Geopolitics – Global South Policy Review

Climate change poses new challenges for troops at the Indian borders

Kalyan Das

Global warming is not only altering weather patterns but also increasingly posing challenges to the defence forces stationed in high-altitude areas along the borders (LoC with Pakistan and the LAC with China).
Erratic and less snowfall along with unpredictable rainfall patterns and drying up of natural streams in the Himalayas over the years are major concerns. And its effects are visible on the ground with infiltration risks to disrupted infrastructure projects, according to senior security establishment officials.

UN climate talks face a credibility crisis as countries disengage

The Conversation

In Baku, Azerbaijan, the so-called “finance-Cop” was a disappointment. Now, the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is facing a credibility crisis.
A key failure in Baku was about how much money developing nations will be paid for adaptation projects that help communities and infrastructure withstand the impacts of climate change. The outcome included US$300 billion (£239 billion) for both adaptation and mitigation with no clarity on whether this will be in the form of grants or loans. This falls far short of what developing countries need.

Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

Damian Carrington

The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.
The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.

A Closer Look at the Global South: The revival of the concept signals enduring frustration with inequalities embedded in the global order

Erica Hogan

The venerable concept of the “Global South” has enjoyed a remarkable revival as a descriptor of postcolonial and developing country solidarity in world affairs. The term’s resurgence, however, has also engendered pushback, with many calling for a phaseout of the expression. Writing in the Financial Times, columnist Alan Beattie calls the label “patronising, factually inaccurate, a contradiction in terms,” and “deeply unhelpful.” In Foreign Policy, Indian strategist C. Raja Mohan argues that the phrase “denies agency to individual countries by treating them as one bloc” with “fluid boundaries and vague criteria for inclusion.”

India’s Green Leap: Transitioning to Clean Energy for a Sustainable Future

Team MyGov, India

“India is fully committed to building a cleaner, greener planet. We were the first among G20 nations to meet our Paris Agreement commitments on green energy, well ahead of schedule. While we continue to strengthen existing solutions, we are also focused on embracing new and innovative approaches” – PM Shri Narendra Modi

As the world faces the escalating impacts of climate change, the need for clean, sustainable energy solutions has never been more urgent. Transitioning to clean energy—derived from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower—has become a global imperative. This shift not only helps mitigate climate change but also creates economic opportunities, enhances energy security, and promotes social well-being.

Two years, no agreement on plastics: Where to from here? The Local and Subnational Government Coalition asks after INC-5

Dr Magash Naidoo

Held from 25 November to 1 December 2024, in Busan, Republic of Korea, the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) to develop a Global Plastic Treaty concluded without an agreement, pushing further negotiations into 2025. The draft text made some references to local and subnational governments, prompting the Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution to advocate for stronger inclusion and appealing to all local and subnational governments to join the Coalition.

India calls out developed countries over stalled progress on climate issues at COP29

Puja Das

At the ongoing 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) climate conference in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, India expressed dissatisfaction with the insistence of developed countries to expand the scope of the Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme (MWP) from what was agreed upon in the past.
This follows India’s call for grant-based long-term climate finance in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). India, on behalf of like-minded developing countries, said that developed countries need to commit to provide and mobilise at least $1.3 trillion every year in NCQG till 2030.

China’s growing footprint on the globe threatens to trample the natural world

Dr Bill Laurance

Many observers of China’s escalating global program of foreign investment and infrastructure development are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. In an ideal world, China’s unbridled ambitions will improve economic growth, food security and social development in many poor nations, as well as enriching itself. Such hopes are certainly timely, given the isolationism of the US administration, which has created an international leadership vacuum that China is eager to fill.
But a close look reveals that China’s international agenda is far more exploitative than many realise, especially for the global environment. And the Chinese leadership’s claims to be embracing “green development” are in many cases more propaganda than fact.

The Geneva Conventions at 75: do the laws of war still have a fighting chance in today’s bloody world?

Marnie Lloydd

Today marks 75 years since the adoption of the Geneva Conventions on August 12 1949. In theory, these rules of war are universally agreed by every nation. In practice, they are routinely violated everywhere.
With an estimated 120 armed conflicts worldwide, more than 450 armed groups and 195 million people living in areas under their control, the protection of the vulnerable is as vitally important as ever.
As the news headlines remind us daily, however, international humanitarian law can seem like too little, too late when faced with military might and political indifference.

Tackling climate change could bring North and South Korea closer and help stabilise the region

Hun Park

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 requires every country to make pledges to tackle climate change. North Korea is no exception.
Given that air pollution doesn’t recognise borders, there are already several emissions-reduction projects underway that will require cooperation between Asian nations.
To meet its obligations, South Korea has pledged to buy emissions credits on the international market, offsetting 11.3% of its business-as-usual emissions in 2030. That is 96.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions – already more than North Korea’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 (78 million tonnes).

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