India's Climate Challenge: A Call for Cross-Border Action

Dr Soumya Swaminathan highlights India's vulnerability to climate change impacts, emphasizing the need for international cooperation to address health, gender, and economic stability. She calls for clean energy access, green public transport, and gender-focused climate policies, stressing the economic and health costs of air pollution.

In a candid interview at COP29, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a former chief scientist of the WHO, stressed India's vulnerability to climate change impacts, advocating for immediate international collaboration to address health and economic stability issues.

Swaminathan pinpointed women and children as particularly susceptible to climate-driven health risks and pushed for clean energy access as a priority. She highlighted the benefits of green public transportation as a 'win-win solution,' advocating for comprehensive policies that integrate health and climate objectives.

The economic implications of climate-related health impacts are dire, with air pollution alone costing the global economy trillions annually. Swaminathan's call to action emphasizes the need for gender-focused climate policies and global coherence in pollution monitoring and mitigation efforts.

(With inputs from agencies.)