India and Climate Action: The National Action Plan On Climate Change

November 2021 was a landmark month for citizens and climate activists across the world — 197 nations across the world came together in Glasgow, Scotland, to renew and emphasize their commitments to tackle climate change. As one of the fastest developing countries and the fourth largest carbon emitter, India played a critical role at the 26th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) — the primary authority on United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). India reiterated its aim of becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2070 and announced that it will expand its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW while also meeting 50
percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.

While India’s commitment to climate change has brought renewed focus on its climate policy, it is worth noting that India’s approach towards climate change has been shaped by policymakers over many years, significantly beginning 2008 with the launch of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The NAPCC outlined a holistic, national strategy for tackling climate change and was further divided into 8 sub-missions:

● National Solar Mission: The Mission was first implemented in January 2017 with the aim of creating an effective regulatory climate for solar technology.
● National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: The Mission was launched in 2011 with the aim of promoting efficient use of energy. It aimed at aligning economical and policy objectives to ensure that businesses adopted sustainable working models.
● National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: The Mission was launched in 2010 to support regional development strategies that prioritize sustainability as a key objective.
● National Water Mission: The Mission aims to ensure integrated water resource management in a manner that water conversation is prioritized and wastage minimized.
● National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: With a focus on the Himalayan region, the Mission aims to curb the harmful effects of climate change on temperature, biodiversity etc.
● National Mission for a Green India: This is a centrally sponsored scheme launched with the objective to manage India’s forest cover, communities, and related biodiversity.
● National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: Operationalised in 2014, the Mission aims to increase efficiency in agricultural processes through measures such as soil conservation.
● National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: The Mission was aimed at creating an educational grounding for issues related to climate change.

The Missions highlighted above work in tandem with each other to provide a critical structure for addressing climate change at a time when irreversible environmental damage is being caused. While the provisions and objectives of the Mission are noble, India needs greater focus on operationalisation and enforcement. All key stakeholders — government, citizens, and businesses — need to acknowledge the responsibility of managing their ecological footprint to help translate the policy into action.

Source:
https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2021/dec/doc202112101.pdf
https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/34466/National+Statement+by+Prime+Minister+Shri+Narendra+Modi+at+COP26+Summit+in+Glasgow