Climate strategy

The efforts of opposition parties such as BJP, CPI-M, CPI, SP and AIADMK to pin down the government on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions could hamper progress on this critical issue. India as an emerging global superpower must take its rightful place on the high table. This would only be possible if our country shows some flexibility. It is true that there is immense pressure from the US to make binding commitments on cutting carbon emissions. But such a move would turn out to be beneficial to us in the long run. The impact of climate change has several long-term consequences. If we do not act now, many islands would disappear due to rising sea levels. Agricultural productivity would be hit due to changes in climate patterns. Developed nations have a moral responsibility to undo a major part of the damage that happened due to mindless industrialisation. They must not only take the lead in curtailing their greenhouse gas emission levels, these countries must also facilitate technology transfer to empower their poor cousins to tackle the global warming crisis.
But that does not completely absolve the developing world from taking proactive measures. BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — have now adopted the same path of rapid industrialisation to put themselves on a high growth trajectory. If these countries do not temper their emissions now, they will end up inflicting irreversible damage to the global environment.
This is where civic groups and NGOs can play a major part. These organisations must create aw­areness among the masses about the issue and ensure that the general public is prepared to face short-term hardships for the sake of tangible long-term gains. If we manage to mould public opinion in favour cutting carbon emissions even at the cost of sacrificing growth, our leaders would end up following the herd.