Kolkata, April 6 (IANS) Exhorting business leaders and stakeholders to pay attention to the protection of the vital global commons related to earth's climate, renowned scientist Rajendra K. Pachauri Saturday said an understanding of how these factors might impact business is needed.
"The one subject I believe needs the attention of all stakeholders, and most importantly of the leaders of business, is the protection of the vital global commons related to the earth's climate.
"Can any of our economic activities and enterprises function effectively if our rainfall deviates from established patterns, temperatures frequently exceed past trends and sea level rises threatens our coasts and megadeltas like Kolkata?" said Pachauri at the 48thannual convocation of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Calcutta here.
"Yet human actions are now changing the earth's climate before our very eyes," he said.
Pachauri heads The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an organisation that does original research and provides knowledge in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology and the conservation of natural resources to governments, institutions, and corporate organisations worldwide.
He also chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an inter-governmental body that researches climate change and its potential consequences and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prizein 2007 during his tenure.
Stating observations from the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of IPCC, Pachauri said: "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level."
He stressed on the need to extend the concerns and overall objectives of management science to "decision making beyond the corporate boardroom and beyond profits targeted in the next quarter".
"Today what we need is a clear understanding of the way the earth's global commons are likely to change, and how these might impact business inparticular but all human activities in general," added Pachauri.
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