India’s announcement on voluntary reduction of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has accelerated otherwise snail-paced negotiation on a deal to be reached at Copenhagen this December. It is a welcome step but tactical move. From the solitude of obstructing, as many argue, to all inclusive to the Copenhagen, India has sent a signal of relief to the climate negotiators, mostly representatives of developed countries. If world sees this Indian move as a surprise, they are wrong.

Indians are by nature emotive. But, unfortunately they believe in overreacting. So, be it 26/11 or Swine-flu or draught like situation: mostly they react excessively. They even cannot take a loss by cricket team sportingly so naturally they are bound to start the blame game when drought is at the doorstep. What best punching bag could be than the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)? Few intellectuals are even asking for its closure.

For the Indian climate crusaders the year 2007 has become more important for three reasons. First the entry of climate change as an agenda item to United Nations Security Council on April 18. Now, the Nobel award for Peace to the scientific community - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice-President Al Gore for making people aware of climate change. It’s argued that after the prestigious award, the issue would become everybody’s business to know, manage and resolve it.

All over the world, environmentalists and green activists are jubilant. Even, renowned international environmental organization Greenpeace is thrilled for its nomenclature when the climate change has officially ‘securitized’ at the United Nation. But, traditional war theorists or security experts have kept an eerie silence over the historic development of re-emergence of concept of ‘environmental security’. Beyond its tradition, on April 17 the UN Security Council (UNSC) debated the impacts of climate change and its linkages to international security for the first time in history.

The World’s biggest economies set to prepare massive investment in nuclear energy. The most elusive energy, which was discarded in 1992 Earth Summit as ‘not safe and sound’ energy, has been touted as the best alternative for the energy-crunch world in recently concluded Group of Eight (G- 8) Summit meeting at St. Petersburg, Russia. After shock waves of Three Miles and Chernobyl accidents, the nuclear energy is back to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, the root cause of climate change.

Climate change is not a prognosis for the future, as some irresponsible governments believe. All countries are affected by and contribute to the cause of climate change. Some 150,000 human lives are lost each year as a result of climate change. One heat wave killed 20,000 people in Europe alone in 2003. More often invincible (!), the US is more vulnerable to natural disasters than terrorists attack. The successive floods in Bangladesh present the single biggest threat to the national security of such low-lying countries.

The impending danger of bursting of an artificial lake/dam on the Pareechu River in the Tibet Autonomous Region of People’s Republic of China has been subsided. Indian government, policy makers and security analysts were on tenterhooks till the danger was hovering over their head. The situation was in fact no less serious that the traditional military threat emanating from across the frontiers.