Duke Ghosh

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Managing Climatic Risks in Agriculture

India Studies in Business and Economics, 2022

Climate change and associated increase in climatic variability is projected to increase risks to ... more Climate change and associated increase in climatic variability is projected to increase risks to our food security. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), which includes several technological, institutional and policy interventions, can help us increase production and adapt to climate change with significant greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation co-benefits. Several policy and institutional initiatives in the past have promoted greater adoption of CSA practices and technologies, which have helped reduce the impact of rainfall deficit on an aggregate scale. There is a need to invest in developing a better understanding of the adoption domains of CSA interventions, their linkages with demand and supply of food, and appropriate ‘business models’ to scale them out. Climate-Smart Village approach is one such strategy to facilitate this. Increased focus on new digital and genetic technologies, improved early warning systems of weather and production risks, redesigned agricultural insurance programm...

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Urban mobility experiments in India and Thailand

Asia’s rapidly growing cities are gearing up to meet increasing mobility needs while simultaneous... more Asia’s rapidly growing cities are gearing up to meet increasing mobility needs while simultaneously striving to achieve sustainability goals. A number of new innovations are being introduced in the form of experiments aiming to change the systems and rule-sets that currently dominate the provision of mobility services in Asian cities. This chapter analyses selected cases of mobility experiments in India and Thailand and explores the strategies that the niche actors deploy to navigate the challenges posed by incumbent socio-technical regimes. The chapter concludes that whilst niche actors tried to stretch-and-transform technological, infrastructural and cultural dimensions of regimes, they opted to fit-and-conform with public policy and political power dimensions.

Investments in Clean Energy in South Asia: Visiting Barriers and Gaps from the Perspective of Policies and Politics

Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, 2017

Many countries in South Asia are facing serious challenges concerning energy access. Robust infra... more Many countries in South Asia are facing serious challenges concerning energy access. Robust infrastructure for generation, transmission and distribution are still lacking. Simultaneously, many of these countries have enormous potential for generating clean energy that can solve the problem of energy provisioning and transform their energy mix. It can further cushion them from dependence on fuel imports. However, investment in clean energy in most South Asian countries is far below what is expected and desired. In this perspective, it is important to investigate the evidences on existing constraints that are limiting investments in clean energy in South Asia. Transition in energy systems is essentially a long-term process—and involves changes in technology, economy (structure, efficiency), active policies, institutions, behaviour and belief systems. Mere formulation of policies and setting targets (policy goals) has been found to be insufficient for attracting investment in clean energy in most of these countries. There exists a gap in the literature regarding evidences on the barriers to investment in clean energy in South Asian countries. Following the Political Economy Analysis framework, in this article, the authors attempt to build up on evidence for answering the following questions:

National Mission on Bio-Diesel in India (2003): An Assessment Based on Strategic Niche Management

Sustainable Energy Technology and Policies, 2018

Rapid economic growth, rising connectivity and increased mobility means increased demand for tran... more Rapid economic growth, rising connectivity and increased mobility means increased demand for transportation fuel. Like the rest of the world, India’s hydrocarbon demand in the mobility domain continues to rise and is a major cause for concern given the implications concerning greenhouse gas emissions. Assuming the country’s energy demand maintains its present trajectory, it is predicted, that by 2030 India will have to import about 94% of its crude oil consumption. The Indian government introduced the National Mission on Biodiesel in 2003 and subsequently promulgated the National Policy on Biofuels in 2009. The policy proposes an indicative target of 20% blending of biofuels—both bio-diesel and bio-ethanol, by 2017. The availability of feedstock crops, the presence of a large sugar industry and favourable climatic conditions for plants like Jatropha carcus is conducive for producing bio-fuels in the country. Despite these policy initiatives, in 2017 it was clear that the bio-diesel is yet to become a popular alternative fuel in the mobility sector in India. The present paper deploys the strategic niche management framework to understand the policy attempts and observed lag in this experiment of bio-diesel mission. Within the framework of transitions literature, the study aims at presenting the findings from the process tracing study of the Indian experimentation on bio-diesel since inception. It investigates as to what extent the experiment has been embedded in the incumbent mobility regime. This study can offer an insight into the uniqueness of challenges in up-scaling any experiment that aims at transforming the hydrocarbon dominated mobility sector in India.

Where is the hope? Blending modern urban lifestyle with cultural practices in India

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2018

Driving economic growth through a low carbon trajectory will be a challenge as well as an opportu... more Driving economic growth through a low carbon trajectory will be a challenge as well as an opportunity for India in next three decades with a billion plus population. Cities are going to play a major role in this rapidly urbanising India. The scope of this article is to focus on some of the ongoing city-scale actions, which clearly indicate that India can strengthen its response by going beyond its NDCs. A combination of technology penetration, individual behaviour, community actions and policy interventions is driving such experiments. Ongoing investments in infrastructure are targeted towards creation of new facilities as well as modernisation of existing, and traditionally sustainable practices such as public transport, shared mobility, walking, cycling and rickshaw rides. Policies, supplemented by statutory mandates, are trying to command and regulate, nudge and incentivise climate responsive actions. Shifting public preferences towards star-rated household appliances is emerging as a social norm. Increased concern towards local air pollution is also driving changes. Large construction projects are being mandated to comply with building codes. Urban rooftops are facing competing demand from solar panels, organic gardens. Participation in the process of change is thus defining a new urban lifestyle, efficiently and sufficiently, energised by modern energy forms, and is thus paving the way to a new low emission future for India with global mitigation benefits.

