Dear reader,

As ice melts in Greenland, India is losing land to the sea. Along the coast, homes are disappearing in the quicksand of coastal erosion. Under pressure to respond to the climate crisis, politicians are picking the most visible solution: the building of seawalls.

But seawalls can actually worsen coastal erosion. A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, in fact, warns against them. 

Yet, as Aditya Valiathan Pillai found in his travels along the coast of Karnataka, beyond their visibility, there is another reason why seawalls continue to be built – one that goes straight to the heart of the state’s political economy. 

In Common Ground this week, read Pillai’s insightful report on why climate battles are political. 

You can find all previous Common Ground stories here.

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Supriya Sharma
Executive Editor