Demystifying Climate Change

Rajan Mehta addresses the complex relationship between the scientific realities of climate change and the political factors that influence climate action in Backstage Climate. The book also examines the economic consequences, technological implications, and social influences of anthropogenic activities on the environment. Climate crisis forms the foundation of Mehta’s comprehensive analysis, serving as the central axis of the book’s exploration. This global phenomenon is presented not merely as an environmental issue, but as a complex nexus of interconnected challenges that permeate social, economic, and political spheres. The author uses observations and descriptive research to comprehensively record the climate discourse of the last three decades with implications for the present and future generations. He draws attention to the developed, developing, and peripheral geographies and societies, gathering evidence of human-made environmental changes. Mehta constructs an informative and intriguing narrative by interweaving objective data with qualitative insights. He uses a subjective assessment of fundamental knowledge of policy and politics to detail channels of decision-making, technology, and management concerning the environmental behaviour of institutions and individuals. Mehta begins his research by characterizing the natural phenomenon of climate change (p. 13) and juxtaposing it with changes caused by anthropogenic activities (p. 17). He then advances to explain the scientific basis of the changes in climate with critical concepts like global warming (p. 19), greenhouse gases (p. 24), and extreme weather events (p. 30), followed by an exploration of Climate Action (p. 46) and the varied international political responses to it (p. 51). He further inquires about solutions and measures that will aid in ameliorating the climate crisis.