Climate Change in India

India is at the top of the list of nations expected to be worst hit by the adverse effects of climate change. It is striving to overcome the problem by advancing strategies like investing massively in renewable energy.

Recent Developments

Conference of Parties-24 (COP-24)

  • The 24th Session of the of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) was held in Katowice, Poland on 02nd– 15th December 2018.
  • This year's summit include: 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), 14th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 14) and the Conference of Signatories to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1).
  • The conference focused on three key issues-finalization of guidelines, modalities rules for theimplementation of Paris Agreement; the conclusion of 2018 Facilitative Talanoa Dialogue; the Stocktakes of Pre-2020 actions implementation and ambition.

Key Outcomes of COP 24

  • The participating nations agreed on the rules to implement the Paris Agreement that will come into effect in 2020. The rules are regarding how the member nations will measure the carbon-emissions and report on their emission scuttling efforts. This ‘rulebook’ is the detailed “operating manual” of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
  • The USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait refused to ‘welcome’ the IPCC report.
  • The parties to the conference agreed to record the pledges in a public registry, as per the existing interim portal. The public registry will continue to include a search function, although many attempts have been made to get it deleted.
  • Members agreed upon that future pledges should cover a ‘common timeframe’ from 2031. Timeframe for this will be decided later.

India’s Stand on COP 24

  • India has been in favour of a robust transparency regime, and the finalised Enhanced Transparency Framework builds upon the existing guidelines while providing flexibilities for developing countries.
  • India also engaged in a meaningful way in the '2018 Facilitative Talanoa Dialogue' and Stocktake exercise on Pre-2020 implementation and ambition.
  • India considers the outcome of COP 24 a positive one which addresses concerns of all Parties and sets us on the path towards successful implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - Special Report on Global Warming

  • United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released special report on global warming in Incheon, South Korea in October, 2018.

Key Highlights

The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5oC compared to 2oC, or more.

  • Human activities are emitting 42 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
  • Temperatures have risen 1°C since the 1850s. Every bit of warming matters.
  • Need to cut global emissions by about 45% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels.
  • The world is currently on a trajectory of 3°C to 4°C rise.
  • Limiting global warming to 1.5°C, compared with 2°C, could reduce the number of people both exposed to climate-related risks and susceptible to poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050.
  • It clearly shows how half degree of warming makes big difference, adversely impacting global population and overall ecosystem through intense heat wave.
  • India could face an annual threat of deadly heat waves, like the one in 2015 that killed at least 2,500 people, if the world gets warmer by 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
  • Being one of the largest carbon-emitting nations, India is expected to be a key player in the global event.
  • The report also suggests mitigation measures to reduce anthropogenic net emissions of carbon dioxide.

Global Climate Risk Index 2019

  • The Global Climate Risk Index 2019 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.).
  • 14th edition of the Climatic risk Index 2019, was released at the annual climate summit in Poland’s Kotawice city.
  • It is an in-depth analysis by German watch, an international organization based in Bonn, Germany.
  • As per the report, Puerto Rico, Srilanka and Dominica were at the top of the list of the most effected countries in 2017.
  • India was ranked as the 14th most vulnerable country.
  • With a 29% increase in deaths last year due to extreme climate events, India accounted for the second highest fatalities in the world.

Climate Change in India

  • India’s rapidly growing population, along with increased economic development, has placed a strain on the infrastructure, and ultimately on the country’s environment.
  • Environmental conditions, in terms of degradation of the natural resource base and increasing industrial pollution, continue to worsen.
  • While deforestation, soil erosion, and land degradation are hindering economic development in rural India, rapid industrialization and urbanization in India is causing serious concerns.
  • Climate change is a change in the space and time distribution of weather patterns or conditions or properties of a region or some regions or the entire earth. It is caused by both by natural as well as anthropogenic means.

Causes of Climate Change

Natural

Anthropogenic

Biotic processes

Deforestation

Variation in Earth’s orbit

Chemical Fertilizers

Forest fire

Use of fossil fuel

Volcanic eruption

Industries

Ocean currents

Burning of crops

Solar cycle

Burning of crops

Glacier melting

Increase in number of vehicles

India’s Concern

  • India has reasons to be concerned about the impacts of climate change as its large population depends on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry for livelihoods.
  • As climate change alters weather patterns, access to water in India faces an uncertain future. \
  • Around 600 million people in India already face acute water shortage, according to NitiAayog, with 54 per cent of India's groundwater wells on a decline, and 21 major cities expected to run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people.
  • Climate change will widen the inequality gap in India. People exposed to natural hazards in low income regions are seven times more likely to die, and six times more likely to be injured or displaced, compared to equivalent populations in high income regions.
  • In addition to these impacts, achievement of vital national development goals related to other systems such as habitats, health, energy demand, and infrastructure investments would be adversely affected.
  • Exposure to extreme weather risks is also unevenly distributed between states. Some face heightened risks from multiple climate disasters, particularly Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Climate Change Mitigation-Background
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, 1992 (Rio Earth Summit) – 172 countries participated, 108 at level of heads of State or Government - Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

1997 Kyoto Protocol- Annex I Parties commit to take binding reduction targets2007 Bali COP: Introduction of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA), to engage developing countries in voluntary mitigation effort.

