– Dr. Rahul Kumar, Senior Journalist. The Asian Independent, UK
Center for Policy Research (CPR) and The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), organized a discussion of IPCC authors on the burning issue of climate change. A panel of Speakers: Fei Teng, Associate Professor & Deputy Director, Institute of Energy, Environment & Economy, Tsinghua University, China, Harald Winkler, Professor , University of Cape Town, South Africa, Heleen de Connick, Associate Professor , Department of Environmental Science , Radboud University, The Netherlands, Karen Seto- Frederick C Hixon, Professor of Geography and Urabnisation Science , Yale University, USA, and Roberto Schaeffer, Professor , Energy Economics, Universidade, Federal do Rio de Janerio, Brazil were invited to discuss a question ‘What are countries doing to mitigate climate change? Prof. Navroz K Dubash of CPR was the moderator who opened up the discussion by raising some questions on successes and obstacles to mitigate climate change in countries like USA, China, South Africa, Brazil & Netherlands. The erudite speakers passionately put forward different perspectives on opportunities and challenges in mitigating climate change.
The panel lacked the Indian viewpoint on climate change since there was no Indian scientist, environmentalist or academician to throw light on the vulnerability of human lives in India due to climate change & environmental degradations. Critics often allege that the minds of the Indians academicians are hugely influenced by the achievements of the developed countries than their own cold failures. Most of the learned speakers threw light on the basis of secondary data. On a question to the speakers about left-right politics on climate change especially in the developed world by one of the participants an answer from one of the speakers from Netherland compared the politics of left-right with White or Black was, no doubt, inappropriate. Nevertheless, the left-right politics on the issue of climate change was admitted by the speaker from Brazil to some extent.
The venue was full of mixed audiences. Some foreigners participated but largely Indians. Indians like me were actually anxious to know about constructive steps & environment-friendly policies being implemented by Indian politicians to mitigate climate change. On this matter, my own opinion is that CPR & TERI, being credible institutions of India have missed this massive opportunity. I also believe strongly that well-read Indians in the audience are more worried about India than any country in the world in terms of climate change & environmental degradations. Climate variations are less prominent in India than in the regions of Canada, USA, Britain, After listening and interacting through Q/A session, I try to understand where India stands today among other countries of the developed world to fight this battle of climate change & environmental degradations. The threat is gigantic because of apathy and corruption of the nexus between politicians & bureaucrats. The empirical data is not only astounding but also horrific in terms of survival of human & animal life due to climate change & environmental degradations in India.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index released by Germany –based think tank, German Watch, India is the 14th the most climate change – affected country in the world. The rapid worst climate change and the rise of air pollution is not one day story. According to the environment ministry, 2,400 Indians lost their lives to extreme weather. Despite an imminent threat to human & animal life, many Indians companies are importing iron & plastic scraps from USA, China, Italy, Japan. A study done by Pandit Deedyal Upadhya Smriti Manch (PDUSM), a Delhi-based environmentalist organisation demonstrates that the influx of PET bottles has quadrupled from 2017 to 2018. This is all happening under the nose of the Government of India despite a ban.
There is no doubt, the Western & Eastern capitalists’ countries are doing much better than India to prevent humankind destruction due to climate change. It is often alleged that the western companies are more interested to sell their technologies to India than to find out a root cause of the problem and thereafter resolution. For example, The VSBK technology was originally invented in China for brick manufacturers and was adapted by Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) in India, and discarded later due to financial viability.
India as an emerging economy of the world has its own demerits. Some of them are explained. Today, in a globalized world, India cannot make as much progress as required to cater to the 130 billion people until or unless a fundamental change in innovation & technology & religious outlook takes place. The lack of innovation & technology in India has further added woes to the worst climate change, suffocating human life day by day. World Economic Forum demonstrates that a billion cockroaches in China are being fed with 50 tonnes of kitchen waste a day- the equivalent in weight to seven adult elephants. Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association said, “Cockroaches are a bio-technological pathway for converting and processing of Kitchen”. India lacks behind in such innovations due to religious dietary restrictions as laid down by Hindu customs. Some Marxists assert that Brahmanism is an obstacle in the path of growth, innovation & technology in India.
The difference between a developed world and a developing world is noticeable in the outlook of the general population of India & the West. From 29 September to 9th October in India is the season of Shardiya Navratri days. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Maa Durga fought an evil demon called Mahishasura and battle continued for nine days. Hindu devotees abstain from meat and alcohol during Shardiya Navratri days. If we go to Five Star hotels in this season we will find that the majority of the so-called Brahmins eat chicken or goat meat and drink alcohol during these days. Not only this, the elderly population of India is stigmatized. The religious outlook in the West is progressive. In the West, Elderly people despite their ripening age get jobs & contribute to the economy. During my recent trip to China, I observe that Chinese elderly ladies work in the factories and produce material & contribute to the growth of the economy whereas Indian elderly ladies are found singing Ram-Sita Bhajans in the four walls of Hindu temples as well in homes. Some governments have wasted taxpayer money on religious festivals. For example, the Haryana government spent 100 crores on the Gita festival. This huge money could be spent on funding innovation & technology. Indian men or women, especially politicians have to change their outlook for the country to grow and sustain.
Let me cite an example, how Hindu nationalists caused colossal damage to the Indian economy by their foolish & regressive thinking. A Tamil Brahmin Indira Nooyi was a leading cow-meat supplier to the US and drew 90 percent profit out of ‘Pink Revolution’. After opposition to cow beef & other products by the so-called Hindu Nationalists her company is pushed to number Second in beef export. Now Brazil. a demographically small country in South America has become the number one beef exporter in the world.
Another small example of different types of air-pollutants will send shivers down to the spines. There are millions of Hindu temples, Muslim Mosques, Sikh Gurdwaras, Christian churches in India. It is estimated that some 800 million tonnes of flowers, including roses and yellow marigolds, are offered across the temples, mosques, churches Gurudwaras in the country. Floral waste accounts for 16 percent of the total river pollutant (Down Earth, June 2018). No politicians for the sake of vote bank will ever touch this issue. It is unfortunate for such a great country like India.
Suparna Dutt D`Cunha states that 90 percent Indian Start-up will fail because of Innovation. The World Bank demonstrates that China gets more patents than India & Brazil. US-based think tank, the Information, and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), ranks India near the bottom of a list of 56 countries. India cannot fight the battle of climate change without innovating & adopting smart technology. It is, therefore, India needs to become an innovative & scientific country. The funds for Research & Development (R&D) should be increased to facilitate innovation & technology. Artificial intelligence is going to impact the job market in India massively. Already unemployed youths having degrees in Social Sciences will further alienate from the mainstream society. The need of the hour to relinquish pretensions. Dialogue is essential but practical solutions need priorities.
