‘Like US, govt denies climate change’

Environmental activist Vandana Shiva has accused the Indian government of toeing the US line on climate change.

She was referring to a recent report by VK Raina, released by environment minister Jairam Ramesh, which denies that glaciers are melting in the Himalayas. Shiva said it was similar to the US approach of thwarting a climate change agreement and that she suspected this was done under US influence. “After all we have a strategic partnership with them,” she said.

This approach is akin to the one adopted by the US corporate lobby which denies climate change.

For India to say that global warming has no impact on Himalayas is to kill a climate change agreement. “The polluters want to dismantle regulation under the agreement and this report fits in with that politics,” she said.

To obtain such reports, the government was manipulating scientists into saying things that were patently wrong and unscientific, Shiva said. “They are being given this message from Delhi,” she said.