Rabindranath Tagore Centre for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (RNTCCCSD)

The world is at a crossroads of the climate crisis. The Global Risk Report, 2026, published at The World Economic Forum on Jan 14, 2026, has identified extreme weather events catered by climate change as the topmost risk in the long term (ten years), while the same has been identified as the fourth most risk in the short term (two years). Clearly, the world has come to an age where unless we take collaborative holistic actions on climate change, the situation will quickly turn into a major existential crisis.

India and West Bengal are no exceptions. As a matter of fact, several global reports, including the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) report – IPCC is a scientific organisation under the United Nations – have identified India as one of the global hotbeds of climate impact. The socio-economic challenges of India, a developing country with around 1.4 billion population, add to the vulnerability. Eastern India, particularly West Bengal as well as northeastern states, stands particularly at risk. The quickly melting Himalayas in the north—a recent IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) report has confirmed that the rate of ice melting in the Hindu Kush Himalaya has doubled in the last 25 years—and the Bay of Bengal in the south have the highest sea-level rise in the country, as presented in the Indian Parliament few years back, and are close to double the global average. According to the recently prepared West Bengal SAPCC (State Action Plan on Climate Change) report, the sea level surrounding the Sunderbans has risen nearly 275 millimetres since Independence.

With this background, the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK), funded by the Government of West Bengal, has decided to set up a nodal centre, namely, the Rabindranath Tagore Centre for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (RNTCCCSD). RNTCCCSD is the sub-centre of Rabindranath Tagore Centre for Human Development Studies (RNTCHDS), a joint venture of the University of Calcutta and Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata. IDSK is devoted to advanced academic research and informed policy advice in the areas of literacy, education, health, gender, employment, technology, communication, human sciences, economic development, and related issues.

The objectives of RNTCCCSD are as follows:

• Carrying out appropriate research, documentation, gap analysis, and policy advocacy for key stakeholders with respect to climate change and sustainable development in West Bengal and surrounding regions.
• Carrying out proper public and strategic discourse and communication linking climate change and sustainable development.
• The centre will serve as a nodal point for climate finance, providing guidance to various departments and agencies within state governments, as necessary.

The centre plans to engage in advocacy, planning, and public discourse related to climate change and linked sustainable development issues. It plans to get involved in research, workshops, and other deliberations on issues pertaining to climate change in West Bengal in particular, as well as in East and Northeast India in general.
Shortly the forthcoming programmes of this new centre will be displayed on our website.

Noted climate communication specialist and academician Dr. Jayanta Basu will act as the coordinator and lead of the centre. The Centre is eager to open up dialogues on climate change issues with the state government(s), civil society organizations, corporations and businesses, academic institutes, media, and other stakeholders. The actual programs of the centre will be unfurled in the coming days shortly.

Contact:

Dr. Jayanta Basu, Coordinator
Email: coordinator.rntcccsd.idsk@gmail.com; jayantabasu.cal@gmail.com
Usashi Banerjee, Research Assistant
Email: usashibanerjee741@gmail.com

Address:

Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata (Fifth Floor)
Salt Lake Campus, 27/D, DD Block, Sector I, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700064, West Bengal
Email: rntcccsd.idsk@gmail.com