The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) director, Dr Vibha Dhawan, says although it is a daunting task and time is rapidly running out, she remains optimistic the world will overcome the effects of climate change.
However, what this means, Dhawan said, is for people and governments to change their attitude and mindset that climate change is someone else's problem to solve.
She made her feelings known during a meeting on Monday with journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) who participated in an eight-day familiarisation tour of India.
The meeting was held at TERI's headquarters in Darbari Seth Block, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India.
Journalists from seven Caribbean countries, including TT, and 12 Latin American countries are participating in the tour.
It was arranged by the Indian government with the purpose of enlightening participating journalists on the "New India" initiative, which aims to move that country from developing to developed status within the next 20 years.
TERI is a 50-year-old research institute specialising in research into energy, sustainable development and the environment.
Its scope of work includes studying the effect of climate change and finding ways to mitigate against it through energy efficiency, biotech research and development and social transformation.
Dhawan said to reverse climate change, or at least minimise its effect, calls for a global reset in attitudes that this phenomenon is someone else’s problem.
She cited, as an example, the reluctance of some developed countries to share technology without licensing it, so as to protect trade secrets, even if this knowledge could help in combating climate change.
"But it’s just one planet we live on. So if one country is green thanks to its technology, but they won’t share this information with others…look, air does not know international boundaries. So it’s either we are all in this together or not," she said.
Saying India, as a developing nation, is committed to going green in terms of using renewable energy and reducing its considerable carbon footprint, she said its solutions are tailor-made to include sensitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
She said while India and TERI are willing to share advances in alternative fuels that are more environmentally friendly, every country has to find solutions to going green which are tailored to its unique geographical and socio-economic realities.
In other words, she said, India’s solutions may not necessarily work for other countries.
However, this does not mean India won’t assist others in working towards developing and/or enhancing their own climate-change mitigation strategies.
On the LAC communities, she said TERI has played a major role in developing Guyana’s solar-energy push by providing solar panels and technical information, so much so that India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr Amit Telang, asked TERI to consider working with other Caricom nations to develop solar energy as a realistic form of alternative energy.
“If it is one thing
