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16th SAARC Summit 2010 - Bhutan
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Bhutan Politics |
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Bhutan Information |
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16th SAARC Summit 2010 - Bhutan
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| Nobel laureate Dr R K Pachauri is on a two-day visit to Bhutan |
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The 16th SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Bhutan in April, will provide an opportunity where politics, hopefully, will not come in the way of cooperation, according to Nobel laureate and chairman of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), Dr Rajendra Kumar Pachauri.
Climate change is the main agenda of the Summit.
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| Dr Pachauri, who is on a two-day visit, said that the summit will provide an opportunity for SAARC countries to discuss common problems related to climate change that will affect all the countries. "I think politics won't come in the way, because the theme is a problem all the countries are dealing with," he said in a brief press conference.
The SAARC countries, Dr Pachairi said, are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and dealing with common challenges like melting glaciers, rising sea level, changing rainfall pattern and scarcity of water. |
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"We'll have to adapt to some of these impacts and, if we can come up with a common approach, can share knowledge and information, all the counties in the region will benefit," he said. "This is a unique opportunity. If we can come with a common strategy to deal with the impacts of climate change, that will be a major step forward."
Dr Pachauri said that he was very happy that Bhutan was hosting the summit because all the SAARC countries trust Bhutan. "SAARC members would see the agenda as a neutral agenda. Therefore, Bhutan is placed in a good position to see that we bring about some cooperation in CC in the SAARC region."
Dr Pachauri, who sits on the economic advisory council of the prime minister of India, besides teaching in several universities worldwide, received an audience with His Majesty the King and met the prime minister. Lyonchhoen Jigme Y Thinley and Dr Pachauri yesterday discussed a wide range of climate and environmental issues, which confront Bhutan and the South Asian nations.
On the request of Lyonchhoen, Dr Pachauri agreed to help explore the proposal of the Lyonchhoen to make the capital city into a bicycle city. Dr Pachauri offered to contact foundations, which will provide battery-operated bicycles, feasible to the terrain of Thimphu.
He also expressed his interest in setting up a centre for Tata energy resources institute (TERI), of which he is director general and Yale university (where he heads its newly established Yale climate and energy institute) at Bhutan's education city, which is also being planned as a green city.
The prime minister said that Bhutan would be looking at creating complementary and supplementary energy generating sources given that, due to climate change, Bhutan's electricity generation had now dropped from a high of around of 1,500 MW in summer to just about 275 MW in winter. On the idea, Dr Pachauri said that Bhutan should explore solar energy as Bhutan enjoyed bright winters, when power generation from the hydro project was at its minimum. He also offered to talk to the Clinton global initiative (CGI) on this. CGI is non-partisan initiative of the former president of America, William J. Clinton, fostering a sense of shared responsibility to address major global problems.
Meanwhile, on the threat from climate change to the Himalayas, Dr Pachauri said, "Although the IPCC report that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035 was withdrawn, the fact still remains that the glaciers are melting and melting fast. It will disappear if not in 2035, in 2050 or 2060." Quite apart from the dates, he said, the fact is that they are melting and forming large lakes, which can pose major threats.
On Bhutan's Himalayas, he said that any projection would be difficult, but that IPCC is working on the fifth assessment report and more information would be available after the assessment. "The Chinese are doing research on their side of the Himalayas and they're concerned that they'll be affected severely within a short period of time."
While in Bhutan, Dr Pachauri also met the foreign minister and Bhutanese environmentalists.
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byKUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper, March 2010 |
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