What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: Broken promises in a warming world

Context

Developing countries, in the face of the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, need a calibrated strategy that must not fall prey to the illusion that they can make up the huge gap created by America’s stand.

 

Introduction

There can be no doubt that U.S. President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, which will legally come into effect in a year, is a major blow to global efforts to combat the threat posed by anthropogenic global warming. The U.S., the world’s richest nation, owning a third of the world’s wealth, and with the highest annual gross domestic product, is singularly responsible for global warming, having contributed well over a fifth of the cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide, from the pre-industrial era to date. Under the principles and terms of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to which the U.S. is a signatory, it is also supposed to take the lead in climate action while providing the financial and technological means to developing countries to do the same.

 

U.S. Climate Action and Global Responsibility

• U.S. Climate responsibility: By any reckoning, climate action by the U.S. has always fallen well short of its responsibility under the global climate regime, irrespective of the dispensation in Washington DC.
  1. Its emissions steadily rose from 1992 to 2005, while its political class consistently swung away from serious efforts, resulting in the U.S. Congress, through a bipartisan consensus, keeping the country out of the Kyoto Protocol.
  2. Since then, its emissions have declined, though at a rate that is much slower than what it owes the world.
• Shift from Legally Binding to voluntary commitments: The eventual move away from legally binding commitments on developed countries, as in the Kyoto Protocol, to voluntary contributions pledged by all countries in the Paris Agreement, with the pious hope of increasing ambition as time went by, was solely to accommodate the constraints of U.S. domestic politics which would not allow ratification of any binding emissions reduction commitment.
  1. Initiated at Copenhagen in 2009 and consolidated at Paris, six years later, this move was Barack Obama’s legacy.

 

Biden Administration and U.S. Climate Policies

• Biden Administration's Climate Efforts: After the Trump victory, much is being made of the Biden administration’s efforts at climate action.
  1. The U.S. became the world’s highest producer of crude oil under the Biden administration.
  2. The paltry target of $300 billion annually as climate finance, from COP29 at Baku, was the outcome of the joint obduracy of the U.S. and its developed country allies.
  3. Biden’s swan song, the updated nationally determined contribution submitted in December 2004, offered to reduce emissions by only 60% below 2005 levels by 2035, perpetuating the continued appropriation by the U.S. of a vastly disproportionate part of the global carbon budget.
  4. This does not represent any higher “ambition” as understood in the Paris Agreement, despite the U.S. hectoring the developing countries at the Dubai and Baku climate summits on the need for enhanced mitigation targets for all.

 

U.S. Climate Policy and Global Consequences

• Trump administration's withdrawal: The Trump withdrawal from the Paris accord fits well within the frustrating pattern of weak commitments and weaker climate action, accompanied by aggressive intervention in multilateral platforms, under Democratic presidencies, followed by the spurning or withdrawal from even these commitments under Republican incumbents.
• Impact on Developing Countries
  1. In the event, other countries, notably the large emerging economies, are left with increasing burdens and commitments for climate mitigation.
  2. For the bulk of the developing world, this has meant the withdrawal of aid and assistance, and even loans, for development and industrialisation, and enhanced energy use to meet basic human development needs.
  3. They are sought to be forced into early de-carbonisation that perpetuates global inequalities and deprivation, including rising risk of hunger and food insecurity.

 

Action and reaction

• Mixed Reactions from diplomats and the media: The reactions to the U.S. withdrawal from climate action by diplomats, national spokespersons, and the media have been a mixed bag of resignation and bravado.
  1. The Secretary of the UNFCCC, Simon Stiell, and others have suggested that it is the U.S. that will miss out on the investment opportunities for private capital that green transitions provide.
• American Contribution to climate discourse: This marks the enduring success of the American contribution to climate discourse, promoting the idea that markets are the best route to deliver climate change mitigation.
  1. The logic suggests that governments in rich countries need only to provide signals to the private sector, which will then innovate and invest to achieve emission reduction commitments.
• Failure of market-based solutions: However, this logic has led to underwhelming commitments and failure to achieve even these promises.
  1. The fact that over 80% of primary energy use in the U.S. and over 70% in the European Union still comes from fossil fuels, 33 years after the UNFCCC was signed, is testament to the failure of markets as the golden bullet to solve the climate crisis.
• Role of Public Sector in developing countries: Developed and developing countries’ commitments fundamentally differ in the relatively large role that the public sector plays in the latter’s economies.
  1. This provides a measure of accountability to their commitments that those of the global North lack.

 

Complicity of Academia and Civil Society

• Illusion of sub-national sections: Academia and civil society in the global North have been complicit in promoting the illusion that sub-national governments, corporations, and local communities could substitute for national action.
  1. A University of Colorado Law School paper published in 2024 notes that the number of states moving to anti-regulatory or “emissions inaction” policies is much larger than those with active emission reduction strategies.
  2. At the local community level, the paper notes that communities with emission regulations are outliers, with a huge majority having emissions inaction strategies.
• Lack of serious discussion of climate denialism
  1. The complicity of climate academia is demonstrated by the lack of any serious discussion of climate denialism in the U.S. within the context of global climate governance in IPCC reports.
  2. This includes the first Trump-activated withdrawal, which occurred during the period when the bulk of the Sixth Assessment Report was prepared.

 

Advice for developing countries

• Need for a calibrated strategy: Developing countries, in the face of the U.S. withdrawal, need a calibrated strategy that should not fall prey to the illusion that they can make up the huge gap created by this withdrawal.
  1. It should not be forgotten that the reaction of other developed countries is likely to be more of rhetoric than substance.
• Historical context of U.S. and Northern Countries' Actions: The details of the implementation of the Paris Agreement were finalised during the first Trump presidency, when the U.S. and other Northern negotiators actively colluded in transferring an increasing part of the burden of climate action onto the global South.
  1. The second Trump administration may not walk out of the negotiations but may insist on increased commitments by the global South or at least collude in such calls.
  2. With outstanding irony, the executive order initiating the withdrawal still refers to the global climate leadership of the United States.

 

The Case for Multilateralism

• Maintaining Multilateralism
  1. It is equally bravado to call on developing countries to respond to the U.S.’s move by abandoning multilateralism in the climate arena.
  2. Adherence to multilateralism is not about genuflecting to a moral principle but is necessitated by the inherent and irreducibly global nature of the global warming challenge.

 

India's Role in Climate Action

 

Conclusion

In the ultimate analysis, global climate action that is just, equitable and effective requires political will. The future of climate action and the safety of humanity requires concerted political action by all other nations to bring the U.S. back to the path of reason and the path of meaningful international cooperation.

Editorial 2: Bridge the milk divide for a nutritionally secure India

Context

The challenge is in ensuring equitable milk access for the most vulnerable while moderating overconsumption among the affluent.

 

Introduction

For a long time, India has told the incredible supply side story of its milk revolution. The White Revolution that was initiated by Verghese Kurien propelled India to become the world’s largest milk producer. It is now time to bring focus to demand and ensure that milk reaches the most vulnerable.

• Milk, a vital source of protein, calcium, and other micronutrients, is integral to plant-heavy Indian diets.
• Research links milk consumption to lower odds of stunting, underweight, and anthropometric failure in Indian children aged between six months and five years.
• Milk consumption remains highly inequitable across socio-economic groups and regions.
• As the Union Budget 2025-26 approaches, addressing these disparities is essential to improved health outcomes for all.

 

Consumption disparities

The latest Household Consumer Expenditure Surveys (HCES) by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) show that :

• Top-Income vs. Lowest-Income Deciles: Households in the top-income decile consume three to four times more milk (equivalent) per capita compared to households in the lowest-income decile.
  1. Despite sharper increases in consumption among lower-income groups, the poorest 30% consumed just 18%of India’s milk.
• Limitations of NSSO Survey: The NSSO primarily captures at-home consumption, which is only about 50% of the total milk production.
  1. Out-of-home milk consumption through restaurants and hotels is not adequately captured by HCES.
  2. If accounted for, this would likely enlarge the consumption difference.
• Regional, Social, and Urban-Rural Divides
  1. Urban vs. Rural Consumption
     • Urban households consume approximately 30% more milk per capita than rural households, despite most milk being produced in rural India.
  2. Social Group Differences
     • Scheduled Tribe households consume four litres less milk per capita compared to general category households.
  3. Regional Consumption Variations
     • Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana consume between 333 grams to 421 grams per capita daily at home.
     • Eastern States such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal consume just between 75g to 171g.

 

Focus on vulnerable groups

• Variations in Dietary Preferences and Lactose Intolerance: Variations in dietary preferences and lactose intolerance levels partly explain the milk consumption disparities.
• Affordability as a key barrier: The National Institute of Nutrition recommends 300 g per capita of milk daily for an average sedentary adult.
  1. Meeting this level would require 70% of Indian households to spend 10% to 30% of their total monthly expenditure on milk.
• Affluent urban households: Affluent urban households are likely to consume more than double the recommended levels, including high-fat, high-sugar products such as ice cream and packaged milk-based sweets.
  1. This raises concerns about overnutrition, obesity, and non-communicable diseases.

 

Prioritizing Milk Access for Vulnerable Groups

• Enhancing Milk provision for vulnerable groups: Prioritize milk access for young children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly in low-income settings.
  1. Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (POSHAN), Integrated Child Development Services meals, and take-home rations should be enhanced.
  2. Collaborate with institutions like the National Institute of Nutrition to integrate milk or milk productsaligned with socio-cultural preferences and tolerances.
  3. States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, and Telangana already provide milk or milk powder under these schemes, but quantities remain insufficient.
  4. Chhattisgarh and some other States have discontinued provisions due to financial constraints.
  5. Boosting financial allocations to these schemes could yield substantial returns.
• Exploring Innovative financing options: Governments can explore social bonds, tap into corporate social responsibility funding, and gradually increase the cess on unhealthy foods.
• Milk coupons in regions with strong market access: In regions with strong market access and dairy cooperative networks, milk coupons could enhance access, lower distribution costs, and boost local milk markets.

 

Raising Awareness and Nutrition Benefits

• Emphasizing Nutritional Benefits in Awareness Campaigns: Focus on the nutritional benefits of milk and other locally appropriate food items in awareness campaigns.
  1. Target women through Anganwadi centres, doctors, self-help groups, and civil society organisations.
  2. Maharashtra and Bihar are leading in organising grassroots activities to drive nutrition awareness and interventions, as seen in Poshan Maah 2024.
  3. Research highlights that improved women’s nutrition awareness significantly enhances household dietary diversity.

 

The U.K. model

• Third, promote healthy consumption awareness: using partnerships with doctors, influencers, and the media. Health messaging should encourage moderation in milk consumption among over-consuming affluent groups, advocating diverse, balanced diets.
• Mitigate the burdens of over-nutrition: from dairy products and increase milk affordability for vulnerable groups.
• For example, the Change4Life Sugar Swaps: campaign in the United Kingdom effectively reduced sugar and fat consumption, and offers a model for similar initiatives in India.

 

Conclusion

Milk plays an important role in India’s nutrition security. Ensuring equitable access for the most vulnerable while moderating overconsumption among the affluent would honour Verghese Kurien’s vision of a nutritionally secure India, making the benefits of the milk revolution accessible to all.