Global Agriculture

New independent Climate Crisis Advisory Group urges World Leaders to Act Immediately

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24 June 2021, New Delhi: A new independent international scientific body, the Climate Crisis Advisory Group (CCAG), has been launched today to provide expert advice and guidance to global leaders as they seek further commitments to combat the climate crisis.

Chaired by Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor, UK Government, the CCAG includes 14 world-leading scientists from a range of climate-related disciplines. Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water is one of two Indian members in the group, in addition to Prof. Lavanya Rajamani, Professor of International Environmental Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

Also Read: Bayer launches its decarbonization program for agriculture in Europe

Commenting on the creation and launch of the independent group, Sir David King, Chair, CCAG, said, “I believe we have five years left to get on top of this global problem. We began talking seriously about climate change in 1992, yet we are in a much worse position now – watching greenhouse gases increase year after year. We need to take action now and that is exactly what CCAG is set up to do. Each member is a world leading expert, with the knowledge and capabilities to address politicians, financial institutions, and members of the public with a degree of nimbleness that no other international expert body is capable of, focussing on real, tangible actions towards global climate change mitigation and repair for our future generations.”

Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, said, “The climate crisis is a great leveller, affecting the rich and the poor in both the developed and the developing countries. Last month, severe cyclonic storms – Yaas and Tauktae – battered India’s east and west coasts. Currently, a devastating heat wave is sweeping through large parts of the United States and Russia. While the frequency and intensity of such extreme climate events are increasing the world over, the pace of climate action remains far too slow. Much of the world’s citizens are not demanding more and faster climate action. The rich must act because of their responsibility. The poor must act because of their vulnerability. The focus now needs to be on connecting with the public at large on the climate crisis and bringing sustainability from the margins to the mainstream. And if we did, then a lot of answers we already have in our technical models and in our policy advisories can begin to get translated into real action on the ground.”

Alongside its launch today, the Group called for agile, international, political and financial action to mitigate the consequences of climate change through its coined “Reduction, Removal and Repair” measures.

Reduce: Current targets are not enough. Nations need to triple their emissions-cutting pledges to limit the effects of the climate crisis.

Remove: We need critical investment to develop research and scale techniques to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Repair: Deep research is needed to explore and investigate safe methods and technologies that could repair parts of our damaged climate systems.

CCAG will offer leading scientific advice in an open and transparent format to governments, stakeholders, and the public with the aim of agitating for real and significant commitments required to make these changes.

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