‘We can save our environment only by working together’

CHENNAI: The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference held in France was attended by representatives of over 190 countries and many NGO’s with an aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate and of keeping global warming below 2°C. The coming together of world’s top leaders on one platform, in response to environment crisis, shows that there is now a clear knowledge and higher level of awareness of the dangers facing us. 

It has now been realised that maintenance of environment and biodiversity is essential for the functioning of life support systems and that there is an interlocking of environment and development.
Almost all the leaders of the world have accepted the fact that we are all neighbours in an interdependent and interlinked world with a common future. Thus, in many ways the Paris Climate Conference has been a success as it has drawn together leaders and people from various countries to discuss and agree on common solutions to resolve a global issue. This in itself is a very big achievement. However, this initial success should not block our vision of other problems that have to be solved.

We all dream of a world that respects human rights, a world that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable, and a world where economic growth is accomplished with the aim of poverty eradication and social equity. Though this is an achievable dream, there is a need to understand the triple interdependence of economic, social and environmental factors and integrate them into decision-making in both government and private sector. 

Today, most of the countries are facing a common challenge of managing natural resources in order to contribute to poverty alleviation while maintaining the ecological life support system. For this, we need to focus on five major factors which have a great impact on our environment — number of people, the amount of energy and resources they consume, the damage caused by the form and extent of production and consumption involved, the state of economy of the people and finally, how much are we prepared to sacrifice our narrow commercial or national interests for the common future.

The need of the hour is to work for economic growth within the constraints of social and environmental sustainability. This is however not an easy task mainly because there are many countries which resist the call of implementing population control. The problem is further confounded by the fact that about 90% of population growth in the next decade would be in the developing countries where people value children as forms of investment and security. This, however, does not absolve the developed countries of their share of responsibility because 25 per cent of the world population which lives in industrially developed countries consumes about 75 per cent of the world’s resources and their industries have been a major factor in polluting the environment. 

So, looking at the overall situation, it is a question of collective security in which all nations and each institution and individual has to play a role. The challenge is to generate substantial benefits simultaneously across multiple economic, environmental and social objectives. So, if we are to achieve our dream, we have to come together and develop the spirit of co-operation, sense of responsibility and share mutual concerns. Remember that if we fail to act now, it will impoverish our current and future generations.