Economic slowdown has increased environment awareness:Pachauri

London, July 1 (PTI) - The downturn witnessed by economies
across the world has turned the spotlight on environmental
degradation, raising an unprecedented level of awareness
globally, Nobel prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, has said.

"There is growing worldwide concern that economic
slowdown could lead to a parallel slowdown in environmental
progress, with governments less willing to advocate hard steps
essential for reducing greenhouse emission," Pachauri, head of
the United Nation's Nobel Prize-winning scientific panel said,
in an article published in the Guardian.

"This is indeed a worry, but I see a ray of hope, as I
believe that global society is seriously questioning...
whether today's problems are the result of fundamental flaws
in past growth and development patterns," he wrote.

The reputed environmentalist said people around the world
now are seriously concerned about climate change as they have
started witnessing its effects.

"The world has reached an unprecedented level of
awareness of science behind climate change... a growing number
of people - and not just typical environmentalists - now
believe that climate change is not a concern for the distant
future but something we are witnessing here and now," Pachauri
wrote.

The cyclone that caused massive devastation in Burma and
the extensive floods in Iowa, for instance are linked in the
public perception to climate change, he said.

"Public concerns in several parts of the world have been
heightened to such an extent that extreme weather events are
invariably attributed to climate change. Never before has
human society been gripped by such a strong realisation of the
need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels - and even
change our lifestyle - in order to reduce emissions of CO2
and other greenhouse gases."

Simultaneously, he said, the existing resolve is being
strengthened considerably by increasing oil prices, which have
prompted even a conservative Republican like President Bush to
state that America is "addicted to oil" and must switch to
alternatives, he said.

"I believe the world is beginning to look at the deep
underlying causes of its current problems, and is preparing
for radical change. Barack Obama's performance in the US
presidential race is, I think, symptomatic of a widespread
thirst for such a change."

Pachauri added that the current generation is ready for a
significant shift and "is unlikely to be distracted for long
by an economic downturn that emanates from serious systemic
distortions in existing patterns of growth." PTI