Climate Change-IV

India and Climate Change

India’s per capita GHG emissions is less than one-third of the world’s per capita emissions and far below many developing and developed countries.

As per 2^nd India’s Biennial Update Report to UNFCCC, out of the total emissions, energy sector accounted for 73%, agriculture 16%, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) 8% and waste sector 3%.

Also, about 12% of the emissions were offset by carbon sink of forestland, cropland and settlements.

India’s INDC’s(Intended Nationally Determined Contributions):

• Reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level.
• Achieve about 40% electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• Create an additional carbon of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbondioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030

INDC are non-binding national plans highlighting climate measures governments aims to implement in response to climate change and as a contribution to achieve the global targets set out in the Paris Agreement of UNFCCC.

Countries party to the UNFCCC were asked to publish their INDC at the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Warsaw, Poland in 2013.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC):

To counter the emerging threats from climate change, India released its National Action Plan to Combat Climate Change (NAPCC).

National Solar Mission:

• Objective of the mission is to establish India as a global leader in solar energy by creating the policy conditions for its deployment across the country.
• Mission had set a target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022, which has been revised to 1,00,000 MW in 2015.
• The target will principally comprise of 40 GW Rooftop Solar Power Projects and 60 GW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects.

National Water Mission:

 The Mission has the following goals:

• Increasing the water use efficiency by 20%.
• Promotion of basin level integrated water resources management.
• Creation of a comprehensive water data base in public domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources.
• Special attention to vulnerable and over-exploited areas.
• Involving citizens and the state for water conservation and preservation.

National Mission for a Green India:

 Objectives of the Mission include:

• Increased forest/tree cover on 5 million hectares (ha) of forest/non-forest lands and improved quality of forest cover on another 5 million hectares (ha) of non-forest/forest lands (a total of 10 million).
• Improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration from the 10 million ha of forest/non-forest lands mentioned above.
• Increased forest-based livelihood income of about 3 million households living in and around forests.
• Enhance annual CO₂ sequestration by 50 to 60 million tonnes in the year 2020.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA):

• The Mission aims at promoting sustainable agriculture through a series of adaptation measures focussing on ten key dimensions encompassing the Indian agriculture, mainly:
• ‘Improved crop seeds, livestock and fish cultures’, Water Use Efficiency’, ‘Pest Management’, ‘Improved Farm Practices’, ‘Nutrient Management’, ‘Agricultural Insurance’, ‘Credit Support’, ‘Markets’, ‘Access to Information’ and ‘Livelihood diversification’.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change:

 Objectives of Mission include:

• Funding of high quality and focussed research into various aspects of climate change.
• Measuring socio-economic impacts of climate change including impact on health, demography, migration patterns and livelihoods of coastal communities.
• Supporting the establishment of dedicated climate change related academic units in universities and other academic and scientific research institutions in the country which would be networked.
• Establishing Climate Science Research Fund.

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem:

• It is a multi-pronged, cross-cutting mission across various sectors. It contributes to the sustainable development of the country by enhancing the understanding of climate change, its likely impacts and adaptation actions required for the Himalayas- a region on which a significant proportion of India’s population depends for sustenance.
• It seeks to facilitate formulation of appropriate policy measures and time-bound action programmes to sustain ecological resilience and ensure the continued provisions of key ecosystem services in the Himalayas.
• It intends to evolve suitable management and policy measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan ecosystem along with developing capacities at the national level to continuously assess its health status.
• Recognizing the importance of scientific and technological inputs required for sustaining the fragile Himalayan Ecosystem, the Ministry of Science and Technology has been given the nodal responsibility of coordinating this mission.
• However, the mission involves valuable cooperation of Indian Himalayan States and the MoEFCC.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat:

• The Mission seeks to promote sustainability of habitats through improvements in energy efficiency in buildings, urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste, modal shift towards public transport and conservation through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory framework.
• The Mission will promote energy efficiency as an integral component of urban planning and urban renewal through three initiatives:

1. The Energy Conservation Building Code
2. Recycling of Material and Urban Waste Management
3. Better Urban Planning and Modal Shift to Urban Transport

• It aims to address the need to adapt to future climate change by improving the resilience of infrastructure, community-based disaster management and measures or improving the warning system for extreme weather events. Capacity building would be an important component of the mission.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE):

• NMEEE aims to strengthen the market for energy efficiency through implementation of innovative business models in the energy sector.
• NMEEE consists of four initiatives to enhance energy efficiency in energy intensive industries which are as follows:

Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment (INCCA):

• INCCA was launched in October 2009 by the MoEFCC in an effort to promote domestic research on climate change, and build on country’s climate change expertise.
• Reports prepared by the INCCA will form a part of India’s National Communication (NATCOM) to the UNFCCC.
• India’s initial NATCOM to the UNFCCC has been initiated in 2002 funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under its enabling activities programme through the United Nations Development Programme, New Delhi.
• INCCA-Second Assessment ‘Climate Change and India: A 4´4 Assessment’ examines the implications of the climate change scenario in 2030s using a regional climate model (PRECIS).

