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Purnamita Dasgupta and Girika Sharma presented a paper titled ” Climate Finance for Adaptation and Sustainable Development in India,” co-authored by both, at the 2nd Annual Conference on Public Finance and Policy held at Madras School of Economics, Chennai, with their presentation delivered virtually. The conference was held on March 7 and 8, 2024.
The paper presented an overview of climate finance, with a special focus on flows of finance for adaptation. A desk analysis of available studies and estimates on finance needs and flows from developed to developing countries, and the current scenario in terms of flows from various international and domestic sources was conducted. The findings established the lack of uniformity and incomparability across methods used to estimate finance needs and the insufficiency of current financial flows for enabling the required transition to a climate-resilient economy for India. Prioritisation of resource allocations that integrated adaptation with developmental outcomes could lead to a transition that was compatible with sustainable development. Subsequently, an empirical comparative analysis of adaptation expenditures and needs linked to the consequences of climatic events across states yielded some interesting insights on the relationships between these variables. Choosing health as an indicator of development, the empirical analysis established a positive relationship between disaster preparedness and achievement of good health outcomes, and between adaptation expenditures and reduction in mortality. However, across states planned budgetary allocations did not match with adaptation investment needs. The paper presented preliminary evidence on how developmental gaps correlated with fund flows and needs for adaptation. Methodological differences and lack of coordination across sectors, large gaps between needs and available fund flows in the aggregate, low budgetary flows to critical sectors such as health, and lack of flows from the private sector for adaptation were some of the most important challenges. The use of standardised frameworks to accurately assess cost-effectiveness and returns on adaptation investments could encourage private finance and remove uncertainties in the investment climate. The assessment reinforced the need for mobilisation and alignment of adaptation finance flows with developmental needs across states and sectors. Prioritisation of cross-sector actions to align sectoral budgetary allocations between key developmental and climate outcomes could be beneficial in pursuing transformation.

Shivangi Shankar and Girika Sharma made a presentation titled “How Heat Affects HerHealth: Exploring the Impact of Increasing Temperatures on Women’s Health,” at the DAAD-sponsored International Conference entitled “Climate Change: A Socio-geological Perspective,” organised by The School of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, with their presentation delivered virtually. The conference was held on October 11 and 12, 2023.
The study found that heat action plans ignored the complexities of gender-related vulnerability to heat impact. Some key plans and guidelines barely mentioned gender-related vulnerability, much less suggested ways to address them. Where present, there was a disproportionate focus on maternal health, ignoring other aspects of health and illness that arise in a woman’s life course. The paper thus proposed possible approaches for addressing heat impact on women’s health across the life course. This study emphasised the need to fill lacunae in literature regarding women’s susceptibility to heat. It also highlighted the importance of creating gender-informed policies to reduce the adverse impacts of heat on women’s health. In an increasingly warmer and unequal world, it was imperative that heat action plans and strategies were responsive to and inclusive of vulnerable populations.