On the road to Liberty

Two crouching tigers, some hidden dragons The winds of change between the two giants could impact not only the environment but also politics. In this article published in the special issue (July-August 2010) of the "India China Chronicle", I look at the possible implications of the cooperation between these two countries at the climate conference in Copenhagen, last year. I believe a much bigger opportunity lies in the field of wildlife conservation, particularly in saving the tiger. Following is the text of the article. Over the past half century, relations between the two Asian giants have been on a roller coaster ride. In recent years too the two countries have seen sentiments swing wildly on issues ranging from trade to Tibet, coloured periodically by the border issue. Despite its history of turbulence, the two neighbours together made history at the climate summit in Copenhagen in December 2009, for the first time, the world got a glimpse of the possibl...

The IPCC's climate-change fearmongering is only the latest excuse to expand the public sector. My article titled " Environmental 'crisis' and government power ", was published in the Wall Street Journal Asia , on 24 March 2010. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admitted for the first time last month that it is facing a crisis of confidence. But the IPCC's failings go far beyond the recent spate of errors identified in its reports. The problem began with the global political climate that led to the formation of the IPCC two decades ago. Contrary to popular perception, the IPCC is not a scientific organization. It does no research of its own. Composed of scientists nominated by different governments, its key function is to collate evidence of human-induced climate change, not just changes in climate. It is hardly surprising that with such an inherently biased objective the scientists lost their objectivity. Many of them went on a...

The less credibility the climate body has, the less it can do to block vital economic development. My analysis of India's relationship with IPCC is in this article titled " India Supports a Toothless IPCC " published in the Opinion Asia section of the Wall Street Journal Asia , on February 8, 2010. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed support for the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its leader, Rajendra Pachauri, at a local energy conference in New Delhi Friday. The move has surprised many observers, but it may prove to be politically astute. The IPCC's credibility is in tatters. From climategate to glaciergate, Amazongate, natural-disaster gate, and now Chinagate, the revelations of bad science keep coming. Given all that, plus the much-publicized flap between Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and Mr. Pachauri over the science behind "melting" Himalayan glaciers weeks before the Copenhagen climate summit in December, su...

Rather than focussing on reducing emissions, India can make a difference by liberalising its economy, improve efficiency, and thereby contribute to a cleaner and safer environment. On the eve of the Copenhagen climate conference, I look at the relationship between economic reforms and energy efficiency in this article, " Earth Story ", published in the Financial Chronicle, on 7 December 2009. With the opening of the climate conference in Copenhagen, India has an opportunity to change the climate of negotiations. Surprisingly, Jairam Ramesh, the minister for environment and forest, decided to play for a draw with his statement in Parliament last week proposing voluntary reduction in India’s carbon intensity. Despite his strong assertion that India will not accept any legally binding international commitment to reduce emission, he proposed to reduce the intensity of the economy by a modest 20 to 25 per cent. Just when the world of climate science was getting shaken by allegati...

The politicos at the G8 summit in Japan, seem to have drawn their lessons from the Kyoto Protocol, two decades earlier, when they burned their fingers by accepting short-term goals of emission cuts by 2012. The hard reality is that the political leaders can no longer afford to sacrifice the poor today, at the altar of climate change, for the sake of the rich tomorrow. India can legitimately play a leadership role and change the climate of discussion on climate change, I write in " Economic climate at G8 overshadowed talk of climate change ", published in the Mint, on 17 July 2008. “It is the economy, stupid!” The economic and political concerns dampened the desire of world leaders at the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Japan to ride the hot air balloon of climate change. That’s no surprise. In any contest between a present crisis and future threat, the present always wins. The G-8 leaders are hardcore politicians and recognize that in hard times, politicians must not get carr...

Does Anita Roddick warm her home with cow or buffalo manure? No? Then why is the Body Shop owner telling poor rural Indians that they should choose outdated and dangerous energy sources instead of the modern electricity that she and many of her do-gooder counterparts in organisations like Greenpeace use? I ask this question in the article titled Stop energy eco-imperialism was published by the International Policy Network on 20 October 2002. Does Anita Roddick warm her home with cow or buffalo manure? No? Then why is the Body Shop owner telling poor rural Indians that they should choose outdated and dangerous energy sources instead of the modern electricity that she and many of her do-gooder counterparts in organisations like Greenpeace use? Though British consumers have yet to make dung warming stoves the 'must have' heating source this season, Greenpeace and The Body Shop's Choose Positive Energy campaign, urges developing countries to 'Choose Positive Energy' s...