‘The option of doing nothing about climate change is unthinkable’

  • | Wednesday | 13th November, 2019

Kakoli Mukherjee ByExpress News ServiceHYDERABAD: Bush fires, water scarcity, rising sea levels — this is the era in which the effect of climate change is not just a theory, but is being felt across the world. Closer home, be it the smog in New Delhi or the water scarcity in Chennai, they are signals of dire times ahead. Tim Flannery, a climate change expert and former climate commissioner for the Australian government, was in Hyderabad on Tuesday and delivered a talk at an event organised by Manthan at Vidyaranya High School. He said: “Climate change is a grim reality now. Global hunger has increased manifold due to the impact of climate change on crop production.

Kakoli Mukherjee By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Bush fires, water scarcity, rising sea levels — this is the era in which the effect of climate change is not just a theory, but is being felt across the world. Closer home, be it the smog in New Delhi or the water scarcity in Chennai, they are signals of dire times ahead. Tim Flannery, a climate change expert and former climate commissioner for the Australian government, was in Hyderabad on Tuesday and delivered a talk at an event organised by Manthan at Vidyaranya High School. He said: “Climate change is a grim reality now. We are seeing uncontrolled, off-season bush fires in Sydney. Over the next 80 years, the sea level will rise over two metres and 200 million people are estimated to be displaced. Global hunger has increased manifold due to the impact of climate change on crop production. We are already seeing water scarcity in California, Sydney and Chennai. Unfortunately, we have reached a stage now where planting trees to absorb C02 from the atmosphere is not sufficient.” One of the primary ways to capture further damage to climate is to reduce green house emissions. Said Tim, “We are sending 50-60 giga tonnes of CO2 equivalents to the atmosphere every year. We have to find out ways to absorb back some of the carbon. We have to understand that the atmosphere is 500 times smaller than the oceans, and as we send the gases, the composition of air changes.” So, what are the methods through which the Co2 can be recycled out of the atmosphere? Tim explained: “Soil can store carbon dioxide. Rotational grazing can help increase the carbon storing capacity of soil. Another way to suck out carbon from the atmosphere is to grow seaweed farms, a method that is called sea permaculture. Seaweeds grow very fast and they absorb CO2 quickly. Another way is to use jet fuel that has sulphur in it. This sulphur forms a cloud over oceans and it stops them from absorbing heat. However, I feel these methods are like band-aids, and not long-term solutions. Moreover, sulphur in the atmosphere can have a significant effect on Indian monsoons.” Suggesting a few ways that can reduce the impact of climate change, Tim said: “The government has to take multi-pronged approach to deal with this at various levels. It’s sad to see that the Indian government’s approach is very incoherent. First, there must be a climate commissioner who can engage with the public and raise awareness about the issue. Renewable sources of energy has to replace the use the fossil fuel. On the positive side, India has reduced its carbon emissions, and has a good solar energy plan that will help it in the future.”

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