Press release - July 6, 2007
MUMBAI, India — Greenpeace warned that Mumbai will remain unprepared and vulnerable to climate related chaos, if it didn't acknowledge climate change and take steps to fight it. Even as the city took stock of its capacity to stay afloat through the monsoons and all fingers pointed solely to the municipality, Greenpeace noted that band-aid solutions that focused on drains would not solve Mumbai's monsoon blues.
Flood ravaged victims in Navsari, Gujarat holding a Greenpeace banner acknowledging the fact that severe flooding is an effect of climate change.
Quoting the IPCC's Impacts report released in April 2007, the
environmental watchdog pointed out that the scientific body had
predicted a 90% probability that weather events and extremes will
become more frequent, more widespread and/or more intense with
increase in temperatures causing severe disruptions of settlements,
commerce, transport and societies due to flooding - a clear threat
for a city like Mumbai.
"Any mitigation scenario that does not address climate change is
terribly short sighted", said Soumyabrata Rahut, Climate Campaigner
Greenpeace India. "The truth of the matter is that if we don't act
to fight climate change within the short window of opportunity of 8
years that we have, the consequences are going to be devastating"
he cautioned.
A study by scientists of the Columbia University looking at 'The
vulnerability of global cities to climate hazards', has pointed out
that despite Mumbai being one of the few Indian cities with an
elaborate disaster management plan in place, the challenges posed
by climate change, especially flooding are unlikely to be met by
such systems alone.
Mumbai's planners and the State Government must recognize that
carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel based infrastructure is
triggering climate change. While clean drains, good monitoring
systems, etc., are relevant and vital concerns, none of this will
prepare the city to face the intensity of future monsoon onslaughts
if global temperature rise is not kept below 2 degrees
centigrade.
Greenpeace has been campaigning to get the Government and
industry to take steps to mitigate climate change by investing in
time bound and mandatory policies to promote energy efficiency and
clean energy technologies that would cut India's carbon
emissions.
As part of this campaign Greenpeace is calling for a ban on the
bulb by 2010, which would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 55
million tones and save 12000 MW of power.
For further information, contact
Soumyabrata Rahut, Greenpeace Campaigner: 9845535403
Sandeep Bhattacharjee, Greenpeace Communications: 9342501806