This issue of TerraGreen covers a diverse range of important subjects.  The cover story deals with climate change and how the media is reacting through coverage on this subject.  The reality is that action on climate change encounters a substantial amount of inertia.  Some of it is related to lack of information or even misinformation that people carry, but a large part of this also covers inertia in attitudes.  There is, of course, also economic inertia, because even if a society decides to take action, let us say to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), it has to contend with infrastructure and equipment which may be based on past patterns of energy supply as well as production and consumption practices.  Replacement of infrastructure or physical assets would have to be spread over a period of time and would require changes in policy.  However, one big challenge that exists currently for those concerned with climate change is the huge lack of knowledge and information on the scientific realities underlying human induced climate change.

The three Working Group reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which form part of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Panel, have met with substantial interest on the part of the media and generally objective reporting.  This, to a large extent, is the result of a proactive effort on the part of the IPCC to spread the findings of these three reports through a set of events in different parts of the world and active engagement with the media.  High level science, by definition being somewhat unintelligible to the general public, requires reformulating scientific findings in simple language and expressions which a non-specialist would understand.  This does not always happen.  Past experience has shown that communicating scientific findings which have relevance for public policy and action on the part of the public at large need to be communicated and disseminated effectively to ensure that these are acted on.  Scientific organizations are slowly learning this important truth, and acting on it, which is the reason why the media is today dealing with the science of climate change in a far more objective and informed manner than was the case some years ago.

Two other subjects that are covered in this issue are “Concretization of Trees” as well as “Agriculture and Climate Change”.  Trees are often planted under conditions that do not allow their roots to grow, and hence as the plant grows, it is not able to derive nutrition at the level that is needed.  In towns and cities trees are seen only as a device on which hoardings and advertisements can be carried.  At the same time, their planting and growth below the ground is often constrained by concrete structures, the result of which is that trees die in a short period of time.  In the case of agriculture and climate change, the findings of the IPCC Working Group II report, which is part of the AR5, clearly show that the impacts of climate change on agriculture are far more serious than research indicated earlier on.  As a result, in the decades ahead unless increase in temperature is limited through adequate mitigation measures, agriculture would suffer through negative changes in yield, and this in turn would affect food security for a growing population across the globe.  There is need, therefore, not only for adaptation measures by which agricultural practices and the provision of appropriate inputs are managed, but also through research and development by which certain crops can grow, for instance, under adverse drought conditions.  Given the long lag in the acceptance of findings such as in adapting to projected changes, policies need to be put in place very early to deal with impacts that are likely to be faced in the future.

Essentially, in the whole area of climate change, there is need for widespread discussion of scientific findings, because it is only through awareness that society would exercise the collective will to bring about change in the right direction. Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)