Bhubaneswar: The present spell of heatwaves across the state and in many parts of the country is the manifestation of the impacts of global warming and related climatic changes, said some environmentalists here ahead of the observance of World Environment Day, June 5. The Word Environment Day this year comes at a crucial juncture when many parts of the country, including Odisha, are experiencing extreme heatwave conditions while, on the other hand, new governments are going to be formed both at the Centre and in Odisha as election results would be declared Tuesday. As per United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a score of a little over 63 out of 100, India ranked a dismal 112th among 166 nations with respect to its preparedness to meet the goals.
As per Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) 2024 State of India’s Environment in Figures report, between January 1 and December 31, 2023, India experienced extreme weather events on 318 of the 365 days. Putting these phenomena into perspective, OrissaPOST spoke to a few environment experts about what needs to be done to tackle environmental hazards and climate change. Environmentalist and secretary of Odisha Environmental Society JK Panigrahi said, “Humanity is confronting grave challenges. The present spell of heatwaves across the state and in many parts of the country is the manifestation of the impacts of global warming and related climatic changes. Persistent increase in release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from enhanced use of fossil fuels is at the root of the crisis.” Panigrahi also said, “This year’s theme being, ‘Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience’ under the slogan ‘Our Land, Our Future. We are Generation Restoration,’ the world needs to focus its attention on combating destructive land degradation practices and earnestly carrying out conservation measures. The mounting crisis of climate change is aggravating land degradation and desertification by way of the frequent occurrence of droughts due to irregular weather patterns. The worst sufferers of the predicament are the rural population, marginal farmers and poorest of the poor.”
As the quality of soil deteriorates, productivity declines and ecosystems become barren, thereby putting pressure on mankind as well as natural ecosystems, he added. “The new governments that would be formed at the Centre as well as in the state need to rise to the occasion and undertake exemplary initiatives to fight out the environmental challenges by involving the citizens,” Panigrahi stated.
Meanwhile, some of the environmentalists raised concern over shortcomings in the environmental action plan of the government. Ranjan Panda, popularly known as Water Man of Odisha, said, “We are almost on the edge as we celebrate World Environment Day this year. Heat has taken a heavy toll on our lives like never before. All our preparedness seems to have fallen short of the need. Our transition to a green economy, fuelled by green energy, is very slow. Our current development models are not letting the way for this transition.
Let’s change this with collective actions for transitioning to green and inclusive growth pathways. Unless we work on such pathways, we will just keep digging our own graves.” Echoing similar concerns, Neelima Mishra, climate activist and founder of an environmental impact startup, Ceiba Green Solutions, Odisha said, “Waste segregation, reducing usage of single-use plastics, composting, reducing textile wastes, participating in activities like plogging, nature trails etc are the need of the hour.” She also said, “Although we are yet become zero-waste households, we have adopted a number of habits that have helped us reduce the amount of waste we produce and in the upcoming year we’re striving to do even better. While we might not have the power to reverse climate change and stop rising sea levels, we can work on adopting lifestyles with less use of plastic, less garbage and less packaging.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP