A Pressing Problem

As hundreds of residents are evacuated from the Himalayan pilgrimage town of Joshimath, the realities of the scale of impact of extreme disasters associated with a changing climate and other uncertainties loom large in India. Globally, scientists have proven beyond belief that these disastrous events are caused by human action, that is, they are anthropogenic in nature. They agree that the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases, especially since the Industrial Revolution, originates from the energy sector: the mining and burning of coal, generation of thermal power, vehicular emissions, and other emissions, such as those from industries. One way to deal with the growing incidence of climate-related extreme events is to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and gradually move to a decarbonised world. This is why nations across the world have committed to reducing carbon emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at the Conference of Parties (CoP) 21, held in Paris in 2015, and CoP 26, held in Glasgow in 2022. While the review of Ruth Gamble’s book directly addresses the Himalayan problem, all the other book reviews in this issue address the question of climate change.