Pachauri: We are responsible for the planet’s temperature change
See GalleryThe Nobel Peace Prize went to government authorities, academics and businessmen regarding the role of the corporate sector in sustainability
The Nobel Peace Prize 2007, Rajendra Pachauri, joined the work of the Peace Integration Summit - CUMIPAZ, to address the problem of climate change and work for sustainable development.
In this 3rd edition of the Summit, Panama 2017, the Nobel spoke of human influence on climate change, based on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, acronym in English), which chaired from 2002 to 2015.
"We are 95% sure that since the middle of the last century we have been responsible for the change in the temperature of the planet and the warming that has been taking place," he said.
He also pointed out that all the ice bodies are melting and that there is more expansion of the seas; together with millions of tons of waste that currently pollute the oceans.
Pachauri assured:
"If we do nothing against climate change, in September 2050 there will be no ice in the Arctic sea. That has great implications, not only for that region but for other regions of the world. Most likely, the Caribbean area will be severely affected."
In turn, he explained that when the sea level rises, it is not possible to get it back down. He commented that Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, would not have caused so much devastation and the damage would not have been so great if the sea level were lower.
He mentioned the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases and deforestation as human actions that have increased the imbalance of the planet, as well as the negative impact of economic activity and corporate actions that directly influence climate change.
For a sustainable future
The expert said that it is necessary to work to lower the temperature two degrees and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases seventy percent less. He stated that:
"At the end of the century, we will have to reduce emissions, from zero to a negative value. We have to use energy more efficiently, we have to use energy that does not come from coal; reduce deforestation, increase afforestation, the use of bioenergy; change our lifestyles."
He added that technologies to produce energy, not from coal, are developing rapidly. He commented that together with his son, Ash Pachauri, they have been working in Mexico City, through the Movement POP (Protect our Planet), to find a way to create clean energy for the future.
The corporate sector must focus on sustainable development
Pachauri said that the economic implications of climate change are a very good reason for the corporate sector, executives and decision makers to realize that it is not possible to make money in a condition in which the world's climate is changing and is causing the global imbalance; he exhorted:
"I would ask any corporate organization to make this an important part of its own activity because if you solve or assume these Sustainable Development Goals, you are also resolving your responsibility as a corporate organization towards society."
He emphasized that corporate responsibility has to be linked with the central objective of creating happiness for human society; highlighting that it is not enough just to maximize income, profits and earn money. The Nobel said to those present:
"Climate change is real, do not doubt it, because if you doubt it, you are being dishonest, we are being intellectually, politically and morally dishonest (...) If you are committed to peace, we can become examples, models for the rest of the world, to bring that change."
