Embargo Period

8-8-2024

Degree Name

MA in Climate Change and Global Sustainability

First Advisor

Sonya Ahamed, PhD

Second Advisor

N/A

Abstract

This capstone research project seeks to identify and address barriers to the use of solar photovoltaics (PV) as an adaptation method to climate change for farmers in West Bengal, India. These barriers are examined within the context of the food-water-energy nexus, particularly concerning the ability of many small holder farmers to produce their own food and sustain their livelihoods. Previous studies have examined both energy access and renewable energy development in West Bengal, and also the food-water-energy nexus in its application to climate change. However, there is minimal literature on how renewable energy development should be applied within the nexus in an era of climate change in this region. This study engaged 15 small holder farmers in the West Bengal districts of Nadia and Hooghly through semi-structured interviews. This social science method was employed to address the project’s primary questions: how is energy use in the form of solar PV being implemented in food and water systems within the context of the climate change challenges of West Bengal, and what are the barriers to this use and how do these barriers relate to the challenges farmers face within the food-water-energy nexus? The farmers who were interviewed for this project have experienced the direct impacts of climate change and have either implemented solar PV within their overall adaptation strategies or they have seen the need to do so but have faced significant barriers. Based on interviews and observations, farmers - both those with and without solar PV systems - identified these primary barriers as: policy, economics, and equipment/ resource access. Based on the findings of this research, it is clear that a more bottom-up approach to policy schemes that promote solar PV in the agriculture sector is needed in order to address the concerns of farmers and also to make solar PV a more effective and accessible adaptation to climate change. A collective framework is proposed to address these barriers within the food-water-energy nexus at a community scale.

Key words: Climate Change, Food-Water-Energy Nexus, Agriculture, Adaptation, Solar, Renewable Energy

Disciplines

Environmental Studies | Food Security | Oil, Gas, and Energy | Social Justice | Sustainability | Water Resource Management

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