Bhubaneswar: Major political parties in Odisha were of consensus view that the climate change should be addressed as an issue that affects the common man.
The representatives of the parties spoke at a dialogue on how climate action can feature significantly in the election manifestos of political parties was held at the Bakul Library in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. It was convened jointly by Sujit Mahapatra of Bakul Foundation, Devjit Mittra of Socratus Foundation, Bhabani Tripathy of Sambad and Bhrugu Baxipatra of BJP.
A select group of leaders from different sectors such as political parties, media, academics and civil society, and young volunteers of Bakul Foundation attended the dialogue. They included members of the manifesto committees of the 3 leading parties – Amar Patnaik, MP from the BJD, Bismaya Mahapatra from the Congress and Prithviraj Harichandan from the BJP.
It was an attempt to bring the collective wisdom of leaders from diverse fields to integrate climate change concerns and action into political manifestos and subsequently elections. There was a consensus on the need for this to happen but the question that was discussed was how to change the language of climate change so that it does not appear to be an elite discourse, but relates to the everyday concerns and risks faced by common men and women, and to communicate that the issues that political parties discuss in the manifestos such as poverty, migration, unemployment etc. can be seen through the lens of climate change.
The discussion revolved around ecology, economy and emotion. Former MP Tathagat Satpathy pointed out that in the current juncture, one could not talk about climate change in the abstract but somehow connect it to sops.
Amar Patnaik, who also harped on the importance of incentives linked to a green economy, pointed out the important role that emotion can play and suggested that the group should look for ways in which political leaders can talk about issues of climate change in a way that emotionally moves the voters.
There was also a consensus that the manifestos need to present opportunities and not just the crisis and Odisha, which bears the brunt of climate change and also show the way in climate action if it becomes a part of the political discourse.
The dialogue ended with the different participants pledging their support. The political representatives said they would look for ways in which to include climate action and were ready to listen to the group for ways in which they can.
The Editors and Bureau Chiefs of various media houses promised to highlight environmental issues and give space and time to them. They also looked for intellectual support from the others, and the academics and civil society members offered to help both with their research and insights from the field.
Along with a strong integration of climate action in the election manifestos, the group demanded establishment of a “Climate Cell” in each political party and a “Climate Literacy” programme for the candidates who would contest in the elections.
