Analytical Briefing on Climate Ambition and Sustainability Action
June 2019, Issue No. 1
Message from R. K. Pachauri
The influence of knowledge on decisions at the policy level and among the public has a long history. This can be seen from various developments, such as the rivers being cleaned in North America and Europe, introduction of unleaded gasoline in most countries and the banning of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). All of these were based on an understanding of health related impacts of existing unsustainable practices provided by scientists and researchers. Yet, knowledge can be distorted in a deliberate manner to serve the interests of power brokers and those with wealth and unhealthy control over public opinion and debate in the public domain. The current impact of social media notwithstanding, there is now reason for hope that in the ultimate analysis knowledge and awareness of what lies in the interests of human society may actually prevail over dogma, inbuilt inertia in thinking and the power of vested interests. If we look at the just concluded elections for the European Parliament, we find that firstly the voting percentage has increased dramatically across all 28 nations that voted, which clearly demonstrates that people see the benefits of exercising their democratic franchise to influence policy at a regional level. Secondly, while the results reflect an expression of concerns and priorities at the national and local levels, such as the frustration with failure to reach an agreement with Brexit in the United Kingdom, populist and right wing parties have performed at a level lower than expected. It is in fact the green parties all across west Europe which have gained substantially. Their relevance and the support they have received in these elections is the result of awareness on the scientific assessments on climate change brought out over thirty years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its translation into public protest, including the growing movement by schoolchildren to demonstrate outside their classes every Friday. The fact that youth are now deeply concerned about future risks of climate change strikes an emotional chord among many people even though there is a large scale effort to sow doubts in the minds of the public on the scientific facts related to human induced climate change. Grassroots action, particularly initiated through the power of youth, would, therefore, provide the key for political action. This is where the POP (Protect Our Planet) Movement launched on Earth Day in 2016 provides hope for a rapid move away from fossil fuels towards a low-carbon economy, which would be able to keep temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C by the end of this century, thereby limiting the risks from climate change impacts. Interestingly, while in Europe and other functioning democracies grassroots action and demonstration of protest against the existing situation is obviously the trigger for political action, there is the distinctly different case of China, which has also undertaken major steps to decarbonise its economy. But that would require a discussion on another occasion with all the apparent contradictions and intellectual fascination that it carries. The Analytical Brief on Climate Ambition and Sustainability Action—jointly brought out by the World Sustainable Development Forum and Protect our Planet Movement—seeks to highlight a topical issue relevant to the realization of the sustainable development goals and ambitious climate actions. The topic of the current issue of CASA is on electoral politics and the issue of climate change.