Renowned author and environmental advocate Amitav Ghosh has emphasised that wealth and affluence cannot guarantee protection against the escalating climate crisis.
In an interview with NDTV, Ghosh described the devastating wildfires in California, particularly in Los Angeles, as "completely predictable" due to the region's geographical and climatic conditions.
Ghosh highlighted the unique nature of climate change, calling it a "global phenomenon that manifests locally." He explained that understanding the interplay between climate change and local factors - such as settlement patterns and urban development - is essential.
“California is in a geographical zone prone to catastrophes due to its desert climate,” he said. Los Angeles, in particular, faces vulnerabilities stemming from its reliance on distant water sources and instances of institutional corruption, such as the diversion of water by billionaires to their farms.
The author drew parallels between California’s situation and urban development in other regions like Chennai and Mumbai, which face recurrent disasters due to poor planning. "In Chennai, for example, rain bomb events have caused flooding because entire floodplains have been built over," Ghosh noted. He also criticised the construction of settlements along fire-prone mountain areas in Los Angeles.
Drawing on the COVID-19 pandemic as a forerunner of the planetary crisis, Ghosh noted that wealth did not shield affluent countries like the US and the UK from the virus's devastating impacts. "The pandemic disproved the notion that affluence can protect against global crises," he said, likening this misconception to the belief that wealthy nations will be unaffected by climate change.
Ghosh expressed concern about the US potentially withdrawing from the Paris Agreement under President-elect Donald Trump, describing the move as misguided. He called out the flawed belief that climate change will primarily affect poorer nations, stating, "The disasters in California show that even the richest and most famous are not immune."
While Ghosh acknowledged that Trump had once advocated for climate action due to his real estate interests, he noted that the former president later adopted climate denial as a political stance, turning it into part of a broader cultural divide.