It is amply evident that the strategic and economic centre of gravity has shifted from the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific region despite the present focus on the ‘ongoing special military operations’ of Russia in Ukraine which is more than a year old with no immediate end in sight. The ‘great game’ is undoubtedly going to play out in the Indo-Pacific region in the next several decades. The region is home to the four most populous nations, the three largest democracies, and the three largest economies. The Indo-Pacific is responsible for 60 per cent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of the present global economic growth. Militarily, seven of the world’s ten largest armies, five of the world’s declared nuclear nations, and some of the most sophisticated navies reside in the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the sea lanes are extremely busy, supported by the world’s nine largest ports. Every day, half of global container cargo and 70 per cent of ship-borne energy supply flows through this area. The gradual opening of the NSR and potential of the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor would infuse added dynamism in the geopolitical, geoeconomic and geostrategic contours of the region. The Indo-Pacific region is not an anomaly, but an idea whose time has come. The recently released Synthesis Report of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) in its ‘Summary for Policymakers’ has clearly stated that human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850–1900 levels in 2011–2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred. Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. This has led to widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people. Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected. These adverse effects of climate change will manifest in a wide spectrum of ‘felt-impacts’ in the short-, medium- and long-term, ranging from water scarcity and food insecurity to forced human migration, and stresses on coastal and marine infrastructure.