1. 4 Regions were assessed: Western Ghats, Himalayan Region, Coastal India and North-East.
2. 4 thrust areas were focussed upon: Agriculture, Water, Forests, Human Health.

• Some of the possible impacts of climate change as analysed by the Assessment Report include warmer seasons, increased cyclonic disturbance, sea level rise and changed precipitation patterns.

Labelling Program for Appliances:

• Standards and Labelling Programme for appliances was launched in 2006 and comparative star-based labelling has been introduced by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
• These star ratings are given out of 5 and they provide information regarding energy efficiency of a product.
• Appliances requiring mandatory energy labelling: Frost-free refrigerator, Tubular Fluorescent Lamps, Room Air-Conditioners, Distribution Transformer, Colour TV, CST AC, Direct Cool Refrigerator and Electric Geyser.

Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC):

• An ECBC was launched in May 2007, which addresses the design of new, large commercial buildings to optimize the buildings’ energy demand based on their location in different climatic zones.
• Compliance with the Code has been incorporated into the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment requirements for large buildings. Building intended for private residential purposes only are not covered under the Code.
• In March 2007, the conduct of energy audit was made mandatory in large energy-consuming units in nine industrial sectors.
• Ministry of Power launched ECO Niwas Samhita 2018, an Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings (ECBC-R). However, it addresses only energy efficiency of buildings. Water and other aspects are not covered under it.

Electric Vehicles:

 To promote Electric Vehicles in India, Government launched the following initiatives:

1. India’s Electric Vehicle Mission 2030 aims to have all-electric fleet of vehicles by 2030.
2. National Electric Mobility Mission:
   1. It aims to have national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.
   2. It targets 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards.
3. FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) Scheme:
   1. It is a part of National Electric Mobility Mission Plan and has been launched by Department of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
   2. The Scheme has four focus areas: technology development, demand creation, pilot projects and charging infrastructure.
4. Automotive Mission Plan 2026 aims at bringing Indian Automotive Industry among the top three of the worlds in engineering, manufacturing and exports of vehicles and components, growing in value to over 12% of India’s GDP and generating additional 65 million jobs.

National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA):

 The ICAR has launched NICRA during 2010-11 with an outlay of 350 crores. The initiative will primarily enhance the resilience of Indian Agriculture covering crops, livestock and fisheries.

The initiative will involve strategic research on adaptation and mitigation. Accordingly, sponsored and critical research grants will be provided to fill the critical research gaps.

Climate-Smart Agriculture involves farming practices that improve farm productivity and profitability, help farmers to adapt to the negative effects of climate change and mitigate climate change effects.

Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) was launched in September 2014 as a multi-stakeholder platform on Climate Smart Agriculture. India though a signatory of the alliance was not involved in its creation.

Examples of Climate Smart Agriculture include:

1.       Increasing the organic content of soil through conservation tillage.

2.       Engaging in Conservation Agriculture like adopting minimum tillage, using crop residues to cover soil surface and adopting crop rotations.

3.       Following a landscape approach in agriculture, like integrated planning of land.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault located in Norway is a state of art seed protection facility, famously called ‘Doomsday’ or the ‘Apocalypse Seed Bank’ or the ‘Noah’s Ark for Seeds’.India’s Seed Vault is located at Chang La, Ladakh. It has been built jointly by Defense Institute of High-Altitude Research (DIHAR) and the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) under the aegis of DRDO.

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):

• NAFCC is a Central Sector Scheme set up in 2015-16 with the aim to promote adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
• The projects related to adaptation in sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, tourism etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the implementing agency for the scheme.
• The Clean Energy Cess (or Coal Cess) was abolished in 2017 with the introduction of Goods and Service Tax. A new Cess on coal production, called the GST Compensation Cess of Rs 400 per tonne is put in place.
• The Cess is used to raise revenues for the National Clean Energy Fund.