Climate change and its impact on sustainable development has been an area of concern which has resulted in a show of emotions. Earlier on, thoughts were limited to the impact on the environment alone. But today, the realm of thoughts has expanded to include serious thinking on the resources required to bear the economic costs of coping up with the retrogressive impact on the environment which is bound to arise during the course of development; more specifically in the developing or the emerging economies. This is a direct fall-out of modern day, developing economies being driven by materialistic ideologies of profit maximization and improvement in the material standards of well-being. While it is to be conceded that objectives such as these have made life comfortable and easy, years of such competitive growth have threatened the existence of humanity as a whole. Recent scientific research and conclusions and frequent natural calamities confirm that if we continue to pursue the present growth and development patterns and rhythms, we are on the path of destruction.
The
problem of climate change basically relates to the anthropogenic
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, which are a direct consequence
of the consumption of resources and production processes
that influence both the economic bases of production
and general living conditions of the people. This has
been further reiterated by the fact that Article 2 of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCC) focuses on the anthropogenic causes as inherent
variations and uncertainties that are embedded in the
climate systems.
Energy use, especially the use of fossil
fuels in emerging economies such as India, is seen as
a very important anthropogenic cause. Thus, India, in
the coming years, faces one of the biggest challenges
of development as it has taken recourse to adopting
rapid technological developments which require use of
energy sources with threatening emission trajectories.
This makes global cooperation in reducing greenhouse
gas emissions mandatory. The Convention further states
that "such a level should be achieved within a
time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adjust
naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production
is not threatened and to enable economic development
to proceed in a sustainable manner." |