Five Indic Theories that can Influence Climate Engineering Measures
By Pankaj Jain
The CSR Journal
November 27, 2021
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the scientific body of the United Nations with a mandate to study climate change, defines climate engineering as deliberately altering the climate system to counter climate change. The IPCC 2013 report suggests that many geoengineering technologies are a subset of mitigation as mitigation involves both emissions reductions and enhancing sinks. These corrective measures must be taken up with knowledge, awareness, and cognizance of likely consequences.
In this context, Indic traditions present a staggering diversity of religious and cultural traditions, which are practised even today in India and are increasingly finding acceptance across the world. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism offer ethics-based practices for climate engineering based on Karma, Vinaya, Ahimsa, Sanyasa, and Nyaya. Let us analyse how each of these principles contributes to the activities mentioned above.