The movement out of agriculture in India is taking place in the midst of another, and arguably larger, transformation, that of climate change. The process of moving out of agriculture can be hastened by climate change, especially when there are increased instances of drought and abnormal rainfall. On the other side of the coin, as farmers respond to the economic pressures of agrarian transformation by resorting to low-cost options like stubble burning, they add to the challenges of climate change. The causes and effects of climate change have inequalities built into them. Those who contribute the most to climate change are often not the ones who pay the greatest price. This is an inequality that has been articulated effectively on the global stage by countries like India, but there is much less recognition of these inequalities within the country. There are also inequalities in the ability to cope with climate change. The inequalities in the ability to cope could be determined by the processes of rural transformation as well as in the patterns of climate change.
This project focuses not just on the unequal costs of climate change but also how local populations, already in the midst of socio-economic transformation, cope with the larger change that has been thrust upon them. The project is designed to study the local adaptations to climate change in an areas that covers diverse forms of socio-economic transformation as well as varied consequences of climate change.