‘It’s time for climate justice’
Interview Brice Lalonde, Special Ambassador of France for Climate Change, was in Bangalore to strike a dialogue between India and France for sustainable development. He speaks to Anisha Mehta on a range of issues from the Copenhagen summit to designing greener cities.
Tell us something about the Indo-French association for sustainable development...
The challenges faced in sustainable development are common to both India and France. The emphasis on scientific and technological research in both countries has allowed numerous platforms for collaboration and interaction in the sciences at the highest levels. We aim to build on the long established and successful scientific partnerships in associated areas of research such as the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences in Bangalore, the Indo-French Centre on Groundwater Research and the Joint Indo-French Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry in Hyderabad. As I am already in charge of a special group for sustainable development, back in Delhi, I wanted to come to Bangalore and work on issues to tackle climate change.
So, what issues are these? And how does one tackle them?
India and the world at large needs to concentrate on designing greener cities. It’s highly important to do so, as this can considerably bring down carbon emissions and in turn global warming. Take France for instance, where a majority of offices are designed in such a way that they allow no space for parking for their employees. Many of them are built in line of the metro. Therefore this ensures that people use public transport. I use a bicycle to commute around the city. Imagine the amount of carbon emissions we can save through better design and planning. I aim to import these ideas to India, especially Bangalore, as it houses a plethora of companies employing thousands of workers. Better urban planning, traffic management and promoting green buildings are other agendas.
A new study by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in UK warns that global expansion is not possible if the world is to restrict its temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. Your response...
I am not against development. There are countries growing faster than ever including future superpowers such as India, China, but the question is how do we develop them. Both developed and developing countries need to get together and agree to co-manage the planet. We say we are developing, but how? Today, we are consuming twice the amount of energy than we did in 1970. This should make us sit back and think, let’s use technology to fight climate change. And we can! I’ll give you an example. On my visit to Africa, I witnessed a system, where a computer and lasers were used to cut wood. The catch here is that this technology ensured that not a single inch of wood is wasted. If this is what we can do, why not do so on a larger scale? It’s only when political will and population go together can we fight this global problem.
The Copenhagen summit did not live upto people’s expectations. Why do you think it failed?
It’s not the summit that failed. The very fact that global leaders, heads of state assembled to fight climate change speaks volumes that they want to do something. Mammoth expectations, lack of transparency and trust by emittors, and developed nations failing to come to any concrete and comprehensive solution plagued the summit. It’s the negotiating tools used at the summit that didn’t work. So, all we need now, are new tools to address the problem. Although, the conference was a turning point with leaders agreeing to keep temperature rises to no more than 2C, but sadly, it did not contain commitments for emissions reductions. If we do need to invest in a low carbon future, we need to invest in planet policies. Lack of accountability is another concern among nations. We don’t value our forests and other natural resources. There is a dire need for a collective system of efficiency to fight climate change.
An IPCC report has been under fire about a claim that Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035. Comments.
Global warming is a fact. Period. Instead of bickering over the little time we have left, why not use it to formulate policies, sit on the negotiating table and come to a consensus that is comprehensive and binding on nations. Also, take into account the targets we already have in front of us such as the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change where binding countries have to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent till 2012. It’s time for climate justice.
The climate change summit is in Mexico this year. What needs to be ensured that it produces concrete results?
We need a legal comprehensive treaty that helps us solve the problem together. Cutting down greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy, less dependency on fossil fuels need to be addressed. It’s about having a pragmatic approach where every block — the developed, developing and other countries have a responsibility to share. In 2012, the United Nations should convene a summit ‘Rio + 20’ to take stock of all achievements and gaps on our common path towards sustainable development since the famous 1992 Rio summit ‘Planet Earth’.
