T’puram: Chief minister V D Satheesan said environmental protection and climate change resilience will be ensured in all developmental projects to be launched by the UDF govt. The CM was inaugurating the state-level observance of World Environment Day in the capital.“There will be no development activity from the govt’s side that destroys nature. The govt aims at balanced and sustainable development. While the national target to make the country carbon neutral is set at 2070, Kerala is striving to become a carbon neutral state by 2050,” he said, adding that significant progress in this regard could be achieved by 2040 itself. The CM said that climate change is the biggest challenge the world faces today and that the warnings given by nature must be viewed seriously.“Climate change phenomena of the kind seen only in the Bay of Bengal have started in the Arabian Sea as well. Extreme rainfall and cloudbursts can occur at any time. This is a major threat to cities like Kochi and Mumbai,” he said. The CM also warned that since cloudbursts happen suddenly, creating a situation where there is not even time to move people to safe locations, it is increasing the risk of landslides in the Western Ghats regions.Satheesan also said that the ‘One Health’ concept, that human health and the health of nature are interconnected, needs to be widely propagated in Kerala. “The historic speech on environmental protection delivered by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Stockholm in 1972 should be made part of the curriculum,” he said. He added that the awareness that just like humans other living beings on earth too have the right to live must be nurtured in children at a young age itself.“It is imperative to protect Kerala’s 600km long coastline, 44 rivers, the Western Ghats and lakes. The goal of carbon neutrality is not a mission that can be completed by one generation alone but a great responsibility that must be handed over to coming generations as well,” he said. The CM released the ‘Kerala Carbon Neutral Pathway 2050’ and the audit report on the state’s waste treatment facilities at the event.
