What is the issue?
- Erratic weather patterns are becoming more common these days.
- Sadly, international efforts are falling short of strong outcomes due to failures to take up coordinated action.
What are the recent climatic trends?
- Weird Weather - In recent months, 140 wildfires raged across California and 80 people were killed in similar wildfires in Greece.
- Europe has been sizzling under heat waves and unseasonal dust storms have killed over 500 in India.
- Torrential rains in Japan and other such extreme rain events are devastating crops and homes across vast parts of the world.
- All of these weather events are far beyond normal variability (or stationarity), and is indicative of a new era of the unprecedented.
- What we know for certain is that this intensity, variability and ferocity of weird weather will only get worse from here.
- Climatic Impact - The connection with weird weather and climate change is also being seen through studies called attribution.
- The “World Weather Attribution Network” estimates that climate change has more than “doubled the likelihood of the European heat wave”.
- It has also tripled the likelihood of drought in Cape Town — the South African city that narrowly missed Day Zero, when it would run out of water.
What is does the numbers say?
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will soon release its 1.5°C report on the impacts of the world reaching that level of temperature rise.
- Notably, there has already been a little over 1°C rise now in comparison to the pre-industrial period, which has already generated adverse effects.
- Any further increase is hence only likely to aggravate this trend, which is already creating immense losses of lives and properties.
- While the western world is largely embracing cleaner technologies, India and China continue to depend on coal as a vital resource.
- With the massive volumes of coal that India uses, it is likely to increasingly get targeted at international forums for being irresponsible.
- Although, India has been a very small emitter in the historical and per capita measures, it will nonetheless be pressured on climatic forums.
What is the way ahead?
- India’s Case - Even if not for retarding climate change, pollution levels in our cities itself is reason enough for us to adopt clean energy source.
- In this context, we need to close old and polluting thermal plants and new emission standards must be implemented as early as possible.
- Pet coke has already been banned, including its import from the US and massive renewable energy projects and natural gas projects are taking over.
- Worldwide - The problem also is that the world is still not anywhere close to giving up its fossil addiction, and renewable energy uptake has been marginal.
- In recent years, the demand for coal is rising and investment in oil and gas is up and all of the climate change solutions are fighting to even survive.
- Considering our vulnerability, strong and coordinated action is needed to be taken by all countries with equitable “burden sharing”.
Source: Business Standard
