Climate Change in South Asia and Regional Initiatives - a case study of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Initiatives.

Climate Change which is a major challenge for humanity, has emerged as an area of critical concern in the globalised world today. This problem is not amenable to national solutions and hence regional collaborative efforts to mitigate adverse impact of climate change are inevitable. The regional organization in South Asia, i.e., South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has taken several initiatives in this direction. Climate Change was the main theme of the sixteenth SAARC summit held in Thimpu, Bhutan in April, 2010. The Summit declaration of this silver jubilee meeting of the Heads of States of SAARC was subtitled 'Towards a Green and Happy South Asia' to emphasise the focus on Climate Change. Climate Change has emerged as an important issue for SAARC as the entire region is threatened by its adverse impact. This issue has been in focus in SAARC forum ever since the Third Summit held in 1987. Thereafter, a number of projects were identified, various committees and working groups on issues related to Climate Change were set up. However, not much tangible has been achieved so far. This paper attempts to examine and analyze various initiatives taken by SAARC on Climate Change in the context global negotiations on this subject. Its focus is on the efficacy of SAARC as a regional organization to deal with these initiatives. Further, various problems facing SAARC while pursuing these initiatives have also been highlighted. Virtual failure of global and regional efforts due to prolonged, action-less deliberations, lack of political will to accept the inevitable and change course for the survival of humankind has been underlined. In conclusion, it has been emphasized that search for an alternative(to fossil fuels) source of renewable energy is the only hope for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]