TN govt releases Tamil Glossary on climate change

COIMBATORE: Over the last decade, climate change has evolved into a complex subject with new terms and definitions making their way into international, national and sub-national texts every year. As research and knowledge in a subject grow, it is only common to make space for a larger vocabulary of related words. Climate Trends, in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government and the Tamil Nadu Governing Council, on Saturday launched the Tamil Glossary on Climate Change to address this challenge.

The glossary was launched at the Carbon Neutral Coimbatore Workshop by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Siva V

Meyyanathan, Additional Chief Secretary Supriya Sahu and several other dignitaries.

The Tamil Glossary on Climate Change seeks to expand the Tamil vocabulary to include the rapidly changing terms and definitions associated with climate change. While several words exist in Tamil to describe climate-related terms, they are not commonly used to explain new phenomena, technologies, or impact. As climate change continues to be a critical issue globally, there is a growing need to discuss the issues in local languages, so that all stakeholders understand the impacts of climate change and the opportunities of climate action.

While climate change terminology is becoming commonplace in English and Hindi, access to such knowledge in regional languages remains limited.

“Tamil Nadu is battling climate change through climate literacy. This started with Chief Minister MK Stalin renaming the Environment department as Department of Environment and Climate Change. Tamil Nadu has already created three climate missions namely the Green Tamil Nadu Mission, Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission and the Climate Change Mission. Tamil Nadu will definitely reach all the necessary milestones even before other states,” said Tamil Nadu environment and climate change minister Siva V Meyyanathan.

Climate change is a reality that affects everyone and to address it, awareness is crucial, for which communication is the only legitimate vehicle. While the small section of English speaking audience can be a part of the climate discussions, native Tamil speakers will be isolated without access to the right information in their language. The process of change requires a two-way dialogue and language sits at the heart of it.

“Finding the right kind of Tamil words for climate change and related action has always been a challenge. We are very aware that unless these terms are said in vernacular Tamil, It will be very hard to take it to the grassroot level because people will not be able to relate. If it is not in their language they won’t understand it. So the release of this glossary in Tamil is a very significant milestone. With this document, the media will also benefit because they will be able to use the correct terms and be able to convey the climate action that is going on,” said Additional Chief Secretary Supriya Sahu.

The Glossary includes relevant terms, phrases, abbreviations, and meanings to help deconstruct complex climate language in Tamil and make them common parlance. It draws definitions from reliable sources such as the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

and internationally recognised organizations such as the United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP). This initiative will ensure that every stakeholder of the state has the right tools to participate and have a voice in the upcoming changes that the world will see.

“Several words meant to describe climate related terms already exist in Tamil, which is considered to be one of the oldest languages in the world. But they are not commonly used or combined to create meaning for new phenomena, technologies or impacts that we are currently witnessing. Climate change is a reality that affects everyone and to address it, awareness is crucial, for which communication is the only legitimate vehicle. While the small section of the English speaking audience can be a part of the climate discussions, native Tamil speakers will be isolated without access to the right information in their language. The process of change

requires a two-way dialogue and language sits at the heart of it. We are also creating a similar resource for Marathi, Bengali and other languages,” said Aarti Kholsa, Director and Founder of Climate Trends.

To aid this effort, terms deconstructing complex climate language in Tamil have to become common parlance. This can help ensure that every resident of the state has the right tools to participate in the upcoming changes that the world will see.’

The glossary has been carefully translated by those proficient in both - the language and the subject. It was then reviewed by award winning author and environmentalist Theodore Baskaran.

Tamil Nadu has already experienced the effects of climate change, including heatwaves, droughts, floods, and cyclones. As per a study by th Department of Science, Technology and Environment in Puducherry, Climate change-induced sea level rise projection for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast has been estimated to be an average maximum of 78.15 cm by 2100.

Tamil Nadu is also witnessing increasing Wet-Bulb Temperatures and other extreme weather events adding risk to the state's agriculture, water resources, and infrastructure.

As the state prepares to adapt and mitigate through these climate crises, it is essential that stakeholders like lawmakers, bureaucratic machinery, journalists, grassroots organizations and others are able to best understand the science and policies that will affect them in the near future.