This research paper is a product of the research collaboration between the Maritime Policy and Strategy Research Center, Haifa University (HMS), Israel, and the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, with the aim of providing policy recommendations to the respective governments of India and Israel.
The issue of climate change continues to hog the lime-light. Even though there is no unanimity in the scientific community about the rate at which climate change is actually occurring, there is no doubt that climate change is actually happening as we speak. Currently, climate change is confined to the field of climatology/ meteorology alone, however, it has implications in many other processes, some of which are natural and some man-made. As the Earth warms up due to climate change, it is resulting in events such as melting of ice. This in return is resulting in the rise of sea levels, droughts, floods, etc. What is however not known is just how much and how fast will climate change affect the planet. This thus, is disallowing accurate prediction of the associated changes. What is known for certain is the fact that the resulting climate change has a direct bearing on issues of human health, water, food, economy, infrastructure and security of nations and its people. The resulting security risks pose a multifaceted obstacle that does not fit neatly for many countries into any particular department portfolio and hence is not solvable by one country alone. This necessarily means that a cooperative mechanism between countries needs to be established that would allow some radical steps to be taken to counter the threats being posed by climate change. The article aims to look at the climate change issues that affect the world in general and the Indian Ocean and the Israeli region in particular. It further aims to look at how these changes affect the geopolitics of the neighboring countries of the region and what geostrategies need to be implemented by India and Israel to ensure the well-being of its people. The article would further explore common areas where collaborative mechanism between India and Israel can be established.