Indian government "pressured to act"
June 30, 2010
The alternative climate change panel was introduced because India came under pressure to act during the Copenhagen Climate Summit last year, one NGO worker has claimed.
Usman Ahmad, mission director for Mercy Corps in Srinagar, said, “The government had to look as though they were doing something in light of Copenhagen.
“They came under pressure from developed countries to show that they too were aware of how climate change could impact India,” Mr. Ahmad added.
The Indian government established a separate National Institute of Himalayan Glaciology to monitor the effects of climate change on the world’s ‘third ice cap.’ Before this alternative panel was implemented, India was relying wholly on the International Panel on Climate Change, a non-governmental organisation led by Dr Rajendra Pachauri.
Dr Shresth Tayal, glaciologist from The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, discussed the pros and cons of the new climate change panel, he said, "Positively, It will lead to compilation of available data from more than 100 Indian research institutes and could be a good integrating authority.
"Climate change is not an isolated phenomenon that can be understood at the level of a country It’s a global phenomenon and can only be understood through interpreting the world earth and meteorological system [clearly]. By setting up such an authority, India may face a scientific isolation," he added.
The panel was formed by Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister, who claims there isn’t a link between climate change and the rate the glaciers are melting at.
Zubair Dar, journalist with The Sunday Indian said, “I think the setting up of the government’s own panel was triggered by the fact the IPCC was proved to be wrong and unscientific.
“However, at the same time, I feel [the setting up of the panel] is a move towards projecting [India’s] own problems better at a global stage where conferences like Copenhagen’s Climate Summit will decide…How many funds will flow from one part of the world to another. These funds are vital for India to adapt to the climate changes that are taking place.”
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