BHUBANESWAR: A national seminar on climate change and world peace was organised at the 11th Indian Climate Congress by Satyasai Charitable and Education Trust at Odisha University of Technology here Friday.
Experts and guests deliberated about the situation in the nation with regards to climate change. They expressed concern over the lack of urgency in negotiating rooms of COP 25: Madrid climate change conference 2019.
President of the trust Sanjay Kumar Samantrai said, “The theme of this years’ International Day of Peace which was observed by UN September 21 was Climate Action for Peace. The frequency of natural disasters caused by climate change is increasing all over the world causing massive loss of life and property. Hence climate change and peace are related.”
Head, ICAR-NRRI, Sangram Keshari Nayak said, “A recent nutritional survey in India by UN World Food programme and India’s Ministry of Statistics and programme implementation, found that the country is far away from achieving its goal of zero hunger for its populous country of more than 1.3 billion.”
The report finds prevalence of malnutrition in children between six months and five years has declined, but that of acute malnutrition, or wasting has increased. India now suffers from double burden of under nutrition and over nutrition. A rising population coupled with changing climate and land use pressures, increase the burden on ecosystem to ensure enough food production.
An overwhelming majority of Indian farmers are small and marginal who hold less than one acre of land each. So increasing their productivity is crucial to meeting India’s future food requirements. More than 1000 kg of food is wasted daily in every city.
Director, ICAR-NRRI Himanshu Pathak said, “Climate change and peace are related. Global warming and climate change are realities which impacts global peace. The exploitation of the environment by developed countries by releasing of carbon gases had led to this situation.”
“On the issue of global warming, we must be clear that it is a natural process aiding in the evolution of life and human existence. However, anthropogenic activities have accelerated the process significantly causing various problems,” he added.
Pathak said “Global warming due to green house effect is still continually in rise in spite of the several efforts made at the national and international level. The level of CO2 in 2018-19 has increased by 5% indicating that the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015 to restrict the increase in global temperature at 1.5 degree centigrade above the preindustrial level by 2022 may remain as a dream.”
The world bank predicted that unless global warming is arrested immediately by drastically decreasing the emissions of green house gases, the problem may affect as many as 60 lakh people every year in India by 2050 and economic cost may go up to 10 billion US dollar. Also the global temperature might increase to 4.3 degree centigrade by end of this century.
Secretary, DARE and DG ICAR, Trilochan Mohapatra, said, “Unless we realise the dangerous situation and stop using huge amount of electricity or wasting less food, we cannot arrest climate change.”
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Climate change and peace are related. Global warming and climate change are realities which impacts global peace. The exploitation of environment by developed countries led to this situation
Himanshu Pathak
