SHILLONG, Oct 20: Shillong MP, Vincent H Pala, will raise the impacts of jhum cultivation among other issues when he will partake in the parliamentary meeting at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow next month.
Speaking to reporters, Pala, who is a member of the Parliamentarian Forum on Climate Change (PFCC), said that along with him, BJP MP from Bihar, Sanjay Jaiswal, and Andhra Pradesh MP, PV Midhun Reddy, will take part in the parliamentary meeting.
“As of now, three of us are attending the meeting. But the number might change since we have 30 to 40 from India who are members of the PFCC,” Pala told reporters on Wednesday.
Talking about the issues he intends to take up at the meeting, the Congress MP said, “I have witnessed while travelling by air how jhum cultivation has affected the environment. I will impress upon the conference the need to support the farmers with other alternatives so that they can stop the practice of jhum cultivation”.
According to Pala, he has prepared papers so as to persuade the international community to provide funds to the farmers as compensation so that they can explore activities which does not have an adverse impact on the environment.
Pala also stressed that there is a need for a policy to deal with the problem of jhum cultivation not only in Northeastern region of India but throughout the world.
On the other hand, Vincent Pala, who is also the president of Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, said that he will discuss with experts about a technology to recharge underground water, especially in areas where coal and limestone mining have been undertaken.
According to him, it would be an achievement if technologies, which are affordable, can be introduced to help revive underground water table in the state.
He said that the per capita in terms of climate change in India, as of now, is not very bad.
Members from every country will gather for two weeks in early November in Scotland to hammer out a new agreement aimed at cutting emissions to a level scientists hope will limit global warming, when the United Kingdom will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (October 31 – November 12, 2021).
The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
One of the goals of the COP26 is to ‘secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach’. Countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century.