On June 30, the People’s Republic of China submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the global effort for the mitigation of climate change risks.
About 10 days from today, the parties to the UN climate convention will have another bash at hammering out an agreement to avert what they all agree is one of the gravest threats that the world faces in the decades ahead.
The threat of climate change is now overwhelming the dialogue on forest policy. Forests, like other ecosystems, will be affected by temperature increase. But the dimension that is receiving much more attention is their role as a store for carbon. Forests hold more carbon than the atmosphere, and the interchange of carbon between the two is a major element in the climate debate.
It is 2050. A warming climate and accelerated snowmelt have reduced the dry season flow in the Indus to a trickle. Pakistan backs out from the Indus Waters Treaty and demands international intervention against India to increase its share of water flow.
