The British government is sending the author of the apocalyptic report on global climate change, Sir Nicholas Stern on a tour of India.
LONDON: The British government is sending the author of the apocalyptic report on global climate change, Sir Nicholas Stern on a tour of India to press home the central fears of his review and to push the Indian government into taking steps to curb its carbon emissions.
Stern will also visit USA and China, who along with India is not part of the Kyoto protocol and Britain is hoping that a framework for an agreement to cap and trade carbon emissions, launch a global investment fund for new green technologies and action to stop deforestation should be put into place by next year. Downing Street wants to see not only the G8 nations as part of this agreement but also five developing nations with India at the top of this list.
India is the fourth emitter of green house gases in the world with USA and China far ahead of it in carbon emissions and Russia close behind them.
Sir Nicholas is no stranger to India having been the chief economist of the World Bank and has had wide experience of development in India and Africa. He has published papers and books on developing world macroeconomic theory.
Sir Nicholas’s arresting 700 page report released on Monday said that it was clear that climate change was threatening the ‘basic elements of life’ for people around the world and would effect the poorer countries the most.
He predicts that the rising temperatures would make the Himalayan glaciers disappear causing large-scale migration of population in India and China. Rising sea levels would result in ‘tens of hundreds of millions’ more people being flooded each year ‘with coastal cities including London, New York, Miami, Tokyo and Calcutta at serious risk’. Worldwide deaths from malnutrition and heat stress will increase, and malaria and dengue fever could become more widespread particularly in India and Africa.
“This is welcome report but we have to point out that India has already been doing a lot in managing climate change issues,” said Manoj Ladwa, MLS Chase India. “India is the 6th largest investor in renewable energy which is much larger than the UK,” he added. The USA emits 5 per cent of world’s emissions and unless they are ready to take the lead in curbing pollution there is no point in asking countries like India to get on board feel Indian analysts.
“India is in the top five of using solar energy, wind energy etc,” explained Ladwa. “It is very hard to ask a farmer in India who has just seen a glimmer of hope in economic development that they should now pay for the mess the west has created in the last 250 years,” he added.
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