Dr. A. K. Merchant*.
In the midst of the world’s swelling turmoil, conflict and disorder; economic inequity, deep social divisions and widespread climate disruptions, followers of Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’i Faith, are carrying out their sacred mission.
On the occasion of UN International Day of Environment themed: “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future”. Azerbaijan is the host country. The urgency for climate action highlights the interconnectedness of nature and climate. At such a crucial time, let me offer some insights from the perspective of the Bahá’i Faith, particularly focussing on the heat waves that impacted as many as 100 cities in the country this summer.
Scientific evidence, long-term economic projections, and moral imperatives, for example, all provide compelling reasons for urgent effort toward climate mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage. Scores of international agreements, the Paris Agreement of 2015 chief among them, commit nations to take certain steps. Yet these actions are still to be implemented sufficiently as is evident from various Conference of Parties annual meetings.
It may be recalled that for the first time, at COP 30, held in Brazil, last November, it was acknowledged that there would be an “overshoot” of 1.5oC. High temperatures cause heat stress, whose direct effects are fatigue and heat stroke; and the indirect effects are reduced work performance, increased accidents, reproductive problems, heart and lung strain, and an increase in disease-carrying vectors. One research study reported that there is an increase of 11% all-cause mortality when the temperature crossed 40oC. Another study established a correlation between high temperatures and chronic kidney disease in rural areas. Yet another study estimated the annual death tool in India in the last two decades due to heat stress, floods and landslides and malnutrition among children is ~16,500 per annum, and ~300,000 fresh cases of malaria and dengue per year. The scenario is expected to worsen in the coming years leading to enormous pressures on the healthcare delivery system in the country. For those in Global South, capitalism of the Global North cannot save a burning world. The use of fossil fuels will create more warming. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 states that in the run-up to COP 30 only 60 countries, covering 63% of global GHG emissions, submitted or announced new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), country pledges about their action to tackle climate change, and only 13 parties updated their 2030 targets.
Adaptation programs are vital for the Global South, with an estimated requirement of ~US$350 billion per annum by 2035. However, only US$26 billion was available through public finance in 2023. (UNEP, Adaptation Gap Report 2025). The Glasgow Pact COP 28 goal to mobilise US$40 billion by 2025 remains unfulfilled.
The challenges facing humanity in the light of the foregoing is to avoid getting frustrated; resist the impulse to criticize and condemn. Rathe, based on the commitments made by the nation-states at various international fora, at the United Nations meetings and stakeholders in every country working with their respective Governments to find constructive way to steer around the imposing obstacles and work towards unitedly address the crises. To this end, the Bahá’i Faith enables individuals, institutions and communities kept apart by geography, language, culture, religion, nationality, or conditioned upbringing, who have responded to Bahá’u’lláh’s universal call to “ceaselessly strive for the betterment of the lives of one another.”
Alas, the flipside to the above semblance of positivity are the intensifying wars and conflicts, not to mention trade wars and sanctions, billions of dollars have been spent on supply of weapons, movement of troops and what-have you. To a concerned global citizen sometimes it appears that no one is understanding the gravity of the burning issues related to global warming, biodiversity loss, and climate justice, inter alia. The contradiction between aspiration and action is a common feature of the international arena, whether in the domain of peace and security, poverty alleviation, or the advancement of women, among others. The tendency toward skepticism and caution that prevents meaningful and enduring action is understandable when set against a painful history of countless breaches of trust. But the state of the world and humanity’s growing interconnectedness demand movement from words to deeds. The role of leadership, then, goes beyond asserting what should be done, to creating an enabling environment where the necessary actions can be taken.
Leaders must overcome this paralysis of will, ultimately rooted in a narrow understanding of individual and collective purpose. To counteract the inertia of the status quo, individual leaders will need to employ new forms of statecraft founded on greater degrees of unity. When considering any proposed policy or action on the international stage, leaders, then, are called to ask: will this decision advance the good of humankind in its entirety? While such a path requires courage, it is a matter of pragmatic necessity that will, no doubt, yield countless benefits. The peoples of the world yearn for leaders and institutions that will act to address their most pressing concerns. Those leaders will be met with even greater support if they are also able to exhibit integrity and trustworthiness, uphold commitments, act with impartiality, and direct political and economic affairs with wisdom and justice. In reality, history has demonstrated that humanity will ultimately rally around and honour those who arise to prioritize its collective well-being.
Taking shape in virtually every country and region of the world, the sacrificial efforts of the worldwide Bahá’í community are guided and supported by institutional arrangements from the local to the international level. Such arrangements enable the generation and dissemination of insights and best practices across the globe, which have been widely adopted and implemented according to local circumstances.
The fullest realization of Bahá’í aspirations will appear as they and nations of the world become imbued with the spirit of the oneness of humankind. Bahá’u’lláh, himself when observing the sorry plight of humanity of His day questioned: “What ‘oppression’ is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it?” Access to that truth Bahá’ís believe is possible for everyone. All one has to do is to independently investigate the claims of Bahá’u’lláh, without any prejudice.
The present-day order of separate blocks of nations, divided by political entities but endeavouring to trade together, is lamentably defective. The end result would be World War III after which if a section of humanity survives, it would have to begin anew. Let everyone–man, woman, youth and child–urgently act and understand that this is not the time for triumphalism of this nation or that nation, this community or that community, this religion or that religion. This would be a most befitting response to this year’s UN International Day of Environment.
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*The writer is a social worker, an independent researcher, & member of the Bahá’i Community of India. Views expressed are personal.
