Economic
Highlights
New Delhi, 7 November 2022
Climate Change Cyclical
POLLUTION BIZ AT GRAVEYARD!
By
Shivaji Sarkar
The
greenhouse global warming and climate change are parallelly being used by
pollution lobbies that have turned it into big business, raking in bigger
profits in the West.
Climate
change is a regular geophysical phenomenon, and nobody has ever been able to
stop it. India has taken the most sensitive stand of ‘phasing down’ coal that
needs to be extended to the entire climate concern at COP27 at Sharm-el-Sheikh
in Egypt. The Climate Accountability Institute of UK’s Carbon Majors study
finds that only 100 companies contribute 72 percent or one trillion tonnes of emissions
globally since 1988.
At the COP26, India was among the
nations which insisted that in the Glasgow Climate Pact, coal be “phased down”
and not “phased out”, citing the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities when tackling climate change. In the same vein, India should
also tackle vehicle emission and not succumb to western pressures.
Similarly, today the stubble or parali
burning is a localised north-western India phenomenon that is being magnified
to extend forcing banning of cars that contribute only 8 percent of total
emissions, because that suits auto makers sell more and possibly churn out
benefits to some. It overlooks that junking usable cars causes more pollution.
India was
right but it could have gone further to state that man is too weak to change
the global climate. Yes, warming of environment has been largely a western
propagation. The natural factors are constant. Even glaciers directly affect
the landscape in many ways shaping and reshaping earth’s surface. Environment
Minister Bhupendra Yadav says he would stress $100 billion yearly assistance
annually to developing countries to meet climate targets as insisted by the
West.
Geological
records show that there have been several variations in the earth’s climate.
There are many natural factors, including the changes in sun, emissions from
volcanoes, variation in earth’s orbit and level of carbon dioxide. It is
changed by volcanic eruptions, variability in the orbit of the earth and shifts
in earth’s crust or plate tectonics.
Every volcanic eruption is full of
pollutants. Not just ash and dust but also carbon dioxide: one of the strongest
greenhouse gases on our planet. In the largest cases, a single volcanic plume,
lasting only hours, might add many millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere. Individual volcanoes add more carbon dioxide to our atmosphere than
human activity of globes people does.
The unprecedented drought in Europe
and parts of America that dried up major rivers is natural phenomenon and no
man even without lighting up single fire could have stopped it. Had it been so
there would not have been Manu or Noah’s ark in the face of the great flooding.
So, the COP27 could have reopened up
the rationality of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to below 2
degrees Celsius. The European 2022 summer heat surpasses it by quite a few notches
above that. But the West wants the fledgling countries like India adhere to the
irrational goals.
A new report The Big Con compiled by
Global Forest Coalition and Friends of the Earth International and Corporate
accountability outline a disturbing collusion between polluters and policy
makers. The emerging reality is that green-house gases are nothing compared to
the natural causes for heating up the earth. The worst sufferers are the 46
least developing countries (LDC), says United Nations Conference for Trade and
Development. It questions the global drive to reduce carbon emissions as LDCs
could face severe fiscal constraints and loss of economic output.
The Indian delegation led by Minister
Bhupendra Yadav is expected to rake up the issue for loss and damage finance
facility — a fund for climate reparations paid to countries weak in facing the
climate change impact. India wants to work out the climate fund and its
modalities. There are apprehensions that developed being least interested in a
solution has not allowed inclusion on the agenda.
The West has a different approach.
It says global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed
since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human
activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping
greenhouse gas levels in earth’s atmosphere. It does not want this term
replaced with “climate change”. Despite the recent summer heat in Europe, they
would not agree to the factor of the geophysical changes that are becoming so
frequent.
There are known such phenomenon in
seven different glacial and inter-glacial ages. Even the renewable energy, the
latest fad, is known to cause tremendous pollution whether wind, solar or
hydro. Renewable energy often requires more land than fossil fuel production,
with infrastructure fragmenting or even eliminating high-quality wildlife
habitat, according to Christopher E Moorman, Professor of fisheries, wildlife
and conservation biology at South Carolina University. It can also lead to a
variety of other impacts on wildlife, including behaviourial changes and direct
mortality.
Solar is supposed to generate 34600
tonnes of junk every year by 2030 in India alone, according to National Solar
Energy Federation of India. The global volume of wind blade waste will be a
million tonnes by 2035 from 30,000 tons in 2021, according to Bloomberg. It is
partly recyclable at a high cost. But wind panels made of composites are
neither biodegradable nor can be recycled. As per a US study by 2050 it would
be cumulative 2.2 million tons and occupy one percent of the landfill area.
Hydro has several hazards including the water being turned turbid, sinking a
large area and weight that slows down the earth rotation as the China’s Three
Gorges Dam.
Lithium-ion batteries contain metals
such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese, which are toxic and can contaminate
water supplies and ecosystems if they leach out of landfills apart from fires.
The lithium itself is hazardous, causes tremendous water evaporation and adds
to warming. These would impact the earth many ways, but COP27 will not discuss
it.
The climate change and warming are
much wider issues beyond the scope of the COP, which should have gone into the core
to save the earth instead of superficially treating it. Or it can also mull if
there is a repeat of Noah’s great flood, would that be due to the man-made
gases or climatic factor. Let it not be a business proposition at the graveyard.
---INFA
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Alliance)
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