In the short term, as already suggested, we should secure and sequester those
natural habitats and biodiversity centres that are still left intact, notwithstanding the
criticism of our oversensitive ecologists to the fact that these constitute ‘islands’ of
biodiversity (Dilip Kumar 2014b). In the longer term, we need to have a clear
pathway to higher income (GDP, growth) and improved quality of life of the mass
of people (distribution, development). In our own interest, quite apart from the
interests of controlling global GHG emissions, we need to become steadily more
carbon-efficient, fuel-efficient and careful about how we use (or abuse) the environment and natural resources.
The philosopher Pascal is supposed to have said that even if we did not believe
there was a God, just in case we were mistaken it wouldn’t hurt to act as if He
existed. In a similar spirit, whether one is an environmental warrior (like the IPCC),
or a reformed sceptic (like Lomborg), we will have to probably agree with the IPCC
finding that “Warming of the climate system is unequivoval, and since the 1950s,
many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.
The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have
diminished, and sea level has risen” (IPCC 2014c, SPM 1.1, p. 2, emphasis in
original). Accordingly, it is advisable that we anticipate the possible climate change
effects of the future, and start building up resilience in critical sectors. Indeed, we
need not even go so far into the future of the climate change scenario: we just have to
build up resilience to the current environmental factors and intermittent disasters,
e.g. by proper water and soil (nutrients) management, regulating land use, controlling pollution, building defences against floods, droughts, and other climate-related
hazards, diversifying rural occupations, increasing mobility, improving skills,
minimizing losses, developing processing and storage facilities, developing different
sectors of the economy, benefiting from the global trade and information network,
moving increasingly to renewable energy and so on.
While gross carbon use (and GHG emissions) will inevitably be increasing
manyfold given the growth targets of energy, fuels, infrastructure and other sectors,
the country would have to take up these sustainability measures in any case to be
viable even in the current situation. These measures would automatically contribute
to better carbon management in the long term, and as our people move to slightly
higher levels of income, reduced uncertainty and environmental hazards, lower
levels of poverty, lower birth rates, it is expected that better management of the
environment and natural resources would follow. In doing this, we need to ensure
that there is a more equitable sharing of the benefits of development with the presently less well-off, especially identifiable minority groups and regional pockets of
low performance. In order to make wise choices that do not result in more poverty in
the name of development, we may have to devise and apply more sensible measures
of well-being, rather than blindly following the high-consumption paths of the
developed world; therein lies the governance challenge.
Climate Change Strategies and Developing Nations …
37
natural habitats and biodiversity centres that are still left intact, notwithstanding the
criticism of our oversensitive ecologists to the fact that these constitute ‘islands’ of
biodiversity (Dilip Kumar 2014b). In the longer term, we need to have a clear
pathway to higher income (GDP, growth) and improved quality of life of the mass
of people (distribution, development). In our own interest, quite apart from the
interests of controlling global GHG emissions, we need to become steadily more
carbon-efficient, fuel-efficient and careful about how we use (or abuse) the environment and natural resources.
The philosopher Pascal is supposed to have said that even if we did not believe
there was a God, just in case we were mistaken it wouldn’t hurt to act as if He
existed. In a similar spirit, whether one is an environmental warrior (like the IPCC),
or a reformed sceptic (like Lomborg), we will have to probably agree with the IPCC
finding that “Warming of the climate system is unequivoval, and since the 1950s,
many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.
The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have
diminished, and sea level has risen” (IPCC 2014c, SPM 1.1, p. 2, emphasis in
original). Accordingly, it is advisable that we anticipate the possible climate change
effects of the future, and start building up resilience in critical sectors. Indeed, we
need not even go so far into the future of the climate change scenario: we just have to
build up resilience to the current environmental factors and intermittent disasters,
e.g. by proper water and soil (nutrients) management, regulating land use, controlling pollution, building defences against floods, droughts, and other climate-related
hazards, diversifying rural occupations, increasing mobility, improving skills,
minimizing losses, developing processing and storage facilities, developing different
sectors of the economy, benefiting from the global trade and information network,
moving increasingly to renewable energy and so on.
While gross carbon use (and GHG emissions) will inevitably be increasing
manyfold given the growth targets of energy, fuels, infrastructure and other sectors,
the country would have to take up these sustainability measures in any case to be
viable even in the current situation. These measures would automatically contribute
to better carbon management in the long term, and as our people move to slightly
higher levels of income, reduced uncertainty and environmental hazards, lower
levels of poverty, lower birth rates, it is expected that better management of the
environment and natural resources would follow. In doing this, we need to ensure
that there is a more equitable sharing of the benefits of development with the presently less well-off, especially identifiable minority groups and regional pockets of
low performance. In order to make wise choices that do not result in more poverty in
the name of development, we may have to devise and apply more sensible measures
of well-being, rather than blindly following the high-consumption paths of the
developed world; therein lies the governance challenge.
Climate Change Strategies and Developing Nations …
37