The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Climate change, a threat to developing economies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 24, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Climate change, a threat to developing economies

Special Correspondent

"What is needed is stabilisation of global temperature through cut in emissions of greenhouse gases"

CHENNAI: The rise in global temperature levels is emerging as a serious threat to the economies of all countries, especially the poor and developing ones, according to Dmitri Zenghelis, U.K. Government Economic Advisor and lead author of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Ignoring the effects of climate change will lead to irreversible changes in global economic patterns. The need of the hour is stabilisation of global temperature levels through reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, he said at a presentation of the findings of the review organised here on Friday by the C.P.R Environmental Education Centre and the British Deputy High Commission.

The Stern Review, undertaken by Sir Nicholas Stern and his team of experts, was commissioned to submit a report on climate change and its implications to the U.K. Government in 2006.

The spectrum of issues involving climate change was beset with uncertainties, for example, on how annual emission levels affected the stock of greenhouse gases and the direct impact of climate change on humans, Mr. Zenghelis said.

Fall in income

More immediately felt impact would be on water resources and falling agriculture incomes in developing countries. More than one billion people in poor countries would suffer from water shortage and an estimated 20-60 per cent of the world's species faced the threat of extinction. Four ways to check emissions were reducing the demand (for emission source), improving the efficiency of the existing mechanisms, promoting lower-carbon technologies and non-energy emissions.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu