Review Of ‘The Last Sky: Countdown For An Endangered Planet’

Avay Shukla’s The Last Sky— Countdown for an Endangered Planet (Authorsupfront) is a fervent plea to stop the human-induced assaults destroying and disfiguring the planet beyond recognition. The Anthropocene era that is marked by human activity shaping climate, environment and ecosystems more than any natural force may very well be the last for homosapiens, says Shukla, a retired civil servant and ardent environmentalist and trekker. His book is a collection of 60 essays covering the period from 2014 to 2026.

Divided into six chapters, each chapter of The Last Sky deals with a specific sector\subject that ranges from tourism, hydel and road projects to wildlife protection and policy framework. One chapter is dedicated to Himachal Pradesh’s environmental misadventures; a state where Shukla has worked extensively and now lives in.

The Last Sky reminds us that mountains are constantly being leveled; rivers dammed and diverted; wetlands drained; forests cut down—in the frantic race for higher gross domestic product numbers. Unsustainable growth of consumption and materialism as the human population rises has resulted in the plunder of natural resources at a rate that is beyond our power to replenish. This is leading towards the inevitable collapse of global ecosystems—a catastrophe humankind is unlikely to survive.  

The environmental impact of over-tourism, hydel projects changing the course of rivers, unplanned urbanisation and road construction; the physical impact of wars; and the demands made by increasing use of artificial intelligence on water and energy resources are currently all at play at the same time.

The toll that wars have taken on natural and human resources over the last few years show how humans contribute to climate change and environmental degradation. A study has revealed that three years of the Russia-Ukraine war have released an additional 350 million tonnes of pollutants into the atmosphere, accounting for one per cent of annual global emissions through bombings, explosions and fires. An environmental catastrophe is unfolding in larger concentric circles, as missiles, drone and aircraft carriers encircle the Strait of Hormuz amid the battle for control of the water passage. Tens of millions of litres of oil are contained in the ships, both military and civilian, in the Persian Gulf—a major spillage calamity will contaminate the waters for decades. 

Shukla points out that climate change is often used as a convenient excuse to explain away rising emissions, increase in global temperature, erratic weather and extreme weather patterns, among other things. The spotlight somehow defuses the human actions and interventions that exacerbate climate change and it’s lived impact on marginal sections of society and the environment at large. 

Shukla is scathing when it comes to the role of elected governments, be it at national or sub-national levels, in perpetuating the human-environmental crisis. He terms this negligence as an act of ‘ecocide’ that is at par with genocide—a crime against humanity. Given his extensive experience of working within the government, he is quick to concede that governments across the globe are unlikely to bring any such law against ‘ecocide’. 

So what is the way out of this human-made quagmire? The solutions, Shukla suggests in his book, are behavioral and material. He mentions changes in life styles; the way we live, travel, eat or entertain ourselves. These de-growth-oriented solutions appear desirable, but some of these may not lend themselves to practical execution. The book does not offer enough solutions to readers who are looking for ways—both at the individual and the community level—to protect themselves and the environment from doom. I was left hungering for more on this front.

Solutions such as capping tourist numbers, curbing flights, rationing of scarce resources, do not play out in a ‘if-things-go-on-as-usual scenario’. It is only when governments shift to crisis-mode that these solutions become implementable. Though critical of governments, Shukla acknowledges the power that the executive has in nudging people towards adopting environment-friendly behaviours and life styles.

“Every 300km-run of the Vande Bharat train saves 75 tonne of Co2 and other emissions as compared to other similar modes of transport,” he says at one point in the book. Train travel is more environment-friendly and economical than taking a flight. However, India remains one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world.

Shukla’s views, which he shares frankly in The Last Sky, may sound alarmist at times: “If things go on as usual, nothing is going to change and we are headed straight for the precipice,” he stresses. However, that may well be his intension: to nudge governments, civil society and the bureaucracy into taking substantive action before it’s too late.

The recent flashfloods in Nepal are a clear pointer to the fragility of the ecosystem. That makes Shukla’s book a timely call to climate action. The Last Sky may not give readers all the answers about how to stem the impending environmental apocalypse. However, it does provide a grim reminder. As Shukla puts it, this the only planet we have and if we destroy it, there’s no plan(et) B.

(Sudipto Dey is a senior business journalist leading efforts to build a comprehensive content ecosystem on sustainability, ESG, climate and policy issues within the Outlook Group. He hosts the Group’s sustainability podcast, Planet People Profit.)