India is at the front line of the effects of climate change. Recent studies estimate that developing countries will suffer 80% of the damage from climate change, and India is amongst them. Changes in rainfall patterns, agriculture yields, glacier melt, disease prevalence, extreme weather events will be the ‘new normal’ in India.As a country with a 7,500 kilometre-long coastline, we will experience sea surges and salinisation that will affect infrastructure, fisherfolk, agriculture, and the livelihoods of millions.

The changing climate will bring cross internal geographies and rural-urban boundaries. Rising temperatures will affect our economy from tourism to agriculture. Cities on the coast will bear the brunt of rising sea levels from Kolkata, to Kochi, to Mumbai and Chennai.

CSM’s ambition is to create a platform for fresh and challenging thinking on a range of issues connected to climate change in India. The objective is to deepen and broaden understanding of this vital subject in India through easily accessible and informative materials.In turn, this will contribute to a better-informed public debate and more progressive policy outcomes on climate change for India, our region and the world. We believe that entrepreneurship in India can help harness new solutions and can create a new wave of green entrepreneurs in the field of energy, water, and food security.

Our objective is to improve national growth prospects and bring real benefits to local communities as they confront a climate and resource-constrained world. Ultimately we seek to re-position India as a country that understands the risk and rises to the challenge of climate change and sustainability.

We are currently engaged in several projects to mobilise business and industry, urban administration, citizens, NGOs and researchers on the need for an inclusive agenda on climate change response.

The India Climate Portal

The India Climate Portal is one of CSM’s several public service initiatives that promotes critical thinking about and fresh analysis of climate change and its impacts on India.

Project CRREA (Climate Response & REsource Conservation Action)

Project CRREA is a project of CSM being undertaken in collaboration and co-ordination with local communities, local panchayats, forest departments, schools, local civil society organisations and other local stakeholders active across the Western Ghats. Click here to learn more about Project CRREA.

Publications & Discussion Papers

CSM has been publishing publications and discussions papers on Climate Change for over a decade to provide a platform for bringing together the various stakeholders and to provide challenging thinking on a range of issues connected to climate change in India. The objective is to deepen and broaden understanding of this vital subject in India through easily accessible and informative publications. In turn, it is hoped this will contribute to a better-informed public debate and more progressive policy outcomes and private sector action on climate change for India, her people,and neighbourhood.

Mentioned below are some of the publications focussed on Climate Change Action but for more detailed list please visit our Publications Knowledge Hub:

1. Disaster Management and Climate Change – Indian policy frameworks .Dhar Chakroborti January 2011 (Link to publications section)
2. Who’s who of in Climate Change in India 2010 (Link to publications section)
3. Climate change – Why India needs to take leadership. Malini Mehra. August 2007 (Link to publications section)