Is Earth in Balance!
by Avilash Roul
During the ADB's 41st annual Jamboree extravaganza, a super cyclone killed at least 22,000 people in Myanmar. Nearly 30,000 are still missing. As Daniel witnessed the ADB climate hypocrisy near ground zero, I will take Daniel’s anguish, and mine, a little further.I say, welcome to the ADB’s Asia-Pacific region where it plunked $ 10 billion in 2007, a large part of it into fossil fuels! I witnessed the Orissa (India) super cyclone in 1999 where 13,000 people died. The poor state of Orissa in India has been reeling under contrasting extreme weather conditions for some time. Out of the last 100 years, the state has been disaster-affected for 90 years. Seasons in Orissa have been reduced from six in general to two in some places or three. Since the 1960s, calamities have visited with Orissa with regularity and affected areas that never had a previous vulnerability record.
A massive heat wave in 1998 killed around 2,300 people mostly in coastal Orissa, which is known for its moderate temperatures. Not long after, Bangladesh was devastated by a severe cyclone. Unprecedented recurring floods, droughts, cyclones and heat waves have become signature calendar dates in most part of Asia-Pacific.
There is a strong link to climate change. Yet, not to link directly the increase in extreme weather events with human-induced emissions is part of politics in today's climate science. Actually, I should not talk about the increasing frequency of natural disasters in the US and Europe only! To a certain extent it is not only ADB's climate hypocrisy as Daniel rightly pointed out but all our hypocrisy.
Although, Myanmar is the pivot of ADB’s Mekong Sub-regional strategy, ADB stopped direct lending to Myanmar since 1987. I am wondering whether this devastating cyclone might push the ADB to rethink its so-called isolation of Myanmar?
ADB may hav been awarded the best in energy efficiency prize in 2000 by the host Philippine government, but it still sanctions huge loans for thermal power plants all over Asia. It makes me wonder if there are any ADB-funded energy projects that have also received the best energy efficiency award? I doubt it!
Daniel, this is another feather to add to the ADB's climate hypocrisy! But this is not to single out only coal-fired thermal plants but ADB’s over all infrastructure and transport communication projects as well, which account for around 50 percent of its total activities. I wonder what are the virtual carbon emissions of the ADB?
The ADB will continue with its fuzzy concerns on eradicating poverty in one hand and will go ahead with large carbon emitting infrastructure construction in its other hand. ADB has just established a climate change fund to slow down the climate change and to help the region adapt to the devastating impact. But, it also funds the Mundra Ultra Mega power project. So I expect more natural disasters to visit Myanmar , Bangladesh , India , China
Not really! Simple geography says it tilts 2 and ½ degree towards the Sun. Al Gore uses this weighing machine in his argument in his book Earth in the Balance in 1991, as well as his presentation in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Interestingly, the ADB also used this image in its May 2008 report on soaring food prices. So let me pose a straight question to ADB: would you like to see Earth in the Balance?
The only answer seems to be "No."
4 comments:
How can one expect ADB's to create a balance. Infact, the very nemesis of the ADB was to generate fund on the bodies of Asian region. They are just providing money for the sake of development.....
Yes. What apprehensions have been reflected are true. Now is the time to decide: how to go about development? Be it ADB or any other funding agency including federal govt.s in South Asia, the policies are very strong and loose ends are there to manouevre. Implementability of the policies are to be checked so that environmental safeguards can really be achieved and assured to avoid such calamities. If we take the case of Bhubaneswar, the Capital city of Orissa, rule is there to leave space for plantation even inside one's plot. This rule is not being followed. Houses are being constructed without leaving a square inch of space for other activities and people are permitted for that by the so called watchdogs of the rule. My point here is that People should come forward & cooperate to achieve standards set for maintaining balance.
ONE SHOULD WORK ON THIS.
I share your concern Mr. Avilash. However at the outset I understand about the working of the organizations like ADB, they have their own agenda and they are more concerned with spreading their own wings rather then eradicating the suffering of the people. On the other hand we can’t put all the blame on ADB, our democratically elected governments is no less. It’s the people’s government in different regions who have allowed the likes of ADB to continue with its agenda of large carbon emitting infrastructure constructions. It’s really painful to watch the unnatural death of nature, and let me congratulate you for making us aware on this. Good Work, I must say.
I appreciate your concern Mr. Avilas. When there is development, these things bound to happen. ADB is a funding agency and their polcies are very strong. The executing agencies are manipulating the policies. We are appreciate the role played by yoy.
Joydeep
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