Even as concerns about climate change intensify across the globe, the Pune International Centre (PIC) has conceptualised a “Climate Emergency Conference” on the theme, “One Planet. One Chance”. A brainchild of Prof Amitav Mallik, a laser science pioneer who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002, for his contribution to laser technology and defence R&D in India, Malik says that the intention of the conference is to draw attention to the reality that “this is the last chance for humanity and the planet as we know it”.
Though it was planned long before Donald Trump called the climate crisis a “giant hoax”, and was re-elected as the President of the United States, the conference will need to address the present state of turmoil about global warming. Mallik told The Indian Express that “America, alone, cannot be held responsible for the crisis, though it is a major component. The greater crisis is because, overall, human beings do not care about the future. It is not that there are no solutions. There are solutions. We can still salvage the situation and, yet, very little action is happening. Nobody is taking the climate crisis seriously. Everyone thinks that it will happen some way later in the future and somebody else will fix it”.
The conference will have Dr Madhav Gadgil, awardee of United Nations’ Champions of the Earth title in 2024, speaking on aspects of environmental damage, Mallik going through how the climate calamity has evolved and Dr R Mashelkar, PIC President, making the inaugural comments.
After dedicating the morning to how the climate emergency has evolved, the afternoon will explore the paths forward. A set of recommendations from the conference will delve into the “last chance” measures for people to salvage the situation. The recommendations will go out to the Prime Minister’s Office, Niti Ayog, the Environmental Protection Agency and state government authorities working on environmental issues. Preparations are on to include as many people as possible in the conference, Malik said.
Mallik adds that the state of climate emergency is highlighted by projections, such as by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which detail that sea levels are rising around the world. In India, it is expected to rise dangerously by 2050. Several Indian cities, such as Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata will witness flooding, destruction of lives and livelihoods and water contamination. “We are trying to have an online segment so that people can hear it from wherever they are,” he added.
