Heads of eight South Asian countries, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will on Wednesday seek a joint initiative to tackle climate change threats and also boost trade and regional cooperation among SAARC nations that more often than not do not see eye to eye with each other on most issues.
As the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference gets under way in this serene and pollution-free capital city of Bhutan the summit's key theme "Towards a Green and Happy South Asia" seems only apt.
Seeking a fresh approach to global climate talks the SAARC leaders will pitch for observer status to the bloc at the Mexico conference on global warming later this year. This will enable the eight South Asian nations - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan besides India - to express their concerns collectively and effectively, an Indian official told IANS.
The next global climate talks after Copenhagen in September last are likely to be held in Cancun in Mexico in December.
The Thimphu summit also marks the silver jubilee celebration of SAARC that was formed in Bangladesh in December 1985 with the aim of eradicating poverty and improving the living standard of 1.5 billion people of the region through mutual cooperation.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna hoped that the dialogue on climate change would be carried in a "meaningful manner" at the summit.
A pact on climate will help in exchanging practices and knowledge, capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technology in areas like coastal zone management, wildlife conservation and environmental impact assessment studies.
The eight nations are also expected to sign an agreement to promote trade cooperation among the member countries. The pact will enhance collaboration in services like health, hospitality, communications, information technology and air traffic and enable the realisation of the region?s immense potential in these services.
Another highlight of the summit is the inauguration of the Permanent Secretariat of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) with initial capital of $ 300 million to support socio-economic projects in the region.
Ahead of leaving for Thimphu, Dr. Singh asked SAARC to see how it can play its rightful role in the changing world.
"The winds of change are blowing across the world. South Asia cannot be immune to the trend of greater integration, both at the regional and global levels," he said.
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Climate change: women, children most hit
If climate change is indeed the biggest global health threat, public health professionals say that women and children in developing countries will be hit hardest.
Research has shown that deep inequalities make them the most vulnerable to scarcity and disease when community sources start to shrink.
“Malnutrition poses the biggest threat to children,” paediatrics professor Louis Reynolds said. “If temperature rises by 3 degrees centigrade, deaths from malnutrition will go up by three million.” He was speaking from South Africa through a video conference held last week on ‘Climate Change and its Impact on Women's and Children's Health'.
Dr. Reynolds said greater poverty and poorer access to food and primary care would increase malnutrition. Although not responsible for climate change, developing countries and the poor, particularly, would pay the highest price in the absence of ‘climate justice'.
“Part of the problem is lack of research” ,said Mala Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health. “Heat waves will have an impact on women's obstetrics but we don't know enough yet.” What they do know is disheartening. Drought, an obvious effect of climate change, will see wives going hungry to feed their husbands, and girls eating less than their brothers.
Research has shown that deep inequalities make them the most vulnerable to scarcity and disease when community sources start to shrink.
“Malnutrition poses the biggest threat to children,” paediatrics professor Louis Reynolds said. “If temperature rises by 3 degrees centigrade, deaths from malnutrition will go up by three million.” He was speaking from South Africa through a video conference held last week on ‘Climate Change and its Impact on Women's and Children's Health'.
Dr. Reynolds said greater poverty and poorer access to food and primary care would increase malnutrition. Although not responsible for climate change, developing countries and the poor, particularly, would pay the highest price in the absence of ‘climate justice'.
“Part of the problem is lack of research” ,said Mala Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Public Health. “Heat waves will have an impact on women's obstetrics but we don't know enough yet.” What they do know is disheartening. Drought, an obvious effect of climate change, will see wives going hungry to feed their husbands, and girls eating less than their brothers.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
IITs, CSE join hands to set up climate research network
The Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi and Madras, along with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), have launched an “open-ended” network of climate change researchers in the country.
The Indian Climate Research Network is aimed at bringing researchers and institutions together to enhance the capacity for climate research and action. It was born at the end of a two-day National Research Conference on Climate Change hosted by the IIT-Delhi this week.
“There is a whole lot of work going on in India on various aspects of climate change,” said Krishna Achutarao of the Centre of Atmospheric Sciences at the IIT-Delhi. “But it lacks a sense of integration. There is a lack of a coherent view of what we know and what we don't; where we now stand and what else we need to do.”
“This network is a long-overdue first step,” says Ambuj Sagar, IIT-Delhi professor. “We don't want to have research for research sake. Climate research has practical value, both for how to do things on the ground and for integration with policymaking.”
Interestingly, the government is also setting up its own Indian Network for Comprehensive Climatic Change Assessment, which will have a pan-IIT network as its backbone. It is meant to become the Indian version of the IPCC or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
However, CSE director Sunita Narain says the new network will be more “open-ended” and “inclusive” than the government one. It will also look for ways to stimulate young researchers.
“I don't think we are intending to be the conduit of all information. We are not gatekeepers of any sort,” says Chella Rajan, a professor in the Humanities Department of IIT-Madras.
The Indian Climate Research Network is aimed at bringing researchers and institutions together to enhance the capacity for climate research and action. It was born at the end of a two-day National Research Conference on Climate Change hosted by the IIT-Delhi this week.
