People's Democracy

CITU Takes Up The Agenda Of Global Warming

SINCE the last several years warnings are being given by the United Nations regarding the perils of global warming. The audio-visual, as well as the print media have been focusing the issue repeatedly throughout the world. The worsening climate change due to global warming is threatening the earth with irreparable and all round environmental damages. The manifestations of the rising temperatures are irregular monsoons affecting normal crops, abnormal and unpredictable climates, extreme heat waves (even in European countries), fierce storms, melting glaciers, prolonged droughts, unseasonal rains, unprecedented severe floods, and maybe, tsunami etc. Such uncontrollable phenomena have already started and with every degree rise in temperature, the impact would only worsen.

In this backdrop, the CITU convened a meeting at BTR Bhavan on May 15 of a selected group comprising personalities working on the subject, representatives of science movement bodies like Delhi Science Forum, and representatives of the central trade unions and other mass organisations to deliberate on the issue. Greenpeace, the international environmental group was also present.

The meeting noted that the global climate change is caused by persistent emission of green house gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. Of these gases, carbon-dioxide (CO2 ) is the worst contributor. The first Earth Summit held at Rio-de-Janerio in 1992 pointed this out. Thereafter the Kyoto Protocol held in 1998 specified the green house gases and called upon the countries to reduce their emissions. The advanced capitalist countries led by the USA and followed by the European Union, Japan etc were specifically asked to do so. USS alone contributes to over 26 per cent of the green house gases emission. But it has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol decisions with the most unjustified demand that developing countries like India and China must cut their green house gas emissions first. According to the data released by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), USA is at the top in emission of green house gases. India is at 124th position and China at 91. Even Japan and European Union have now taken steps to cut their emissions by imposing costs on their producers.

The meeting after thorough deliberations decided to carry forward the campaign so that efforts to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions can be followed collectively by all, among which includes replacement of incandescent bulbs by CFL or LED etc. Also campaign has to be launched against the US imperialists to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and pressure must be built up on the government of India to mobilise the third world countries and put pressure on the USA. The meeting decided to hold a convention later on the subject with all mass organisations.

Earlier P.K. Ganguly placed the Approach Paper on behalf of CITU. M.K. Pandhe, President inaugurated the meeting. Kanai Banerjee, presided over the meeting. Among others who spoke, were Dr. T. K. Joshi of Maulana Azad Medical College, Raghunandan of DSF, K. Srinivas of Greenpeace, Sujan Chakraborty, M.P. etc. (INN)