I've been following the issue since years now. For somebody who wants to get a crach course in the subject, I strongly adise to see "AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH", the Oscar winning documentary by Al Gore (former VP of USA and the real winner of 2000 presedential elections). Its simple, crisp, consise and yet very comprehensive on the subject. It was in theatres a few weeks back and the DVD should be released in India soon.
You can visit the website at www.climatecrisis.net
Dr. Pachauri has shown a matured approach while dealing with an important and sensitive issue like global warming. There is no denying that humanity (and more so the developed countries) need to cut down on their emission to save earth from disaster in the long. That the disaster is possible is no more of contention but how long it will take to happen what mankind can do to stop it is definitely a matter of contention. Even in this situation you can not deny the underdeveloped (like African countries) and developing (like India) countries their right to improve quality of life (which will in turn increase emission per capita). The real cut can come from West. While Europe shows more understanding and tries to cut down on emission, USA and Australia are still not convinced. It would surely take matured approach to make all countries understand their role and take practical steps to curb it. If environmentalists take a very tough stand then some of the countries may come out of negotiation which would dangerous for everybody. Dr. Pachauri plays a significant role here to keep everybody on board.
I am an avid follower of the global climate change debates and the IPCC activities. I am really proud of Dr.Pachuri, because not only he is an Indian but also for his vast knowledge in environmental science. Though the works of the IPCC has so far quite effective but they still have miles to go before all the countries in this world will come to a conclusion that global warming and climate change is the most serious threat that the earth is facing now. India should play a strong role to combat this climate change peril by introducing effective environmental policy measures. But it is unfortunate that so far in India the scientific community is not so active in this subject. There are some experts like Promode Kant, N.H.Ravindranath who are working in this field with lots of passion. But it is not certainly enough.
I doubt its a plan of West & America to raise the issue of Climate change and stop developing countries like China and India becoming a developed rich country. Any ideas?
RE:Climate change!
by Satyajit Mahapatra on Jun 04, 2007 05:30 PM
Not really! it's not a West idea. In fact Bush is one of the most ignorant person about global warming. This issue has been highlighted by nature scientists all over the world. As per devlopment in India and China, they can not stop their development right away due to this issue. The idea should be to have parity between developed and developing countries in he long run and use alternate sources of energy as much as possible. Currently an average American produces 20 times more emission than an Indian.
RE:Climate change!
by Pradipta Halder on Jun 04, 2007 05:33 PM
Hi, I think what you have proposed is not justified. Because if you see the climate change from a business point of view then you will see that India, China and Brazil Brazil are at the moment having lots of environmental projects financed by the western countries (mainly Japan, Canada and the European Union). Probably you have heared about Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which has opened the door for the developing countries to receive foreign investment. Successful CDM projects could bring multiple benefits to a country like India-clean technologies, employment, investment and others. But you can say CDM will not solve all the problems and it will not alone make India a developed country. To become a developed country India needs sustainable policies (formulated and implemented) in every sector supported by a vast scientific community, common place modern education system and corruption free government.
