“We must accept that if we have to overcome a serious challenge like climate change, then what we are doing at the moment is just not enough,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations Climate Summit held in New York on Monday. But now the question arises that to what extent have our efforts reached on climate change and the environment in the country, and are they enough?
India is close to the Paris Agreement commitments in terms of emission reduction of greenhouse gases and the promotion of renewable energy. But the overall state of the environment in the country will be considered miserable, whether it is depleting forests or increasing pollution. According to the UNEP report, given the reduction in the intensity of emission of greenhouse gases and the increasing rate of non-fossil fuel usage, it is believed that India can meet the standards set before the deadline of 2030.
In the meanwhile, India will create a two-and-a-half to three billion tonnes of carbon sinks by 2030. The forests absorb carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere and hence they are called carbon sinks. According to media reports, the report said that the emission intensity has come down by 21 per cent by 2014.
Although India wants to stay ahead in its commitments on climate change, even then the attitude of governments and officials has remained indifferent to the environment overall. Then whether it is pollution of rivers like Ganges and Yamuna or air pollution of small towns and metros. Not only Delhi, but many cities of the country are also surrounded by dust and smoke. The hilly areas are also not untouched by the degradation in the environment, even places like Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand are affected. Entire mountains and Himalayan glaciers are also being affected by the fierce fire that broke out in Uttarakhand in the summer. And the number of fire incidents is increasing rapidly.
Recently, the World Health Organization convened an event in Geneva, but as per the media reports, no minister from the government of India attended that meeting. Health, environment, and petroleum ministers were specially invited to the meeting, but the three Union ministers were busy in the ‘Run for Unity’ campaign on the occasion of the unveiling of the Sardar Patel statue. This also shows the seriousness and attitude of the government towards India’s environment.
This data states in a 2018 report of the State of India Environment (SOE) that India ranked 177 out of the 180 countries in the Global Environmental Performance Index due to lack of enough improvement on greenhouse emission issues.
The area of dense forest is shrinking. A worrying aspect is that the process of cutting forests has increased for construction works. Despite the objections and rebuke of the National Green Tribunal, such constructions continue. A recent example is the Char Dham All Weather Road project in Uttarakhand. Campaigns to make people more aware socially should be carried out with full swing and enthusiasm.
All Comments () +