Just for argument’s sake, take a test – try and identify your nation’s minister for mines, or the minister for textiles, or perhaps the one handling chemicals and fertilizers, or maybe culture, or better, rural development. Now try the same for the minister handling environment in your country. Get the spin?
Let’s face it, there is a huge lobby of intellectual and political experts denying man-made effects of global warming – but so does one particular Iranian the existence of the Holocaust. That said, reviewing even questionable findings, it does seem sensible to call for action on a war footing to save the most vulnerable and poorest communities on earth from annihilation. But the urgency with which the case for a follow-up to the Kyoto protocol was put forward by world governments in the summit at Bali has been substituted by hegemonic didactic of developed nations about equal responsibility of developing countries like India, China and Brazil to reduce carbon emissions as they are the fastest growing emitters. But developing nations are learning to return this sledgehammer serve of the developed world.
The fall out has been clamourous, complex and at times cynically hilarious. President Obama vows to reduce US emissions by 83% by 2050. It means 2050 US emissions will be at 1910 level when the US population was 92 million. However, with 420 million Americans in 2050, it simply means that US per capita emissions in 2050 would be the same as in 1875. South America’s histrionics mired in anti US propaganda continue especially with massive oil and gas discoveries in recent times which Latin American nations plan to sell to the entire world in coming decades.
China, the biggest emitter of Green House Gases (GHGs) recently declared that it has set a binding goal to reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2050. At the same time, China is adding nearly two coal fired plants per week and its coal power industry is expanding at the rate of 50% for the last few years. India, suddenly realizing that its old position of equal yet differentiated responsibilities was being tossed around as a deal breakers’ whim, suddenly took big ‘brother’ China’s direction and declared to reduce its per capita emissions too – voluntarily, brother, voluntarily. Amazingly, amongst the trio (of US, India and China), China continues to have the worst energy intensity with amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP at 1152 metric tonnes (MT). The figures for US and India stand at 441 MT and 655 MT respectively.
Let’s face it, there is a huge lobby of intellectual and political experts denying man-made effects of global warming – but so does one particular Iranian the existence of the Holocaust. That said, reviewing even questionable findings, it does seem sensible to call for action on a war footing to save the most vulnerable and poorest communities on earth from annihilation. But the urgency with which the case for a follow-up to the Kyoto protocol was put forward by world governments in the summit at Bali has been substituted by hegemonic didactic of developed nations about equal responsibility of developing countries like India, China and Brazil to reduce carbon emissions as they are the fastest growing emitters. But developing nations are learning to return this sledgehammer serve of the developed world.
The fall out has been clamourous, complex and at times cynically hilarious. President Obama vows to reduce US emissions by 83% by 2050. It means 2050 US emissions will be at 1910 level when the US population was 92 million. However, with 420 million Americans in 2050, it simply means that US per capita emissions in 2050 would be the same as in 1875. South America’s histrionics mired in anti US propaganda continue especially with massive oil and gas discoveries in recent times which Latin American nations plan to sell to the entire world in coming decades.
China, the biggest emitter of Green House Gases (GHGs) recently declared that it has set a binding goal to reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2050. At the same time, China is adding nearly two coal fired plants per week and its coal power industry is expanding at the rate of 50% for the last few years. India, suddenly realizing that its old position of equal yet differentiated responsibilities was being tossed around as a deal breakers’ whim, suddenly took big ‘brother’ China’s direction and declared to reduce its per capita emissions too – voluntarily, brother, voluntarily. Amazingly, amongst the trio (of US, India and China), China continues to have the worst energy intensity with amount of GHG emitted per $1m of GDP at 1152 metric tonnes (MT). The figures for US and India stand at 441 MT and 655 MT respectively.
omnipresent while Priya Dutt, a Member of Parliament from Mumbai, is on the move. Owen is seen every time Priya, or Sanjay Dutt for that matter, is in the news. Congress workers aren’t even fully aware of who he really is. “Some whispered I was Italian, related in some way to Sonia Gandhi,” Owen laughs. "Many cannot even my pronounce my Portuguese name."
ascertain the result of this case in particular. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) along with others who feel very strongly about such beastly act are creating a hue and cry so that such actions do not see a repeat. In this first-of-its-kind case being tried in Indian courts, it’s perhaps vital to do that, as a conviction in this case would serve as a catalyst in decision making for all such future cases, if any, and act as a deterrent.