Demographic change vs climate change – investment theme
The summer has been truly scorching in many parts of the country this year. Reportedly, land surface temperatures neared 55 degrees Celsius over many parts of northwest India; even crossing 60 degrees Celsius over several pockets ( see here ). The visuals of floods and inundated streets & homes from many states are also disturbing. Obviously, the weather patterns are changing rather quickly and our infrastructure is not designed to handle these changes. Power shortages, urban flooding, uncontrolled wildfires, frequent landslides, roads caving in, flight delays, traffic jams, etc. have become rather common issues. The rating agency CRISIL highlighted in one of its latest reports (Sustainability Yearbook 2022) highlighted that over 52% of India’s GDP could be exposed to physical risks like wildfire, flood, sea-level rise, or storms by 2050. This cannot be a good augury for a large proportion of our population which is poor and largely dependent on agriculture for its sustenanc...