Their argument is that the US government has been aware for the past five decades that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels is the cause of the climate change occurring on the planet but the government has not acted to prevent this from increasing. The crux of the lawsuit is that ‘future US generations will disproportionately bear the cost of a destabilized climate, despite having the same constitutional right to freedom from harm as current generations’. They aren’t asking that the government be held responsible for the damage caused. What they are seeking from the government is a plan to protect the atmosphere and climate system.
Not much to ask for, but can there be such delivery?
That delivery perhaps would be difficult. As the world concentrates on development, can it reduce the use of fossil fuels? Late November and early December the nations of the world will meet in Paris for the United Nations Climate Change Conference that is aiming to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations. Negotiations are on to reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the temperature increase to 2 degrees above the pre-industrial level. Till now there is no reason to believe that such an agreement will be arrived at. As across the world, nations prepare to attend the climate change conference, in Goa there is little awareness of climate change or even how it could affect the State.
Speaking at the first Matanhy Saldanha memorial lecture last year, Nobel laureate and the UN climate change panel’s former chairperson Rajendra Pachauri had warned that Goa is vulnerable to climate change, especially to any rise in the ocean levels. He has predicted that there could be a sea level rise of up to 98 cm and such a rise would have very serious consequences for Goa. A second Matanhy Saldanha lecture has come and gone but in the months between the two lectures, there has been no follow up on what Pachauri said or even an effort made to understand that Goa faces the same risk, if not of a higher magnitude, as any other place on planet Earth.
There are already instances of changes in weather patterns that could be ascribed to climate change. January 1, 2015 brought in unseasonal rain showers in the State, almost a New Year warning to the State of what could be in store. The monsoon season that just ended saw a deficit of 20 per cent and the rainfall in 2015 has fallen way below the 100 inch mark. It has already been announced that worldwide, the year 2015 is turning out to be the hottest ever. But there is no sign of worry displayed in the State. It is for the local government, as much as for world governments, to contribute towards managing and reducing the effects of climate change. The State, however, shows little interest in this or in even understanding the future risks and taking action to mitigate the changes.
Environmental destruction of Goa is definitely taking its toll on the State. One does not need to be an expert in the field to see the changes happening before one’s very eyes due to flawed policies and breaking of rules that are in place to protect the environment. Mining in the forests of eastern Goa, tourism in the coastal regulation zones of western Goa, and unlimited construction between these two extremes can only lead to adverse climate changes.
Can some Goan youth take up the challenge, as have done the 21 American youth, and force the government to act on climate change?
