sustainability

As a society, we depend on healthy ecosystems to do many things; to purify the air so we can breathe properly, sequester carbon for climate regulation, recycle nutrients so we have access to clean drinking water without costly infrastructure, and pollinate our crops so we don’t go hungry. For example, wetlands are indispensable for their countless benefits or “ecosystem services” that they provide humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, and biodiversity, to flood control, groundwater recharge, and climate change mitigation. Wetlands must therefore be protected from different activities that are planned in the sites; and collaboration between different government agencies will lead to better enforcement of environmental laws to protect this distinctive ecosystem from pollution arising from the whole life-cycle of different sectors. Additionally, each sector should look at procurement practices they are following to reduce negative impact on the environment.

In recognising the destructive impacts of climate change, the Tamil Nadu government has established various institutional arrangements with modalities to address the challenge of climate change. Despite these initiatives, the level of awareness and understanding of climate change issues among various stakeholders like farmers, youth, students, etc. is still very low at all levels. The Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC), Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission (TNCCM) and Tamil Nadu Dept of Environment, Forests and Climate Change needs an effective climate change communication strategy with monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to make course corrections as and when needed. In addition to this, different local events, manuals and IEC materials should be available for the general public, students and youth to develop an understanding of what climate change means.

Air pollution is causing climate to change, and climate change is also causing air quality to change. Because of climate warming, the Earth experiences more extreme weather, such as heat waves and drought, which can negatively impact air quality. Air pollution and climate change are two sides of the same coin. They should be tackled jointly though its more typical to address them separately.While the concept of climate change and air pollution should be understood by all citizens, there are very limited resources with informative insights that are accessible to laypeople, or even policymakers. 

Creating different tools, IEC materials and reports with meaningful analysis will be of utmost importance in the present world as it will help governments to take informed decisions and at the same time will help citizens understand the importance and need to practice sustainable lifestyles by making behavioral changes such as reducing energy consumption, water conservation, circular economy and concepts such as refuse, reuse and recycle.

Climate change is not a distant reality anymore. It is in our backyard now. With each passing day, we are seeing the effects of climate change all over the world and India is no exception. The concept of climate change should be understood by everyone and they should be aware of the role they can play in limiting the effects of climate change to create a resilient society. Lack of information for citizens to make informed decisions or effectively intervene is a major challenge. Also, citizens need to be constantly reminded and educated about the importance and need to practice sustainable lifestyles - less energy and water consumption, sharing resources, and the concept of refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle. In addition,with net-zero pledges coming from different governments around the world and the state governments of India, there is a need to work with the Tamil Nadu state government to frame its net-zero plans and state climate action plans by focusing on what kind of solutions should be included.