French foreign minister Laurent Fabius on Thursday said unprecedented magnitude of the Chennai flooding confirms that time is running out and “concrete and urgent” action needs to be taken against climate disruption.
“Flooding in India’s Chennai region has taken a tragic toll. I want to express France’s solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy. The unprecedented magnitude of the flooding confirms yet again that we no longer have time. We must take concrete and urgent action against climate disruption,” Fabius said.
Incidentally, the ongoing climate talks in Paris are seeing a tussle between the so-called rich nations and the developed nations. While India is arguing that nations that industrialised first and whose emissions led to climate change, such as the US, Britain and Germany, should cut the most and help pay vulnerable countries to adapt, outside meeting rooms representatives from the industrialised countries are saying that India, with its dependence on coal, and in its rapid industrialisation is playing a spoiler in the effort to better the environment.
The Guardian had reported how India is certain to clash with the US and Europe over the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, rescue and relief operations are being carried out in the worst flood-affected areas of Chennai and suburbs and neighbouring districts which enjoyed a welcome respite from torrential rains as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore in aid to Tamil Nadu.
Heavy rains continue to lash coastal Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas ever since North-East monsoon fury started early last month, and Villupuram and Kanyakumari districts and Puducherry as the death toll in the state mounted to 269.
(With inputs from PTI)