Indian Government Rejects Urgent Action on Climate

If we are to prevent runaway climate change we must reduce emissions with urgency say the scientists. However, Freedom of Information requests reveal that the Indian government is steadfastly refusing to do its bit by committing to policy a of delays
By: Manu Sharma
 
June 7, 2010 - PRLog -- Runaway climate change is the state when climate events around the world go into an uncontrollable tailspin triggering one another and getting more intense with the passage of time. Scientists say there are specific tipping points for various climate systems like complete melting of the Arctic summer sea ice, which would represent that the climate has moved into the runaway state. Once we get into that state, there is no stopping the multiple catastrophes it would unleash on the planet.

The National Academy of Sciences in the United States recently submitted reports at the request of U.S congress that are uncharacteristically harsh in its assessment of the situation calling for swift action by the U.S Government. India does not have a similar authority but it is signatory to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change that published its landmark fourth assessment reports (IPCC AR4) in 2007.

IPCC AR4 states that we have only until 2015 to control emissions in order to prevent dangerous climate change. However, all scientific evidence published since 2007 show that, for the most part, the IPCC projections are conservative and underestimate climate change impacts.

The growth in world emissions between 2000 and 2010, for example, has been far outside the forecast growth rate even in the worst case scenarios of IPCC. The melting in the Arctic region observed in 2007 reached levels that the IPCC scenarios projected 70 years ahead. The latest estimates of sea level rise to occur by end of century tend to be 2 to 3 times the IPCC projections which are based on much older data.

Apart from the new emerging evidence, there is also uncertainty about one of the most fundamental assumptions that underlie projections made in the fourth assessment reports of the intergovernmental panel. Some scientists argue that the climate is more sensitive to CO2 than IPCC assumes in its calculations that make the projections. The panel reports accept this in small text stating that its assumption about climate sensitivity is only a "best estimate" with a possible error rate of 50%!

If that is indeed a conservative assumption then the present targets currently being sought under UNFCCC cannot guarantee a safe climate even if achieved. Clearly, there is a need to examine all these facts in-depth and raise the emission reduction targets if found to be credible.

Now Climate Revolution Initiative has published Right to Information (RTI) replies on its website it received from the Ministry of Environment and Forests which reveal that the government is unwilling to acknowledge facts regarding the worsening state of our climate, the new emerging scientific evidence, the uncertainty of IPCC assumptions and the rapidly closing small window of time to prevent runaway climate change.

Despite being questioned on multiple counts, the Ministry could not produce any record regarding any effort it may have made to accelerate the international negotiation process to arrive at a legally binding and ambitious agreement to reduce world emissions with immediate effect. Instead, on the run up to the Copenhagen climate conference the government actually lowered the upper limit of the range of emission reduction target from 40% previously to 25% at present that it expects from the developed world.

Even that target did not feature in the Copenhagen accord India signed last year and endorsed a few months ago. That accord does not mention any targets, contains no time frame and is not legally binding. A legally binding agreement was expected to be signed at the conference to be held Mexico later this year. But recent media reports state that the Union Minister of State Jairam Ramesh has called for such a deal to best be expected only in 2011.  

Clearly, there seem to be a huge disconnect between scientists who view climate change as an unmitigated existential catastrophe unseen in human history and policymakers who view it as an unnecessary diversion from their primary objective which they regard as unlimited economic growth with no resource constraint or planetary consequence whatsoever.

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Climate Revolution Initiative is a series of ambitious proposals and initiatives that can potentially transform the social and political climate on climate change in India and be replicated in any part of the world. Unlike environmental groups, Climate Revolution Initiative argues that there is no possibility that the climate crisis can be addressed through the UNFCCC process. The ambitious initiative aims to educate and mobilise the public to force the governments to change. Climate Revolution Initiative was founded by Manu Sharma, an activist and renewable energy expert. Full details about its RTI Initiative, including scanned replies from various govt. authorities, are available on www.climaterevolution.net/rti
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