Presenting Special Commentary: By Team Member.
Resilience-forum/AG/05/20200317/TC/Ladakh
Theme: Sustainable Ladakh: Agenda for Resilient Development / By - Thinles Chondol 🌷🙏🎓
https://twitter.com/envirosafe2007/status/1239636519238815744?s=20
carbon (3)
Increasing economic activities, populations and the increasing impacts in terms of carbon emissions have started putting a negative impact on environment and ecology. In order to make a sustainable and healthy living conditions for us and our next generations, we at micro level level to have to take some measures for greening our surroundings.
At a micro level, we ourselves can take steps like planting trees, aware ourselves and our people around, change in our consumption pattern, innovate new technologies in order to develop a parallel resources pool and enhance our productivity and resources efficiency.
Carbon emission Reduction has been a challenge for the sustainable development of the world as a whole. According to the Kyoto protocol- UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) there is a binding target for 37 industrialised countries and European community for reducing the GHG (Green House Gas) emission an average of 5% over the 5 year period 2008-2012, taking base as 1995. The developing economies have been given flexibility in their carbon emission reductions.To offset the carbon and control pollution different trading schemes have been taken into considerations. Carbon Emission trading is a market based approach by providing economic incentives and cap limit for emissions. Firms need to hold the no. of permits also called carbon credits (1 carbon credit = 1 ton Co2)
The chart shows the Carbon emission (Co2) which is a result of burning fossil fuels such as gas, coal or oil. The amount of Carbon emission shows primarily the industrial activities in the economy. There are various adverse effects caused to environment due to carbon emissions, including increased frequency of extreme weather events, variation in monsoons patterns, rise in surface temperature, rise in sea level and melting of glaciers along with other factors. It also affects agriculture and food production and result in increased incidence of vector borne diseases.
As per the chart BRIC nations’ carbon emissions per capita has been looked upon. This shows that
- Russia, Brazil, China and India have accounted for carbon emissions around 11, 5, 2 and 1.5 metric tons per capita in 2010.
- There has been almost same and increasing trend in carbon emission followed by all countries over the period.
- In 2001-02, Russia has a reduction in carbon emission i.e. 9.87 to 9.82 metric tons per capita but further shows an increasing trend. Russia has increased 10.31 MtCo2 per capita on an average over the period.
- China also shows upswing in carbon emissions specifically in 2004-07 periods that indicates an industrial uprising in the economy. However it decreased its per capita emission in 2007-08 i.e. from 4.95 to 4.6 approx. Over the period, it has increased around 3.60 MtCo2 per capita on an average.
- Brazil and India show a parallel and constant increase in emission. Brazil however also shows steadily decrease in per capita emissions on an average in comparison to India as per the graph. Over the period, Brazil and India have increased 1.87 and 1.22 MTCo2 per capita carbon emissions.
Challenges always keep coming. Proper actions are needed. In addition to bring awareness; we will have to pursue with each and every aspects of environmental degradations at a grass roots level.
With the right approach and well directed actions, we can certainly bring our dream for a cleaner and greener environment a reality !!
I will keep matters simple by reassuring you of one thing before any drama builds up to a disconcerting crescendo. There are no religious overtones herein, the theme of what follows is very much iconoclastic. You see, the issue - one of sin and atonement on a planet of mortals - deems no deeper analysis than things Divine would summon.
Humanity issinning against reason by over-consuming the very things that allow life to exist on our planet. The culprits standing in public light now plead guilty, and wish to atone by means of a new commodity - carbon credits. In a world where global weirding (I choose not to use 'warming') is inevitably posed to cause the human world to shift and shuffle uncomfortably, the scions of Shylock can barely resist the opportunity to roll some dough in this dire disaster. For the layman sitting in these courts of questionable justice, it seems that the balance sheets have been settled, and that justice has been done.
Fortunately, the blindfolds that cover the eyes of Justice willnot quell the curiosity of more sobered inquirers. Carbon credits have not been successful as measures to bring about economic stability, environmental purity or social justice; the point has been proven in cases less obscure than the 'Coldplay forest' in southern Karnataka. From the casual Airline passenger to the professional steel-tycoon, every carbon conscious person seeks means to 'help' the environment by buying carbon credits to offset their emissions.
However, credits boil down tosomething akin to post-dated checks - by the time the check did come in, the planet will be in a deadly hangover... What began as a promising
trend, vividly pioneered by celebrities, actually ended up being - for lack of more euphemistic terms - a plain faced scam. While the sensation generated by carbon credits in the media may have helped raise awareness in the general public (who are easily tuned out after just a couple of minutes of geeky climate science) carbon offsets have become irrelevant to the issue of climate change. It is time to begin reconsidering carbon footprints as emotional footprints, and not just as mathematical calculations. The rationally adept argue pitiably, "how can we reduce carbon footprint or increase environmental security if we can not measure it?"
What units can we measure the love and devotion of aparent towards their children? If we can not measure it, can we deny its existence? Can such love be the basis for our actions in a time of most unprecedented challenges? We are, (un?)fortunately, living in very interesting times.. times which bring out the real character in (wo)men. If we can not sacrifice, we can not love. It is time to be pure, and to move past atonement - which is a lousy, lamenting love. Of the gifts that we pass on to the next generations, our sons and our daughters, the greatest may be one of love and selfless sacrifice. Like a father puts off that expensive car to save up for his child's education...What gifts do you want to give to your children? What can you give up to make their life happy?
Humanity issinning against reason by over-consuming the very things that allow life to exist on our planet. The culprits standing in public light now plead guilty, and wish to atone by means of a new commodity - carbon credits. In a world where global weirding (I choose not to use 'warming') is inevitably posed to cause the human world to shift and shuffle uncomfortably, the scions of Shylock can barely resist the opportunity to roll some dough in this dire disaster. For the layman sitting in these courts of questionable justice, it seems that the balance sheets have been settled, and that justice has been done.
Fortunately, the blindfolds that cover the eyes of Justice willnot quell the curiosity of more sobered inquirers. Carbon credits have not been successful as measures to bring about economic stability, environmental purity or social justice; the point has been proven in cases less obscure than the 'Coldplay forest' in southern Karnataka. From the casual Airline passenger to the professional steel-tycoon, every carbon conscious person seeks means to 'help' the environment by buying carbon credits to offset their emissions.
However, credits boil down tosomething akin to post-dated checks - by the time the check did come in, the planet will be in a deadly hangover... What began as a promising
trend, vividly pioneered by celebrities, actually ended up being - for lack of more euphemistic terms - a plain faced scam. While the sensation generated by carbon credits in the media may have helped raise awareness in the general public (who are easily tuned out after just a couple of minutes of geeky climate science) carbon offsets have become irrelevant to the issue of climate change. It is time to begin reconsidering carbon footprints as emotional footprints, and not just as mathematical calculations. The rationally adept argue pitiably, "how can we reduce carbon footprint or increase environmental security if we can not measure it?"
What units can we measure the love and devotion of aparent towards their children? If we can not measure it, can we deny its existence? Can such love be the basis for our actions in a time of most unprecedented challenges? We are, (un?)fortunately, living in very interesting times.. times which bring out the real character in (wo)men. If we can not sacrifice, we can not love. It is time to be pure, and to move past atonement - which is a lousy, lamenting love. Of the gifts that we pass on to the next generations, our sons and our daughters, the greatest may be one of love and selfless sacrifice. Like a father puts off that expensive car to save up for his child's education...What gifts do you want to give to your children? What can you give up to make their life happy?
