threat to human life, infrastructure, an

The BRICS+ bloc, accounting for over 40 percent of the world’s population and a substantial share of its forest area, can play a critical role in shaping responses to climate-related health threats. The grouping’s leadership in harmonising policies across the domains of climate action and healthcare can have profound implications for global strategies to manage pandemics and protect planetary health. This brief makes a case for BRICS to champ

Climate change is a global commons problem requiring concerted actions by all. While recognising this, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has also acknowledged the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,’ which assigns greater responsibilities to developed countries in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reducing their carbon footprint. There have also been deliber

Women’s representation in local governance is a crucial indicator of gender inclusivity. Since 1993, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act has reserved one-third of seats in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to women. Multiple states have since granted 50 percent reservation of seats for women in urban and rural local self-government bodies. Today, women have become a crucial political constituency, both as voters and as electoral candidates. This pape

Beijing's 'illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive' strategy will test New Delhi

Urbanists are divided on whether high urban density is a boon or a curse. Its champions maintain that it promotes greater productivity, fosters innovation, and enables economical space utilisation. The other side argues that excessive compactness destroys a city’s permeability, heightens the ‘urban heat island’ effect, increases congestion, eliminates green spaces, reduces inclusivity, and increases vulnerability to climate change and disas

As global climate adaptation finance continues to fall short of the requirement, the current diversity of interpretations and fragmented markets are further disincentivising investors. A localised adaptation finance taxonomy would establish clear standards, enabling investors to compare opportunities and better assess environmental impacts. This brief argues for a sector-specific framework for adaptation finance. It examines key challenges in dev

India and China must bilaterally develop a substantial conversation on the cutting edge of global governance issues, including issues of the global commons like climate change, water, health and medicine, and Asian security architecture, as well as issues of space and proliferation, of rules and mechanisms of economic governance, and on new arenas of maritime and ocean governance.

Climate change exacerbates HMPV spread in India, requiring proactive measures like improved healthcare access, climate-health database, and AI-driven outbreak prediction for better crisis response.

The 2021 Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) propelled nations to ramp up their climate targets and the concomitant Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the updated NDCs and the announced pledges for 2030 remain insufficient and poorly aligned with the targets of the Paris Agreement. The reduction in projected 2030 emissions is estimated to be 7.5 percent—far lower than the 30 percent requi

Amidst increasing global connectivity and accelerating global change, the global security framework has become insufficient, contributing to a crippling dysfunctionality in international cooperation. The current security framework, focused almost exclusively on a narrow notion of military security, is insufficient to address escalating ‘threats without enemy,’ such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, which increasingly endang

There is widespread hope that the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow will deliver decisive action on the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This report gathers different perspectives from analysts in South Asia, Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and the UK on regional priorities and positions on key issues related to the global fight against climate change. Certain threads bind these analyses regarding what the

Grasslands that provide a variety of ecosystem services for humans—including carbon storage, which is important to mitigating climate change—are among the world’s most threatened habitats. In India, grassy ecosystems are not accorded any legal protection. Vast acres of these grasslands are converted for revenue-generating use, altering their ecological dynamics and threatening the livelihoods and cultures of pastoral and agrarian communitie

The management of fish stocks along the Bengal coast has traditionally relied on the formula of dictating where, when, and how much to catch of one particular kind of fish to mitigate the risk of stock depletion. This paper argues that this conventional approach is inadequate in dealing with the multitude of threats, both local and global, posed by anthropogenic interventions in the natural systems and processes. It builds a case for an Ecosystem

The criticism of Sultan al Jaber's appointment as COP28 president might be well-meaning but the rush to judgement reflects an incomplete understanding of both the host country and the individual.

Ahead of the Paris climate summit, India announced on October 2 its INDCs for climate change mitigation and adaptation. While this commitment has drawn fulsome praise from many, the green ayatollahs have predictably ignored its herculean clean energy ambitions and focused on Indian dependence on coal. It is time to lay bare the 'coal hypocrisy' of these privileged 'western greens'.

