THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 27, 2016- Topic 2
The Centre’s decision to ratify the
Paris Agreement on climate change on October 2 is a welcome affirmation of
India’s commitment to join the global community in reducing greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. As an emerging nation with a large number of people living
without access to electricity, India’s predicament of having to generate more
energy for poverty eradication while simultaneously curbing GHGs is universally
acknowledged. But there is no denying that the country has adopted an approach
that is predicated on a much-too-high use of fossil fuel-based technologies.
This needs to be addressed as all nations look towards the next phase, when the
climate agreement comes into force. There is near certainty that the decision
made in Paris will become operational before the deadline for signatures set
for April 2017: 61 country-parties responsible for 47.79 per cent of emissions
have ratified it so far. What remains is for individual countries in Europe,
and the European Union, to review their commitments after Brexit, and sign up
to reach the target of 55 per cent of total GHG emissions. India’s decision to
join, overcoming a reticence that was apparently linked to the failure to enter
the Nuclear Suppliers Group, is commendable. It would, in any case, have come under
pressure to do so since the Paris process is sure to move ahead with Europe’s
entry.
With climate commitments becoming almost
inevitable, a national consultative process on low carbon strategies cannot be
delayed. In order to comply with the Paris process, every aspect of energy use
would need precise measurement in the years ahead, which several sectors of the
economy are ill-equipped to do at present. Upgrading the electricity grid to
take in higher volumes of renewable power is an urgent necessity if India is to
realise the national goal submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change to install 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022. A bold new
policy on urban design to curb emissions from buildings and transport has to be
written into all relevant legislation. Such far-reaching steps can be taken
only with the active participation of State governments, many of which remain
on the periphery of the discussion. That needs to change, and a blueprint for
action has to be drawn up, if a convincing case is to be made for assistance
from the $100 billion a year that the rich countries are to put together by
2020. Fundamentally, national policy should mandate even higher levels of taxes
on fossil fuels and transfer the benefits to eco-friendly options, be it solar
panels, efficient light bulbs, bicycles, green buses/trains, and greening
initiatives.
Vocabulary
Affirmation: the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed.
Example: He nodded in affirmation
Synonyms: declaration, statement, assertion, proclamation
Predicament: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.
Example: The club's financial predicament
Synonyms: difficult situation, mess, difficulty, plight, quandary, muddle
Curbing: restrain or keep in check.
Example: She promised she would curb her temper
Synonyms: restrain, hold back/in, keep back, repress, suppress, fight
back
Predicated: found or base something on.
Example: The theory of structure on which later chemistry was predicated
Synonyms: admirable, praiseworthy, creditable, laudable, estimable,
meritrious
Certainty: firm conviction that something is the case.
Example: She knew with absolute certainty that they were dead
Synonyms: confidence, sureness, positiveness, conviction, certitude, assurance
Reticence: a supply of a commodity not needed for immediate use but available if
required.
Example: Australia has major coal, gas, and uranium reserves
Synonyms: stock, store, supply, stockpile, pool, hoard, cache
Commendable: Deserving praise.
Example: Commendable restraint
Inevitable: certain to happen;
unavoidable.
Example: War was inevitable
Synonyms: unavoidable, inescapable, inexorable, ineluctable, assured, certain, sure
Precise: marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail.
Example: Precise directions
Synonyms: exact, accurate, correct, specific, detailed, explicit, unambiguous, definite
