The Hindu : National : Climate change will impact India more, says UNIDO

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 05, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Climate change will impact India more, says UNIDO

Special Correspondent

Health hazards and shortage of fresh water will aggravate

Dependence on fossil fuels exceptionally high
Greenhouse gas emissions will soar if India sustains 8 per cent growth

NEW DELHI: The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation said here on Thursday that climate change was likely to have a greater impact on India compared to other countries similarly positioned, on account of the unique combination of its geography, diverse population characteristics and extremely high carbon-related energy dependence.

Based on CDP

According to a statement from the South Asia regional office of the UNIDO, the dependence on fossil fuels was exceptionally high, and this could lead to heavy environmental, social and regulatory costs causing a drain on the nation’s resources as a direct impact of climate change over the next century.

The UNIDO has based its assessment on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 2007 of the U.K.

According to calculations done by the CDP, the cost of climate change could have a major impact on the Indian economy by causing 9 to 13 per cent loss in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in real terms by 2100.

Other impacts

Other impacts could be a higher increase in temperature as predicted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNICC), rapidly changing and increasingly unpredictable patterns of monsoon and rainfall, and decline in crop yields up to 30 per cent by 2080.

Vector-borne diseases

The increased retreat of the Himalayan glaciers would reduce fresh water sources in the future, cause incidence of more severe vector-borne diseases including dengue, bacterial and viral diseases, and increased frequency of extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods.

According to the UNICC, India would experience the greatest increase in energy and greenhouse gas emissions if it sustained 8 per cent annual economic growth or more as its primary energy demand would then multiply at least three to four times its present levels.

Proactive role

UNIDO is playing a proactive role by promoting projects relating to cleaner production, renewable energy and enhanced industrial energy efficiency, as well as in the implementation of multilateral environment agreements (MEAs) with direct implications for industry such as the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National