Among the estimated 1.3 billion people across the world who have no access to electricity, 70 percent are women. This brief discusses the impact of energy poverty on India’s rural women. As women are primarily responsible for securing food and energy for their family, they are the ones who are worst affected by the lack of access to clean and modern energy. The brief calls for a more holistic approach in research and policymaking on energ

Food insecurity and mental health issues are linked in a syndemic relationship, where their interplay exacerbates negative outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations. Chronic food insecurity contributes to psychological distress and depression, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that hinders access to adequate nutrition and undermines mental well-being. This bidirectional dynamic is further influenced by socio-economic disparities, gende

Sustainable finance emerged as a key issue to tackle climate change at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference and is spurring a global transition to net zero. A peculiar feature of the race to net zero is that it cannot be achieved unless all countries can meet their targets, and any positive step towards it will benefit all countries. The drive to achieve carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions needs to be targeted through a range of

Jagmohan's address to the ORF faculty included a discussion on six important topics, namely slums and illegal constructions, human settlement patterns, culturally significant towns, cities and climate change, pattern of governance after the enactment of the Constitution (seventy-fourth amendment) Act, and resource mobilisation for city development

India’s development trajectory is closely tied to urbanisation. This brief critiques the existing urban planning framework in the country, examining the gaps and unique challenges posed by urbanisation and the impacts of climate change in hilly cities. The brief focuses on India’s ecologically sensitive Himalayan ecosystem, which have historically received little attention in urbanisation discourse. The region’s hilly urban areas have uniqu

As of now, the Quad’s formal agenda is modest. It remains a platform for leaders of the four countries to meet each other collectively and bilaterally. Meetings have so far taken up the issue of providing vaccines, building supply chains, mitigating climate change and providing humanitarian relief. An unstated aspect of the Quad grouping is supply-chain resilience and the need to have a chain which is not linked to China.

Initiating the discussion on "Water Security in South Asia", eminent water expert and noted writer, Mr. B. G. Verghese felt that while water is the key to cooperation in the region, climate change is the most important issue for all South Asian countries.

This brief is largely based on several discussions organised at Observer Research Foundation over a period of time. These discussions were enriched by the presence of some of the well-known experts on water issues in the country, like former Union Minister for Water Resources, Dr. Suresh Prabhu, current High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Tariq Ahmad Karim, Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Ms. Clare Shakya, Senior Regional C

The Observer Research Foundation, CRM held a focus group meeting on the topic 'What do falling Crude Prices mean for India's Fiscal Deficit?' on February 9, 2007. Shri S C Tripathi, former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, chaired the discussions.

Lack of monetary resources may prove to be a major impediment to India achieving its climate targets and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Russian attack on Ukraine’s agricultural industry has largely destroyed the agricultural supply chain. The impact has been felt on the Indian economy as well.

Germany’s image as the leader in green energy and the creator of “Energiewende” (energy transition) is under siege. According to a recent study, the self-committed goal to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2020 will likely be missed. This potential shortcoming does not come as a surprise to Germany and has been an intensively discussed issue for many years. Does this mean the end of Germany’s energy transition? This paper anal

His imprint on trade, security and Asia policy will last. His influence on immigration, climate change may not

वर्तमान न्याय्य ऊर्जा संक्रमण भागीदारी चौकट भारताकरता उपयुक्त नाही, कारण ती जी-७ च्या अजेंडाला प्राधान्य देते आणि आपल्या विशिष्ट ऊर्जा संक्रमण गरजा आणि आव्हानांकडे दुर�

हवामान बदलाशी संबंधित जोखीमा आणि धोके गुंतागुंतीचे आहेत आणि ते परस्परांशी संबंधीतही आहेत, त्यामुळे आज जागतिक अर्थव्यवस्थेला मोठा धोका निर्माण झाला आहे. त्यामुळेच आर्थ�

फ़िलहाल दुनिया में अल्प-पोषण में बढ़ोतरी के साथ-साथ ज़्यादा वज़न, मोटापे और ग़ैर-संक्रामक बीमारियों के प्रसार में इज़ाफ़ा दिखाई दे रहा है. खाद्य प्रणाली का दृष्टिकोण (खेत-ख