India is on the frontline of climate change, grappling with intensifying extreme weather events, from scorching heatwaves to the spread of vector-borne diseases. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared 2024 as the hottest year on record, with global mean near-surface temperatures soaring 1.55 ± 0.13°C above pre-industrial levels.
India faced extreme weather on 88 per cent of days, leading to catastrophic losses: over 3,000 human fatalities, 3.2 million hectares of crops damaged, more than 235,000 homes destroyed, and over 9,000 livestock lost. Speaking at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Soumya Swaminathan, former Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization, underscored the universal threat: “Everyone in India is now vulnerable to climate change impacts, from extreme heat to vector-borne diseases.”
Despite India’s relatively low per capita emissions compared to major polluters like the US and China, it faces disproportionate economic risks from climate change. The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) framework quantifies these risks by estimating the present value of future damages caused by each additional tonne of CO₂ emitted.
These damages span reduced agricultural yields, health impacts, property destruction, increased disaster frequency, energy system disruptions, conflict risks, environmental migration, and loss of ecosystem services. In 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated the global SCC at $190 per tonne of CO₂, based on projections extending to 2300 and a 2 per cent discount rate to account for long-term uncertainties.
