Are we prepared for climate change?

Climate change is no longer an abstract scientific phenomenon confined to discussions and debates among scientists.

All the emerging evidence shows in no uncertain terms that world is heading for a major climate change with severe consequences. Each and every one of us has to come to terms with this reality states Prof. S. T. Hettige, Professor of Sociology in the University of Colombo.

Over the last thirty years world economy has undergone a major transformation and China and India have emerged as centres of production of various goods and services for the world market and many other countries have also joined the competition for a share of the world market.

The ensuing competition has created an unprecedented demand for oil triggering worldwide price increase in oil and other products.

The above developments have created a major crisis throughout the world, slowing down economic growth and increasing price levels of all conceivable goods and services.

Given the country’s vulnerable position, it is clear that Sri Lanka cannot afford to foot the increasing oil bill. Although diverse nations adopt different measures to help reduce global warming, measures that Sri Lanka may adopt will not have a significant impact on global climate change. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka can’t escape from the inevitable consequences of global warming.

How Can Sri Lanka adapt to climate change?

It is critically important to bring about major reforms in Sri Lanka’s energy sector with a view to reducing current over dependency on oil for generating energy.

The most important sector in which significant adjustments can be made is the transport sector where substantial investments should be made to build mass transit systems, particularly the railway.

Adding more and more buses to the existing fleet of buses with a view to reducing cars will not be a solution in the long run, as it would be counter productive. More buses would make already congested roads virtually impassable compelling commuters to resort to private modes of transport.

However, if Sri Lanka makes substantial investments in the railways making it efficient not only to transport passengers with improved facilities but also goods, the railway can take the pressure off the network of roads.

This will, in turn, make road transport more efficient reducing congestion and increasing fuel economy of vehicles.

Development planning

Another critical area where major changes have to be made is in the overall development planning. Sri Lanka has to promote a de-centralized mode of development planning in order to avoid major problems that are connected with climate change.

It is obvious that the current trend of indiscriminate expansion of urban centres such as that of Colombo will not anger well for the wellbeing of the population as well as economic development.

Therefore, the current expansion of large urban centres has to be stopped. Instead, the country should promote a whole range of urban centres in diverse parts of the country. These urban centres should be equipped with major infrastructure facilities such as hospitals, schools and other public services.

For instance, people should not be forced to travel hundreds of kilometers to have access to good health care facilities.

Similarly, people should not be compelled to travel long distances for employment. Employment should also be decentralized as much as possible. Though Sri Lanka has free trade zones and industrial parks in several parts of the county, industries have not been decentralized so as to create employment in the provinces.

The trend was different in the 1960s when import substitution industries were set up in diverse parts of the country; Paper manufacturing plants in Embilipitiya and Walachchanai and cement factories in Puttlam, Galle and Kankasanturai and sugar factory in Higurana, etc.

It is imperative that such changes should be brought about in order to avoid environmental degradation associated with hyper urbanization and formation of heat islands. Over fifty percent of the country’s GDP is concentrated in and around the city of Colombo. This situation should change. The wealth of the nation has to be re-distributed across the country. Such a policy has been promoted even in developed countries such as UK, France and Germany.

Even in Australia, de-centralized development is at work. In other words, there is no one big urban centre where all the people try to find opportunities. One of the positive aspects of de-centralization is that government will be in a position to allocate resources more efficiently. If the urban centres are manageable, these centres are going to be less crowded and the demand for land will not be that great. Land use pattern can be sustainable and environmentally friendly.

There will not be a need to build skyscrapers and energy intensive houses where twenty four hour air conditioning and various mechanized garbage disposal systems can be avoided. Instead, three or four storied housing complexes can reduce energy use considerably. In such a set up, a fair balance can also be struck between public spaces such as parks and recreation centres on one hand and private spaces such as residential areas on the other.

Currently, the demand for land in the Colombo metropolitan area, is so high that buildable lands have been exhausted leaving little or no public open space. In order to make city life more sustainable and tolerable, it is imperative to promote decentralized urban planning.

Unfortunately this is not happening at the moment. In fact, the decentralized political units such as PC’s should pay attention to developing some urban centres in their own regions. For instance, in the Southern Province, it is necessary to identify urban centres and develop them as self-contained units.

The promotion of e -governance is another practical possibility to cut down unnecessary travel by citizens. Government offices should establish e -governance systems to facilitate official business via email and internet.

Centres with IT facilities can be established in different parts of the country so that even poor citizens can walk in and transact their business with the assistance of technically competent persons running such centres.

Savings in transport and other costs can more than off set the cost of providing such facilities.

Climate change is essentially a product of increasing use of fossil fuel for various purposes. Unsustainable consumption patterns that have spread across the globe have contributed to the above trend. Increasing production of consumer goods and services has contributed more to increase consumption of affluent people rather than to alleviate poverty in the developing world.

An Indian billionaire is reportedly building a 27 story house in the middle of Bombay where incidentally the world’s largest slum is located. What kind of housing are our real estate developers providing in the country? You only have to scan their glossy advertisements to find the answer.

The promotion of localized food production wherever feasible is another strategy that we have to explore. In Sri Lanka, food can be produced almost everywhere. Such a decentralized pattern of food production can help reduce transportation of food items to a considerable extent. This can be done even in urban areas, if we establish community gardens using uncultivated land, as I have proposed to authorities in the country in a separate article.

Preparing to face the adverse consequences of climate change is everyone’s responsibility, not just the government. Yet, the government has to be the catalyst and facilitator of change, including behavioral change. Since the tasks involved are inter- sectoral, national level coordination is critical.

May be we need a separate Ministry to develop policies and formulate programmes to address issues of climate change.

Increasing oil prices and climate change have persuaded many countries to divert public resources to research and development (R and D) in the energy sector.

Such investments are also needed in other sectors such as construction, housing, industry, and water. No doubt such investments in other countries will result in new technological products. If we do not make such investments, we will simply become consumers of such products, adding to the already unsustainable import bill.

Responding to climate change is also the responsibility of the business community, professional groups, political leaders and consumers. The need of the hour is to review conventional business and professional practices as well as consumption patterns in view of the growing multiple crises across the world.

Professional bodies have to evolve new practices to suit the changing circumstances. Business leaders should look at the environmental implications of their business practices. Consumers have to reflect on their consumption patterns with a view to reducing the size of their ecological footprint.