Reduce the dependence on fossil fuel, urge experts

Reduce the dependence on fossil fuel, urge experts

PUNE: According to a new assessment released by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), named ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C’, 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming will increase above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. 

In the context of the global response, the threat of climate change can be seen due to this.

To have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as prescribed in the lower limit of the Paris Agreement, the nations have about 12 years to effect a complete transition in economy and society. 

City-based environmentalists said that the use of fossil fuels should be limited and battery or electrical and solar power should be accelerated.

National Coordinator of the Climate Reality Project India Shashikant Dalvi said, “In India, 70 per cent of power generation is based on coal and the transport industry is majorly dependent on fossil fuels. These two sectors cause a lot of carbon emission. The only solution is that we should reduce dependence on fossil fuel and coal. Already, we have reached more than 1.1 degrees Celsius rise, and it is expected worldwide that by 2030, the temperature will rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius by looking at the trend of fossil fuel usage.”

Sunil Joshi, President of Samagra Nadi Pariwar, a non-government organisation working for water sustainability, firmly stated that India needs 33 per cent of green cover but has only 18 per cent of green cover.

There is a need for public participation and 365 days of work to be done to save the biodiversity and stop and reduce carbon emission. Other nations have adopted the fact and are working accordingly. But in our country, the drawback is that the Environment Ministry is not stable due to which, correct amendments are not done to take measurable actions,” Joshi said. 

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
The report has stated that one of the key messages that come out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1 degree Celsius of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic Sea ice among other changes.

The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C compared to 2 degrees C, or more. For instance, by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with 2 degrees Celsius. The likelihood of the Arctic Ocean free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with at least once per decade with 2 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs would decline by 70-90 per cent with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, whereas virtually all (> 99 per cent) would be lost with 2 degrees Celsius.

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
Dalvi suggested some measures to be taken to stop the rising temperature:
- Transport sector should switch over to e-vehicles or battery operated vehicles. (Such examples can be seen in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam.
- Incentive or subsidy should be given to vehicle manufacturers to manufacture battery operated or e-vehicles.
- Solar power generation should be encouraged in each household and in all buildings and infrastructure.

The fallback of the current situation is that youngsters have realised that it is their future. Hence, ‘Friday for Future’ movement has been started by students worldwide to pressurise the government to take actions on rising global warming.

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?
Your support motivates us to do better. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest stories.
You can also read on the go with our Android and iOS mobile app.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The Bridge Chronicle
www.thebridgechronicle.com