Natural Refrigeration – IIR Ammonia Conference

Challenges of the changing world: We are at extremely vibrant and guessing moments of the 21st century. I am not only talking about the soaring oil prices and the exploding thirst for energy in emerging developing countries like China and India, but also the fast accelerating concentration of Green House gases in the atmosphere that has no historical parallel in last million years of the human existence.  The threat to our climate system is now real and the consequences could be devastating. A majority of the scientist’s around the world have arrived at this consensus through the reports of more than 2000 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change. There is near agreement, which is rare in case of international politics, among the leaders of the developed and developing countries that climate change is the most looming threat to civilisation today apart from terrorism and viral diseases. There is agreement that actions are needed.

At the same time there is unusual inertia and stubbornness on the way and approaches to take expedited actions in wake of such findings. We know that from the time of the industrial revolution human activity has belched out nearly 300 Gigatons of carbon dioxide. That was during the last 100 years. In the next 25 years we will emit another 300 Gigatons. Well before the end of this century, the atmosphere would reach 550-ppm level-twice the pre-industrial level- when it will complete a total emission of 1200 Gigatons of carbon dioxide. We also know that once emitted the process cannot be reversed. But the expedited actions are pending. The first step is taken in the form of the Kyoto protocol but it is only the first step.

Imperative of action : We are indeed passing through a profound transitional state.  The time has come to talk about, not only energy security and food security but also of survival security. We now need to give up talking of climate change and start to induce change in the climate of present day thinking.