PRESS RELEASE
CLIMATE ACTION MONTH 2024 - INAUGURAL EVENT
Date and Venue: 1st August, Music Academy
SPECIAL GUESTS
Dr. P. Senthilkumar, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests
Mr. A.R Rahul Nadh, IAS, Director, Department of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. G. Sundarrajan, Coordinator, Poovulagin Nanbargal, Chennai
Chennai
For immediate release
Climate Action Month, 2024 (CAM) - a series of events across the city of Chennai over the month of August, started today with the inaugural event. CAM is an initiative by Citizen consumer and civic Action Group, and is intended to serve as a platform for bringing together multiple stakeholders to stimulate discussions, share experiences, exchange ideas, and plan collective action over climatic issues of universal importance.
The urgency with which we need to tackle climate change becomes apparent with each passing day. What used to be warnings and cautionary messages of climate change have now escalated to reality and everyday occurrences. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report in 2022 painting a bleak picture for India, warning that as a nation, we could face multiple climate change-induced disasters in the next two decades.
Dr.Senthilkumar, Principal Secretary to the Government, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests presiding over the inaugural meeting said that ‘we have certainly moved on from questioning whether climate change is real or not to taking action to mitigate it. Although climate change is a natural phenomenon which has been going on for ages, human interventions have accelerated this process and now we are not able to control its impacts.’
Mr.Rahul Nadh IAS, Director, Department of Environment and Climate Change delivering the keynote address speaking on the changes in weather patterns said that ‘they are not only affecting natural ecosystems but also posing a significant risk to human health, livelihood and the economy’. He believes that ‘it is through partnerships between governments, communities, businesses and individuals, we can drive meaningful change for a future that is resilient, sustainable and equitable’.
Mr.Sundarrajan, Coordinator, Poovulagin Nanbargal emphasised that ‘in addition to environmental protection, governments through their laws and policies should ensure intergenerational equity while taking climate action’. He expressed concern that the new normal is life between disasters. Addressing the youth, he quipped that ‘this planet is not the wealth we inherited from our grandparents, but a loan we have taken from our grandchildren which should be paid in full with interest’.
Tamil Nadu has various contributors to its greenhouse gas emissions (ranging from the power sector, to transport, and emissions from solid waste, including single-use plastics), with the state implementing several plans and policies to address each of these sources. The Meendum Manjapai is one such flagship policy with the TN government running a state-wide campaign to popularise the ‘manjappai’ - a cloth bag to replace the ubiquitous single-use plastic. CAG studied the efficacy of the campaign across eighth districts of Tamil Nadu, documenting these findings in a report which was released at the event today.
Within the increasingly complex changes wrought by climate change, entrusting citizens with the knowledge of climate action will create key actors who can play pivotal roles in shaping public policy through advocacy and support for sustainable policies, apart from creating change through individual action. CAM aims to celebrate all efforts towards individual change, and galvanise further changes among government, and corporate agencies.
Press contact: Vamsi Shankar Kapilavai, phone - +91 94938 92929,
email - vamsishankar.kapilavai@cag.org.in
About CAG: Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) is a thirty eight year old non-profit, non-political and professional organisation that works towards protecting citizens' rights in consumer and environmental issues and promoting good governance processes including transparency, accountability and participatory decision-making.