Preserve natural resources for progress: Pachauri

The Hindu , Sunday, February 17, 2008
Correspondent : Staff Reporter
Nobel laureate addresses Young Indians National Summit

CHENNAI: “This country cannot progress unless we take care of our natural resources,” R.K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and director-general of the Energy and Resources Institute, said on Saturday.

He was addressing students and young professionals at the fourth Young Indians National Summit with the theme ‘Wake up India.’ Mr. Pachauri, who was in New Delhi, interacted with students through videoconference.

Climate change, he said, was a serious global problem. While the 20th century saw a 0.74 degree Celsius increase in temperature and a 17-centimetre rise in sea level, current projections showed that the temperature might increase by 1.8 degree Celsius-4 degree Celsius in this century. “We have to very rapidly mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases. These conditions could also have serious implications on the availability of water.”

Laws and regulations preventing large construction in vulnerable areas and high investment in infrastructure were vital, he pointed out. “We have to look at proactive methods to adapt to the reality of climate change.”

Highlighting the inferences of a report compiled a decade ago on the status of natural resources, Prof. Pachauri said India was losing 10 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to pollution and degradation of natural resources.

“We were losing 2.5 million lives annually owing to pollution.”

He urged the industry to shift focus to a low-carbon economy.

K.V. Kamath, vice-president of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, said institutions did not emphasise enough on “right skills,” which were important for employability. The financial services industry would employ 10 lakh people in the next five years and, according to CRISIL, each of these would create four jobs around them.

Speakers commended the initiative of Young Indians, a network of students and young professionals who, in association with the CII, organised the day-long event featuring panel discussions and presentations on issues of concern to individuals and society.

 
SOURCE : The Hindu, Sunday, 17 February 2008
 


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