Karnataka - Bangalore   

Climate change is the buzzword

Bangalore: Concerned about the impact of climate change on Karnataka, where 80 per cent of agriculture is rain-fed and the eco-systems in Western Ghats are shrinking, experts have urged the State Government to develop an action plan to adapt to possible socio-economic and environmental fallouts.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) last month submitted to the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment a proposal calling for a “vulnerability study” of agriculture, coastal communities and biodiversity.

And last week, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and professor at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), N.H. Ravindranath, urged the Government to set up a “climate change task force” similar to the one in Himachal Pradesh.

On World Environment Day on Friday, Karnataka has much to worry – for its farming and coastal communities, public health and biodiversity – as temperatures and sea-levels rise and as rainfall patterns change, cautions a “Climate Change Strategy” for Karnataka, submitted by Prof. Ravindranath to Environment Secretary Kanwarpal.

The TERI proposal concurs with the warning. “Any changes in rainfall patterns pose serious threat to the State’s economy and food security,” says the proposal drafted after a meeting between TERI director-general R.K. Pachauri and the Department of Forest and Ecology. Crops like sugarcane and paddy are particularly vulnerable, it adds.

The proposal underscores the potential impact of climate change on biodiversity and forest-dependent communities of the Western Ghats.

“Karnataka is looking to increase coal-based power which is polluting in the long term. Vehicular traffic is a polluting sector which is bound to grow at a fast rate,” he said.

A study by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has projected carbon dioxide emissions from road transport in Bangalore alone to be over 4 million tonnes in 2017, he pointed out. Policy makers need to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. Research into climate change needs a “boost,” according to Prof. Ravindranath. Mr. Kanwarpal told The Hindu that the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment is “considering TERI’s proposal. As far as policy is concerned, the State has begun implementing the eight missions recommended by the National Action Plan on Climate Change. We are already tapping into solar power and bio fuel.”

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