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Unpacking sustainabilities in diverse transition contexts: solar photovoltaic and urban mobility experiments in India and Thailand

Sustainability Science, 2017

It is generally accepted that the concept of sustainability is not straightforward, but is subjec... more It is generally accepted that the concept of sustainability is not straightforward, but is subject to ongoing ambiguities, uncertainties and contestations. Yet literature on sustainability transitions has so far only engaged in limited ways with the resulting tough questions around what sustainability means, to whom and in which contexts. This paper makes a contribution to this debate by unpacking sustainability in India and Thailand in the context of solar photovoltaic and urban mobility experimentation. Building on a database of sustainability experiments and multicriteria mapping techniques applied in two workshops, the paper concludes that sustainability transition scholarship and associated governance strategies must engage with such questions in at least three important ways. First, there is a need for extreme caution in assuming any objective status for the sustainability of innovations, and for greater reflection on the normative implications of case study choices. Second, sustainability transition scholarship and governance must engage more with the unpacking of uncertainties and diverse possible sociotechnical configurations even within (apparently) singular technological fields. Third, sustainability transition scholarship must be more explicit and reflective about the specific geographical contexts within which the sustainability of experimentation is addressed.

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Exacerbating Health Risks in India due to Climate Change

Handbook of Research on Climate Change Impact on Health and Environmental Sustainability

While climate change is expected to exacerbate human health risks, it also provides an excellent ... more While climate change is expected to exacerbate human health risks, it also provides an excellent opportunity for defining and implementing preventive actions. Developing nations like India, with low infrastructure facilities, limited resources, varied development priorities and, often with large population, are particularly vulnerable to health impacts - more so under the climate change regime. The greatest challenge facing the current Indian health service provisioning system is that it has to cater to the health service needs of its large population within a short time and with sustainable impact. Limited health ‘cure infrastructure' (low per capita availability of doctor, hospital beds, etc.), lack of qualified health practitioners, absence of a strong monitoring system in disease surveillance and rising cost of ‘cure infrastructure' are some of the major drawbacks of the existing system in India. There is therefore, a need for mainstreaming more preventive measures which...

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Climate Variability and Farmers' Challenges: Experience from River Basins in India

ABSTRACT

Approaches towards Mitigation and Adaptation with special reference to India's NAPCC and Various Financing Instruments. Submitted to Department of Finance, Government of India

Energy consumption in the manufacturing sector in Odisha: Complexities for sustainability transition due to size-mix within the sector

Leakage Risks in South Korea: Potential Impacts on Global Emissions

South Korea will be launching its emission trading scheme (ETS) in January 2015. The Korean ETS d... more South Korea will be launching its emission trading scheme (ETS) in January 2015. The Korean ETS draws inspiration from the European Union (EU) ETS, and is being launched with the expectation of significantly reducing the GHG emission within South Korea. In the process, however, there has been substantial apprehension about the risk of carbon leakage. It is important, therefore, to assess the risk of carbon leakage ex-ante so that appropriate policies can be designed to mitigate this risk. This policy brief is a an attempt to assess the risk of carbon leakage in South Korea following from implementation of the ETS, drawing on available data. The paper uses the methodology advocated by the EU ETS Directive, and is based on secondary data. The analysis is carried out at an aggregate level due to paucity of data. Still, it reveals that there are certain sectors within the South Korean economy which are indeed exposed to a moderate to high degree of risk of carbon leakage, due more to trade intensity than carbon intensity. Korea can borrow from the experiences made in other countries regarding policies to mitigate leakage risk, but further analysis with a more detailed data breakdown is needed for a refined assessment.

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Approach to energy efficiency among micro, small and medium enterprises in India: Results of a field survey

The designations employed, descriptions and classifications of countries, and the presentation of... more The designations employed, descriptions and classifications of countries, and the presentation of the material in this report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretariat of the UNIDO. The responsibility for opinions expressed rests solely with the authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO. Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information herein, neither UNIDO nor its member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from the use of the material. Terms such as " developed " , " industrialized " and " developing " are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment. Any indication of, or reference to, a country, institution or other legal entity does not constitute an endorsement. Information contained herein may be freely quoted or reprinted but acknowledgement is requested. This report has been produced without formal United Nations editing. This document reflects work in progress and, as such, has been edited neither in language nor in style. Its distribution is limited for the purposes of eliciting comments and reviews only.

Kolkata’s brick sewer renewal: history, challenges and benefits

Proceedings of the ICE - Civil Engineering, 2013

Many large-diameter brick sewers were built in central Calcutta (now Kolkata), India during the 1... more Many large-diameter brick sewers were built in central Calcutta (now Kolkata), India during the 1870s. However, over the past century they have deteriorated due to age, changed land-use patterns, lack of adequate maintenance and failure of limited past measures to upgrade them. In 2007, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation embarked on a major project of refurbishing the most critical stretches of these man-entry brick sewers with an estimated initial cost of £70 million. The first phase of this work is due for completion in 2014. A cost–benefit analysis shows an economic internal rate of return of over 15%, amply justifying the investment towards sustainable renewal of an indispensable infrastructure component.

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Fiscal instruments: crucial role in financing low carbon transition in energy systems

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2013

ABSTRACT

Evidence and gaps in evidence on the principle political economy constraints and opportunities to successful investment in clean energy in Asia

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SMEs—The Creative Leaders of India: In Search of an Enabling Environment

The adoption of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill (SMED), 2005 has initiated a ne... more The adoption of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill (SMED), 2005 has initiated a new regime in the SME development in India. The Bill aims at enhancing the promotion, development and increasing competitiveness of the innumerable SMEs that dots the economic landscape of the country. A natural question arises, as a direct corollary of this development, whether such initiative by the government is adequate to ameliorate the various obstacles that impede the development of SMEs in India. The paper attempts to critically analyse the SME development policies of India as laid out in the Bill..

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