The Hindu : 'Climate change, a serious threat to developing nations'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 04, 2002

National

National

'Climate change, a serious threat to developing nations'

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI MAY 3. India was well positioned to underline the need and the responsibility of developed countries to the problem of climate change affecting agriculture production in developing countries,'' the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment programme, Klaus Toepfer, said in an exclusive interview with The Hindu on the sidelines of the ongoing three-day South Asia Expert Workshop on "Adaptation to Climate Change for Agricultural Productivity" organised by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Dr. Toepfer said that India hosting the Eighth Conference of Parties (COP8) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in October this year showed the country's political commitment to the issue. Global warming due to emissions from developed countries is likely to bring significant stress on soil, water and crop productivity in developing countries, and there are expectations of North-South and South-South cooperation on the issue.

Climate change represents a serious threat to every part of the globe, especially to the developing countries facing the challenges of ensuring food and nutritional security to their growing populations. Studies have pointed to up to 30 per cent decrease in farm output by 2050 due to 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Centigrade warming in climate.

Research by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Manila has indicated that every one degree Centigrade rise in temperature will result in a 10 per cent fall in the yield of rice.

In the Kyoto protocol, six gases were identified whose cumulative emissions are leading to climate change. Of these, carbondioxide is a major source.

However, Dr. Toepfer is positive about the response to the consequences of the prognosis of climate change. He said: "I am optimistic because all over the world, for the first time, we have all the resources to make sustainable development a reality. We have a huge increase in human capital — and it is an important resource along with knowledge and science. And we are much better equipped today to use this technical knowledge in line with environment. We have more than ever a chance to make this globalisation to work for the poor. We have dedicated people in finding solutions, not merely political solutions.''

Can anything work without political solutions? "Indeed I believe if we are only going for deregulation and liberalisation and for forces of markets, we need governments dedicated to the welfare of citizens. We have to combine the stimulating forces of markets and the social responsibility of governments and the environment precaution which is not directly linked with markets. We also need multilateral cooperation, and solidarity in solving those problems particularly which are stimulated by the so-called developed countries. We have a situation of regionalising the advantages and globalising the disadvantages with regard to climate change.''

According to Dr. Toepfer, "what we are doing is giving an early warning about climate change to scientists and politicians so that they can concentrate their investment, their thinking and their human capital to come to better solutions. What will the Indian farmer do, for instance, when emissions from the developed country changes the weather conditions and destroys his chance to produce as he has been doing since ages. And I think it is beneficial for India to handle a global problem on a global scale and not give the responsibility for doing so to others.''

"We are not making disaster prognosis on our own. It has scientific base. It is not merely a prognosis because climate change is already taking place. So, we have to ask: can we make better solution for fixing carbon? What we call carbon sequestration. So, if we can change land use for more productivity, it is integrating more carbon...it can give poor people more income. Why not those (developing countries) fixing carbon through agro-forestry, for instance, be paid for this by the developed countries. This is called Clean Development Mechanism. The technique is clear. It needs to be implemented.''

Dr. Toefper said at the political level India was helpful to bringing the next Climate Change Conference to Delhi. According to him, India, more than others, could do a lot with regard to Adaptation Strategy to climate change. "We have a country with more than 70 per cent people dependent on agriculture, where we have 25 per cent of GDP coming from agriculture, where social structures are dominating still, so such a country is the most important to take the lead in Adaptation and Impact topics, and this is not an expectation, to some degree, it is a reality.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National