BENGALURU: There are excellent bureaucrats, but the government lacks the will to draw up plans and projects which are climate-friendly. It is tragic that the Central Government has allocated just Rs 20 lakh to Karnataka to mitigate climate change, said Prof BK Chandrashekar, president, Bangalore Climate Change Initiative - Karnataka.
Speaking to TNSE on the sidelines of a discussion on the recently released IPCC report on climate change, he said on Saturday that every politician should sign a declaration that he would not touch forests, Western Ghats and coastal regions.
In 2013-14, too, an IPCC report pointed to severe floods, droughts and other climate-related events. But the government paid little attention to it, he said. Dr KN Ravindranath from IISc, who co-authored the IPCC report, said in the Paris agreement it was said that the temperature could rise by 1.5 degree Celsius by 2040-50. But now, it could happen by 2030. There is already a 1.1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, and you can see the damage caused because of this. Many places have experienced severe flooding, while others have been wracked by drought, he added.
“To mitigate the environmental impact at the local level, the government should start drawing up projects immediately keeping climate change in mind. Everyone must reduce green house gas emissions and look at solar and wind energy,” he said. Crop varieties should be developed that are drought and flood tolerant, while a contingency plan should be prepared, he said.