“There is a whole lot of work going on in India on various aspects of climate change,” said Krishna Achutarao of the Centre of Atmospheric Sciences at the IIT-Delhi. “But it lacks a sense of integration. There is a lack of a coherent view of what we know and what we don't; where we now stand and what else we need to do.”
“This network is a long-overdue first step,” says Ambuj Sagar, IIT-Delhi professor. “We don't want to have research for research sake. Climate research has practical value, both for how to do things on the ground and for integration with policymaking.”
Interestingly, the government is also setting up its own Indian Network for Comprehensive Climatic Change Assessment, which will have a pan-IIT network as its backbone. It is meant to become the Indian version of the IPCC or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
However, CSE director Sunita Narain says the new network will be more “open-ended” and “inclusive” than the government one. It will also look for ways to stimulate young researchers.
“I don't think we are intending to be the conduit of all information. We are not gatekeepers of any sort,” says Chella Rajan, a professor in the Humanities Department of IIT-Madras.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Global warming likely to impact rainfall patterns
Climate models project that the global average temperature will rise about 1 degree C by mid-century, if we continue with business as usual and emit greenhouse gases.
The global average, though, does not tell us anything about what will happen to regional climates.
Analysing global model warming projections in models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a team headed by meteorologist Shang-Ping Xie at the University of Hawaii finds that ocean temperature patterns in the tropics and sub-tropics will change in ways that will significantly alter rainfall patterns.
Scientists have mostly assumed that the surfaces of oceans will warm rather evenly in the tropics. This assumption has led to “wetter-gets-wetter” and “drier-gets-drier” regional rainfall projections.
Xie’s team has gathered evidence that, although ocean surface temperatures can be expected to increase mostly everywhere by mid-century, the increase may differ by up to 1.5degreesC depending upon the region.
“Compared to the mean projected rise of 1degreesC, such differences are fairly large and can have a pronounced impact on tropical and subtropical climate by altering atmospheric heating patterns and therefore rainfall,” explains Xie.
“Our results broadly indicate that regions of peak sea surface temperature will get wetter, and those relatively cool will get drier,” adds Xie, according to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The study is slated for publication in the Journal of Climate this month.Sunday, February 28, 2010
Warming panel, under attack, seeks outside review
The Nobel Prize-winning international scientific panel studying global warming is seeking independent outside review for how it makes major reports.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says it’s seeking some kind of independent review because of recent criticism about its 2007 reports.
Critics have found a few unsettling errors, including projections of retreats in Himalayan glaciers, in the thousands of pages of the reports.
The panel shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former Vice President Al Gore. The panel was created by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization.
A top panel official, Chris Field, said yesterday it will be hard finding an independent organization, such as a scientific society, to do the review.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
No doubt, Himalayan glaciers are melting fast: Pachauri
Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which came under fire for an error in predicting that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, said on Tuesday that the contentions of snowfall discrediting the meltdown were incorrect and there was no ambiguity that the glaciers were melting.
He was speaking at a conference on Eco-Housing held here. “People may say that our Himalayan glaciers are not melting. That is incorrect. There is no doubt that the glaciers are melting at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, there has been very little research done on this in our country. Not enough measurements have been taken. This could cause the rivers in north India to flood. There is a huge possibility that floods and droughts could rise. [We have seen] floods in Rajasthan which never experienced flooding,” he said, driving home the problem of water scarcity.
In a veiled defence of his position in the aftermath of the controversy, Mr. Pachauri said: “There are still some people who think outside the ambit of science and disbelieve the phenomenon of global warming. Some powerful vested interests don’t wish to bring about a change in their lifestyles. When I raise my voice on the ill-effects [of climate change] on the poor, they don’t like [that view].”
Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s backing, Mr. Pachauri said: “This country has nurtured me and I hope the Indian citizens will support me. Some days ago our Prime Minister gave me his blessings at a summit on sustainable development in Delhi. I am saying all this [on global warming and climate change] because the Indian people are a wise lot. If we see the signs, we can adopt measures and give a better future to our children.”
Mr. Pachauri warned that Mumbai faced a risk of rising sea-levels. “The IPCC has predicted that the precipitation patterns like rainfall and snowfall are changing. The Mumbai floods of 2005 were an example of that. Such incidents are happening all over the world. ”
Mr. Pachauri also spoke of the 2003 heatwave in Andhra Pradesh. “There were 4,000 recorded deaths. Victims did not know of oral rehydration therapy. Since mobiles were not much in use, we had no means of warning people.”
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan vowed that Maharashtra would be an aggressor in achieving the goals of sustainable development.
He was speaking at a conference on Eco-Housing held here. “People may say that our Himalayan glaciers are not melting. That is incorrect. There is no doubt that the glaciers are melting at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, there has been very little research done on this in our country. Not enough measurements have been taken. This could cause the rivers in north India to flood. There is a huge possibility that floods and droughts could rise. [We have seen] floods in Rajasthan which never experienced flooding,” he said, driving home the problem of water scarcity.
