The Hindu Business Line : ‘Factors related to climate change must be given importance’

Chennai, Aug.16 Factors related to climate change have to be taken into consideration while drafting policy measures for socio-economic growth. Otherwise, one is likely to face a threat to food security and agriculture that will in turn have a domino effect on India’s plans of sustained double-digit growth rate, according to Mr N. Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu.

Speaking at a symposium on global warming organised by M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women and the FICCI Ladies Organisation, Mr. Murali listed areas like climate forecasting; and water and waste management that could be included while drafting domestic policy. “We do not have the luxury of waiting for the Kyoto Protocol to come to a conclusion. We need to take a lead on a domestic level,” he said.

Dr P. Rajasekar, District Environmental Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Pudukkottai, suggested that a policy measure be framed to raise the benchmark of fuel efficient vehicles; that way outdated vehicles consuming more fuel could be kept off roads. Technology could be used to increase the fuel economy of vehicles, he said.

However, one must be careful of designing and using technology, given its capability to become obsolete very fast. Dr. D. Narasimhan, Professor, Centre for Floristic Research, Department of Botany, Madras Christian College, cited the example of corn production in Mexico. The country had decided to produce corn for industrial use so as to extract ethanol from it for use as fuel. However, this resulted in rising corn prices and common people could not afford it for consumption , he said.

Planting trees was not the solution to reduce global warming. “Carbon emission levels have exceeded beyond the absorbing capacity of existing green cover,” he said, suggesting lifestyle changes to solve the problem.

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