Page 66 - 31OCT2018E

COLUMN

Climate change rings an

alarm bell; Deal with it

limate change, as the world’s ness. Such developments only add to the
leading climate scientists have woes of the country, where more than 270
THE LAST recently warned, is an existen- million people continue to live below the
World Bank’s poverty line of €1.90 ( 163)
tial threat to the human race.
WORD C The earlier we realise and act per day earning.
on it, the better. The latest report by UN In-
On financial front, India is among the top
ABDUL WASEY tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change countries to face maximum economic loss
(IPCC) – which suggests that after 2052 even from climate change. According to a study
a half degree increase in global tempera- published in the scientific journal, Nature
ture will lead to searing heat waves, heavy Climate Change, India’s country-level so-
rainfall, droughts, floods and other extreme cial cost of carbon was estimated to be the
weather conditions that will lower agricul- highest at $86 per tonne of CO2, which
tural yield, cause food and water scarcities means that Indian economy stands to lose
and push millions into poverty – must ring $86 from emitting each additional tonne of
an alarm bell for the policymakers. CO2. This roughly accounts for nearly 21 per
The problem is that we have been con- cent of the global social cost of carbon.
ditioned by unparalleled growth to expect The country may face a far greater risk in
that there are no catastrophes that are in- terms of human costs and impact on devel-
surmountable. We think even
apocalyptic science fiction India is among top
deals with bands of survivors
who, by definition, survive. Im- countries that incur
agining ourselves among them
puts us in a passive mode. In most losses from
the real world, calamities do climate change, and
take a toll on one and all. The
Kerala floods, which affected the situation is only
more than five million people getting worse
and killed over 200 in August,
is enough indicator that climate
change is already here. Cyclone opment if nothing is done to curb its impact,
Titli, which impacted more than a major study has pointed out. As a lower-
three lakh people in eastern In- middle income country, economic losses
dia, is yet another pointer that India need to mean “crippling consequences” for future
act fast. development. An alarming number of peo-
Sadly, India is the 13th most vulnerable ple are now internally displaced every year
country to climate change. Since more than by extreme weather events and climate-re-
60 per cent of its agriculture is rainfed and lated disasters often losing their homes and
it hosts 33 per cent of the world’s poor, cli- their livelihoods, the report highlighted.
mate change will have significant impacts India, along with others, must make
on the food and nutritional security. The rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented
country, according to the UN Office for Dis- changes across sectors to stop the devastat-
aster Risk Reduction, witnessed $79.5 bil- ing consequences of climate change. Else, as
lion in economic losses between 1998 and per the IPCC report, the world won’t be able
2017 due to climate-change disasters. to meet its 2015 Paris Agreement commit-
According to a study by the India Mete- ment to keep the average global tempera-
orological Department, India saw 285 flood- tures “well below” 2°C.
ing events between 1950-2017 that killed
71,000 and drove 19 million into homeless- LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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