Climate Change: ninety percent man made

The effects of climate change will be felt more by tropical and sub tropical countries than other regions, said Head Sustainability and Business Excellence Services (South Asia) Det Norske Veritas, Santhosh Jayaram.

Speaking on the theme Risks and opportunities from carbon, Jayaram said that 90 percent of the reasons for climate change are man made while the balance of natural reasons.

The impacts of climate change will affect health, agriculture, forests, water resources, coastal areas as well as species and natural areas. With climate change there will be major health issues. It will create opportunities for people engaged in health and health related areas. Water will be a very scarce resource very soon as water sources are sinking. There will be questions on the quality of water and most importantly a big competition for water.

Imagine a world with limited water resources for humans, animals, fauna and flora. The change of weather patterns will affect agriculture which will result in a food crisis.

Jayaram said that already a million people a year are being displaced by loss of land along rivers, like in Bangladesh.

Population density is high in Sri Lanka and therefore problems on relocating from coastal areas into other areas will arise.

In the polar regions the main effects will be the reductions in thickness and extent of glaciers and ice sheets, changes in natural eco systems, detrimental effects on migratory birds, mammals and higher predators. The increasing intensity of tropical weather, ocean temperatures and the rising sea level will have a big impact on small islands while high water temperatures will cause coral bleaching and the subsequent death of 16 percent of the reefs world over and upto 46 percent in parts of the Indian Ocean.

There are many risks that companies will face as a result of climate change which includes regulation, physical, reputation, product and technology, competition and the supply chain.

Business opportunities arising out of climate change are projects for energy efficiency, clean technologies, CDM/carbon market business, voluntary emission reduction market, green buildings, insurance/risk management and consultancy. Jayaram said that there are 6-7 registered projects from Sri Lanka, but it is much less compared to other countries. The good news is that for Sri Lanka the scenario is optimistic.

The big players such as MAS, Brandix, and DHL have taken initiatives to be eco friendly due to their principals.

The tourism sectors initiative, the Earth Lung, was a good move but we haven’t heard of its progress, he said.

Potential areas for Sri Lanka are in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, mass transport systems, bio mass utilization, bio fuel and blended cement.

Since a lot of construction is taking place at the moment, use of blended cement will reduce carbon emissions. However, the use of blended cement is very little in the country. SG