The people I was listening to challenged all my prejudices about government officials' tendencies to bury their heads in the sand. On the contrary, these officials had studied the science of climate change, had witnessed (and been moved by) its impacts on subsistence farmers and urban dwellers alike, and had already put into motion steps to deal with these impacts.
They were speaking at a workshop organised by the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (UP-SDMA) to discuss how the state could mainstream climate change preparation and reduce its vulnerability to climate-induced disasters. A brief report of the workshop and a short opinion piece on the deliberations are available online.
These deliberations, interesting as they were, are even more important because they have resulted in some practical actions that can be taken right now.
These are all understandable, measurable, and implementable action points and the chances are high that Uttar Pradesh will implement them. Are the other states listening?