Differences between economically developed and developing countries remain one of the most acute problems in uniting the efforts of the world community to counteract global environmental pollution and climate warming.
These differences were one of the main reasons for the more than modest results of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. A significant number of developing countries insisted on maintaining the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012 and does not impose restrictions on their greenhouse emissions, and also demanded significant assistance from developed countries in implementing environmentally friendly and energy-saving technologies.
Developing countries themselves suffer the most from environmental pollution. At the same time, they need rapid economic growth and a better standard of living for their populations. The most difficult situation that such a large and powerful economy as India, which is one of the main "polluters", has fallen into in this regard, is described in the article by A. Annaev.
Key words: India, ecology, sustainable development
A. ANNAEV
Post-graduate student of the Russian State Social University
India's economy is growing rapidly despite the global economic crisis. The growth of production, purchasing power of the population and consumption, along with positive changes, creates serious environmental and social problems. One of them is the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere by Indian enterprises, contributing to environmental pollution and global warming.
Climate change was one of the main issues that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised during her visit to India in July 2009, which irritated some members of the Indian elite.
Washington is probably trying to show the world its commitment to sustainable development, i.e. economic growth while preserving the environment and natural resources for future generations. But this drive will seem like a reason to put pressure on developing countries until America starts with itself. With 5% of the world's population, the US consumes 25% of the world's resources1. The average American consumes 16 times more energy, 24 times more meat, and 64 times more paper than the average Indian.2
If Indians consumed as much as Americans, the world could witness not only a global economic crisis, but also an environmental one. Global demand for oil would increase by 88%3, half a billion cars on Indian roads would increase annual global carbon dioxide emissions by 5 times 4, and a chain of mobile phones of Indians could encircle India by 3 times 5.
India's economic wonders hide serious environmental threats. The main problem is that the country does not have enough resources to meet the growing demands of more than a billion consumers. According to a World Bank study, by 2020, its natural resources will be under such anthropogenic influence as in no other country6.
Environmental problems are not a distant phenomenon.-
the future of India. They need to be addressed today. About 60% of cultivated land is already susceptible to erosion, waterlogging and salinity7. India already belongs to the category of countries with water scarcity, and by 2050 this deficit will become critical (less than 1000 m3 of water per person per year).8. The territory of Indian forests is constantly being reduced due to the expansion of agricultural land and the felling of trees for domestic use.
The volume of industrial waste is growing every year, and today up to 70% of the volume is accounted for by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which use outdated technologies.9 Water pollution is mostly associated with household and sewer waste that is illegally discharged into water bodies in large cities. Recent tests have shown that the level of E. coli in the Ganges River near the holy city of Varanasi is at least 3 thousand. 10 times higher than the norm established by the World Health Organization.
Nothing is more indicative of the growth of mass consumption and poor waste management in India than garbage on the roads of major cities. It serves as a feeder for street dogs, crows and rats and poses a threat to the health and quality of life of the urban population. Garbage thrown into ditches causes not only infections, but also flooding of residential areas during the monsoon.
City authorities usually limit their work to removing garbage from major roads and taking it to landfills. However, most of the work on waste disposal is done by slum dwellers, the bulk of whom are migrants from villages. In Mumbai, India's financial capital, 55% of residents live in slums.11 They collect garbage from the streets and landfills, sort it and transfer it to special workshops in the slums to give it a "marketable" appearance for sale to producers.
The country is experiencing a situation in which globalized residents of large cities consume more than ever before, and migrants who replenish slums serve this consumption at the cost of their health. Waste management releases toxic gases that slum workers breathe. These gases and other industrial wastes are released into the atmosphere and water bodies of the city, not to mention household and sewer waste.
In international forums, the view is increasingly expressed that India and other developing countries have a "unique" opportunity to immediately move to a sustainable development model, avoiding the negative environmental and social consequences of industrialization.
However, building such a model in India seems unrealistic.
This raises the question of financing the transition to a sustainable development model. At a time when the world is just beginning to emerge from the global economic crisis, there is no need to count on help from developed countries. For enterprises, the use of "green" technologies remains an expensive pleasure. Thus, the Government of India has no choice but to invest in alternative energy sources, resource-saving technologies, waste management systems, etc.
India needs a national policy, a kind of "green" philosophy that encourages the population to take responsibility for natural resources. And, of course, in helping developed countries to obtain environmentally friendly production technologies.
Place, Eric de. 1 We are working together to pay for fossil fuels // Worldchanging, 29.01.2009 - http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/009371.html
2 Calculated by the author on the basis of data from the World Resource Center (data on energy in oil equivalent for 2005, meat-for 2002, paper-for 2005). EarthTrends. The Environmental Information Portal of the World Resource Center, USA -http.V/earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php
3 Calculated by the author on the basis of data for 2005 from the World Resource Center. EarthTrends - The Environmental Information Portal of the World Resource Center - http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php
4 Calculated by the author on the basis of data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India, the US Bureau of Transport Statistics, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Motor Vehicles Statistics // Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India http://morth.nic.in/index2.asp?langid=2&sublinkid-202; National Transportation Statistics // US Bureau of Transportation Statistics -http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_11.html; Annual Pollution Emitted // US Environmental Protection Agency - http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/f00013.htm
Global CO2 Emissions // United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/ghg_data_unfccc/time_series_annex_i/items/3842.php
5 Calculated by the author on the basis of data from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of India, the International Wireless Communication Association, the CIA, as well as the assumption that the average length of a mobile phone is 8 cm. Status Report / / Department of Telecommunications of the Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, April 2009 - http://www.dot.gov.in/network/2009/Network%20statusApril09.pdf: Wireless Quick Facts // CTIA - International Association for Wireless Telecommunications - http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/10323; India / / CIA World Fact Book - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/IN.html
6 Up to the neck in it. Economist print edition, July 17 2008 - http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystorv.cfm?storv_id=11751397
7 Soil Conservation Training Center, Hazaribagh http://www.dacnet.nic.in/SCTC%20Hazaribag/hazari_intro.htm
Gupta S. K. 8 and Deshpande R.D. Water for India in 2050: first-order assessment of available options. 1216 Current Science, Vol. 86, No. 9, 10 May 2004 - http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/mayl02004/1216.pdf
9 India Strengthening Institutions for Sustainable Growth // Country Environmental Analysis, World Bank, 2007 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INDIAEXTN/Resources/295583-1176163782791/complete.p df
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi. 10 Ganga river pollution in India. A brief report, July 07, 2009 - http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/109078
11 Building New 'Ecosystems' in Mumbai's Slums. 06.2007 - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/articlepdf/4223.pdfVCFID=6949303&CFTOKEN-77 000100&jsessionid-a8303bcd54cfd653c7b03965421e1c6a226c
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