Description
Using the case of Indian leaders and scientists’ reaction to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report’s claims and the heated furore that ensued on cryosphere science in the Himalayan region in 2007, this study explores how nations perceive cryosphere change and choose their responses in the face of global knowledge systems. Existing literature on this episode has mainly focused on the IPCC, its internal dynamics, and its re-legitimation in climate governance. It has overlooked how nations perceive and utilise global expertise on Earth system science, especially in times of surprise or controversy. By looking into the civic epistemology of the Indian state and its interaction with the IPCC between 2007 to 2015, this study offers a fresh perspective on the dynamics between nations and global knowledge institutions such as the IPCC.
Two research questions motivate this research. First, how was environmental change in the frozen terrains of the Himalayan region perceived and discussed by various actors within and outside India post-2007? Second, how did this representation shape political debate and action over time? It examines how actors have represented environmental change within the glaciated spaces of the Himalayan region. Subsequently, it investigates the historical, socio-political, ideological, and institutional factors that drive these actors to perceive ‘degradation’ of the frozen terrains of the Himalayan region, and how national governments have instituted policy responses to managing the cryosphere crises. Sources for the study include legal and policy documents of the Indian government, state departments, scientific reports released by state-affiliated research institutes, consultative bodies, universities, private research institutes, non-university research institutions, and international bodies, writings of non-governmental organisations, forums, journalists and media, academia, and activists. It ultimately theorises "knowing-first" as a legitimate strategy of risk management adopted by national governments as a means to deal with the "uncertainty" accompanying Earth system science.
