Should tackle climate change while being mindful of the ground reality, say experts

The consultation workshop on ‘Green Manifesto’ was held after 25 years by the Council for Green Revolution (Hyderabad), C.P.R Environmental Education Centre, Green Alliance for Conservation of Eastern Ghats, and Center for Earth Leadership and Sustainability

Plans to tackle climate change while being mindful of the ground reality and to phase out fossil fuel-based systems were suggestions that came up at the consultation workshop on ‘Green Manifesto - A Direction for Political Parties in India in the Context of General Elections 2024’ in Chennai on January 24, Wednesday.

The workshop was held after 25 years by the Council for Green Revolution (Hyderabad), C.P.R Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC), Green Alliance for Conservation of Eastern Ghats (GRACE), and Center for Earth Leadership and Sustainability.

A research and development centre for each political party that would be continuously in session to address environmental issues was suggested by K. Purushotham Reddy, an environmentalist and former head of the Department of Political Science at Osmania University. Speaking on the necessity of the ‘Green Manifesto’, he stated that the topic of climate change had been taken up 28 times by several countries in 2023.

Narasimha Reddy Donthi of the Council for Green Revolution, enlisting the need under each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, emphasised the importance of a ‘Water Budget’ and a new policy to tackle poverty. He said parties addressed employment, economy, development, and growth, but rarely nature, even though it was connected to the rest. He added that there was a focus on improving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rather than curbing pollution caused by industrialisation and urbanisation.

During the discussion session, Communist Party of India (CPI) national council member Vahidha Nizam said GDP, however, impacted the labour force, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) planned to come up with guidelines, protocols, or a convention focusing on labour in alignment with environmental issues. “Developed countries are not taking the onus for their actions. Meanwhile, industries here are facing difficulties due to carbon tax. There cannot be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution for all nations,” she said.

Aaditya S., a first-year student of a private college, asked whether developed countries, who had already benefited from natural resources, could provide financial assistance to third-world nations instead of further exploiting mineral wealth. The experts agreed that this could be a good solution, and highlighted the need to assess how many people from the low-income and below poverty line groups have access to resources.