Climate Undone

Description

Climate change is often presented as a problem of science, technology and policy. But understanding it also means understanding cities, forests, biodiversity, livelihoods, inequality, culture and our relationship with the natural world around us.

In this episode of India in Transition, Heeta Lakhani and Pranshu Patel are joined by Dr Harini Nagendra, ecologist, author and Director of the School of Climate Change and Sustainability at Azim Premji University.

We begin with Harini’s own journey from microbiology to ecology and explore why climate education needs to move beyond disciplinary silos. Harini argues that science and social science need to speak to each other much more closely — but also that the humanities, storytelling, art, culture and indigenous knowledge remain significantly underused in how we communicate and understand environmental change.

The conversation then asks a bigger question: how do we build climate literacy without leaving people overwhelmed, afraid or powerless? Harini shares examples from Azim Premji University’s teaching and Climate Festivals of Life, where students learn through place, collective action, art, ecological observation and participation rather than simply being lectured about the climate crisis. At the centre of this is a recurring idea: people need the opportunity to actually do something and experience a sense of agency.

Harini also challenges us to think more carefully about environmental justice. Informal settlements, women, children and other communities often experience some of the greatest environmental risks while remaining largely invisible in planning. At the same time, these communities can hold significant ecological knowledge that conventional urban planning frequently overlooks.

And for someone who wants to become more climate literate but does not have the time to return to university or take another course?
Harini’s suggestion is surprisingly simple: start by doing something close to you.

About Dr Harini Nagendra:

She is Director of the School of Climate Change and Sustainability at Azim Premji University. Her work spans urban ecology and sustainability, forest conservation, land-use change, biodiversity, collective action and the commons. She has spent more than three decades researching relationships between people, ecosystems and institutions, particularly across South Asia, while also bringing environmental research to wider audiences through books, public writing and storytelling.

Her books include Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future, Cities and Canopies: Trees of Indian Cities, So Many Leaves and Shades of Blue: Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities. She also writes the Bangalore Detectives Club historical mystery series.

India in Transition is hosted by Heeta Lakhani and Pranshu Patel and created by The ClimAct Initiative and Climate Undone, exploring the people, choices and ideas shaping India’s transition.