Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Key Phrases: Panchamrit, Net Zero Emission, Gainism philosophy, Economic Determinism, Principle of Equity and Climate Justice, National Green Corridor Project, International Solar Alliance
Why in News?
- Recently, Prime Minister, in his first address this year on the theme of the environment, remarked that it was not the planet that was “fragile”, but people and their commitment to conserving nature.
- He asserted that India must prioritise the transition to energy sources that do not upset the natural balance.
Do you know?
- James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis: That posited the inter-connectedness of nature — and Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen, who warned that chemical effluents were altering the planet’s atmosphere and causing harmful climate change feedback effects, both have made the case that humanity is in the Anthropocene era and is like a geological force that is shaping the planet’s destiny.
Editor's observations: What are major reasons for the Earth climate crisis?
- Agriculture Expansion causing Deforestation: Agriculture expansion and the dominance of wheat and rice as food crops and the clearing of forest tracts caused the first major large-scale changes to global climate though their effects were more visible only over centuries.
- Fossil Fuel fuelled Industrial Revolution: Atmospheric changes due to the dawn of the Industrial Age and the over reliance on use of fossil fuels, relatively causing irreversible change to atmospheric composition.
- Rich caused and poorly suffered: What is very common is that those who suffered the most are the poor, and these are the ones with the least agency to shield themselves from a perturbed nature.
- Geological Dynamical equilibrium disturbed:
- The geology of the high topographical features like Himalayas, scientists have long warned, makes the region inhospitable to large mega-engineering projects and the several floods, landslides and earthquakes over the years have underlined this time and again.
- Last year, Uttarakhand saw an avalanche of rock and ice destroy two hydropower projects and cause deaths.
- Gainism philosophy getting truer over time - "Earth will survive but human will get extinct" : The earth rearranging itself, it does so in a manner that can be destructive and lethal to whole humanity for causing the disequilibrium. Thus, if “fragile” were to mean a brittleness needing care, then it is humans and animals that need protection.
- Amelioration under the garb of Principle of Equity and Climate Justice: India’s position of climate justice is that it cannot be denied the right to rely on polluting fossil fuel to ameliorate the living conditions of most Indians who have limited access to reliable energy.
- Era of Economic Determinism: India will continue to fire coal plants, raze forests for industry and build roads in fraught geology — in other words, put the lives of millions of the vulnerable at climate-risk in the pursuit of economic development.
What are Indian Panchamrits, to deal with the climate change challenge ?
- India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
- India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
- India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tons from now onwards till 2030.
- By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 per cent.
- By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero Emission.
Some Government’s Initiatives for generating Cleaner Energy:
- PM KUSUM
- National Green Corridor Project
- National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy
- National Offshore Wind Energy Policy
- Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI) scheme
- Biomass power & cogeneration programme
- Akshay Urja Portal and India Renewable Idea Exchange (IRIX) Portal
- National Biogas and Manure Management Programme
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
- International Solar Alliance
Way Forward
- Environmentalists and Scientists characterise climate science and India, given its size and population, will be disproportionately vulnerable to climate changes.
- India must accelerate and prioritise the transition to energy sources that are minimally perturbing to the natural balance.
- The science is very certain -The planet, which may be in a form incomprehensible at present, will survive longer than its current residents i.e HUMAN WILL EXTINCT, EARTH WILL EXIST.
Source: The Hindu
Mains Question:
Q. What do you mean by Climate Justice? Discuss how can this concept help in resolving the global dilemma of achieving economic growth and reducing environmental degradation. (10 marks)