In a veiled defence of his position in the aftermath of the controversy, Mr. Pachauri said: “There are still some people who think outside the ambit of science and disbelieve the phenomenon of global warming. Some powerful vested interests don’t wish to bring about a change in their lifestyles. When I raise my voice on the ill-effects [of climate change] on the poor, they don’t like [that view].”
Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s backing, Mr. Pachauri said: “This country has nurtured me and I hope the Indian citizens will support me. Some days ago our Prime Minister gave me his blessings at a summit on sustainable development in Delhi. I am saying all this [on global warming and climate change] because the Indian people are a wise lot. If we see the signs, we can adopt measures and give a better future to our children.”
Mr. Pachauri warned that Mumbai faced a risk of rising sea-levels. “The IPCC has predicted that the precipitation patterns like rainfall and snowfall are changing. The Mumbai floods of 2005 were an example of that. Such incidents are happening all over the world. ”
Mr. Pachauri also spoke of the 2003 heatwave in Andhra Pradesh. “There were 4,000 recorded deaths. Victims did not know of oral rehydration therapy. Since mobiles were not much in use, we had no means of warning people.”
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan vowed that Maharashtra would be an aggressor in achieving the goals of sustainable development.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Nuclear energy key to climate change: Obama
US President, Barack Obama, on Wednesday said nuclear energy and clean coal energy technology is key to the successful fight against climate change and on the latter it is important to bring India and China on board.
“I know it’s controversial in some quarters, but if you’re serious about dealing with climate change then you’ve got to take a serious look at the nuclear industry,” Mr. Obama said at a Town Hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire.
“If you are serious about climate change, you’ve got to figure out is there technology that can allow us to sequester coal and the emissions that are set out,” he said.
The reason for that is not just for the US, Mr. Obama observed.
“China is building a coal-fired plant once a week, just about -- India is doing the same -- because coal is cheap,” he said.
“Unless we can come up with some energy alternatives that allow us to franchise that technology so that they are equipped to burn that coal cleanly, we’re going to have problems no matter what we do in this country when it comes to the environment,” Mr. Obama said.
So technology is the key, he argued. “We can make significant profits and create huge jobs just upgrading traditional technologies”.
“Then you’ve got the whole clean energy sector, which is ready to take off if we provide the kind of seed capital, the kind of R&D credits that are necessary,” he said.
Mr. Obama said this recession almost killed a lot of US homegrown clean energy sectors.
“You talk to the wind industry or the solar industry, if we hadn’t passed the Recovery Act and all the support for clean energy, a lot of them would have completely gone under and we would have been ceding leadership as we already have, unfortunately, to a lot of countries like Spain and Germany and Japan that are doing a lot more work on it“.
“So this is a huge engine for job creation, and we’ve got to make those investments,” he said.
Mr. Obama said the US is one of the least efficient advanced economies when it comes to energy usage.
“It is estimated that we could probably lop off 30 per cent of our energy consumption just on efficiency without changing our lifestyles significantly“.
I say “significantly” because you’d have to start buying LED batteries or LED light bulbs. But it’s still a light bulb. You don’t have to sit in the dark. You don’t have to use gas lanterns. You just have to make the investment.
“And one of the things that a company like ARC Energy is doing is trying to bring down the unit cost for each of those light bulbs,” he said.
“I know it’s controversial in some quarters, but if you’re serious about dealing with climate change then you’ve got to take a serious look at the nuclear industry,” Mr. Obama said at a Town Hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire.
“If you are serious about climate change, you’ve got to figure out is there technology that can allow us to sequester coal and the emissions that are set out,” he said.
The reason for that is not just for the US, Mr. Obama observed.
“China is building a coal-fired plant once a week, just about -- India is doing the same -- because coal is cheap,” he said.
“Unless we can come up with some energy alternatives that allow us to franchise that technology so that they are equipped to burn that coal cleanly, we’re going to have problems no matter what we do in this country when it comes to the environment,” Mr. Obama said.
So technology is the key, he argued. “We can make significant profits and create huge jobs just upgrading traditional technologies”.
“Then you’ve got the whole clean energy sector, which is ready to take off if we provide the kind of seed capital, the kind of R&D credits that are necessary,” he said.
Mr. Obama said this recession almost killed a lot of US homegrown clean energy sectors.
“You talk to the wind industry or the solar industry, if we hadn’t passed the Recovery Act and all the support for clean energy, a lot of them would have completely gone under and we would have been ceding leadership as we already have, unfortunately, to a lot of countries like Spain and Germany and Japan that are doing a lot more work on it“.
“So this is a huge engine for job creation, and we’ve got to make those investments,” he said.
Mr. Obama said the US is one of the least efficient advanced economies when it comes to energy usage.
“It is estimated that we could probably lop off 30 per cent of our energy consumption just on efficiency without changing our lifestyles significantly“.
I say “significantly” because you’d have to start buying LED batteries or LED light bulbs. But it’s still a light bulb. You don’t have to sit in the dark. You don’t have to use gas lanterns. You just have to make the investment.
“And one of the things that a company like ARC Energy is doing is trying to bring down the unit cost for each of those light bulbs,” he said.