2009- 2010 (Copenhagen & Cancun COP): comprehensive international system for collective action and major developing countries (including India) announced voluntary mitigation pledges.

2011 Durban COP: ADP launched for evolving a new agreement for post-2020 period.

Warsaw & Lima COP: INDC concept for all countries 19th COP in Warsaw (2013): All countries required to prepare INDCs and present them before COP 21 in Paris.

20th COP in Lima (2014): Further clarity on form of INDC: not mitigation centric and can include other components as per country priorities.
21st COP In Paris (2015): COP 21 highlights the importance of pre-2020 mitigation ambition and enhancing the provision of finance technology and capacity building support by developing countries.
22nd COP Marrakesh (2016): Facilitative Dialogue on enhancing ambition and support held to discuss enhancement of pre-2020 ambition and provision of means of implementation.
23rd COP Bonn (2017): The conference was held to further the provisions of the Paris Agreement and the key topics were related to financial support, mitigation action, differentiation, and loss and damage.
24th COP Katowice (2018): This Conference was held from 2-15 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland. The conference agreed on rules to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement.
25th COP Chile (2019): The session is expected to take place from 11-22 November 2019 in Chile, with a pre-COP meeting taking place in Costa Rica.

Government Actions to deal with Climate Change

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

  • On January 10 2019, the government launched National Clean Air Programme, a time-bound national level strategy to tackle increasing air pollution.
  • The National Clean Air Programme is a pollution control initiative that was launched by the Ministry of Environment with the intention to cut the concentration of coarse (particulate matter of diameter 10 micrometer or less, or PM10) and fine particles (particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micrometer or less, or PM2.5) by at least 20% in the next five years, with 2017 as the base year for comparison.
  • The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year.
  • Following reports by WHO and the air quality data obtained, 102 cities from 23 States and UTs have been chosen as non-attainment cities. With the exception of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, most of those chosen are tier two cities.
  • India has one of the most ambitious renewable energy programmes (175 GWs by 2022) in the world and is likely to meet its target in terms of establishing 40% non-fossil fuel based capacity for electricity generation.
  • As of October 2018, India has already established 124 GW of renewable power generation capacity (from large & small hydro, solar, nuclear, wind and bio-mass), representing 35.8%; 2 of its total installed electricity generation capacity of 346.05 GW.
  • The share of new renewables which was only 2.15% of total electricity generation in 2005, has risen to 20.8% in 2018.
  • India has announced a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 and is implementing since 2015 a programme for Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Electric vehicles (FAME) which aims at incentivizing/supporting manufacturing ecosystem and early adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles.

India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement

  • India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) must be seen in a holistic manner, the aim being to achieve sustainable development within the framework of 8 quantitative and qualitative NDCs.

Implications of Climate Change Effects on Hazards and Vulnerability for Different Disaster Types, and their Impact/Relief Phase

Climate Change Impacts

Hydro-met
Disasters

Ecological
Disasters

Chemical
Disasters

Geophysical Disasters

Biological
Disasters

Aggravating
hazards

Flooding, Drought, Cyclone, Windstorms, Heatwave, Coldwave, etc.

Forest Fire,
Mass movement/Landslides, Coastal erosion, Invasive Species, etc.

Fire, Explosion, Toxic release, radioactive release, etc.

Earthquakes can trigger landslides, erosion, GLOF, LLOF, etc.

Vector Bome, Water bome and allergic disease epidemics, Pandemic, etc.

Increasing
vulnerability

Degraded ecosystems, Altered hydrology, Poor natural defence, Lost socio-economic resilience

Loss of moisture-increase fire weather, Green cover loss, change in climatic niche-alien species

Shift in safety and process thresholds, Climate stress on operability, Altered atmospheric features

Change in vegetation regime, Change in ‘albedo’, Glacial and ice melting, Change in drainage

Change in climage niche-vectors/pathogens.

Loss of socio-economic resilience and health resources

Disaster Impacts/Relief Phase

Shelter, water-sanitation, waste and environment-health issues. Effect on ecosystems and natural resources

Soil contamination, Risk of pests and diseases, Effect on boidiversity, drainage and ecosystems

Local climatic changes, Effects on ecosystem services and community livelihoods

Landscape alterations, Effect on ecosystems, geo-systems and natural resources

Shelter, water-sanitation, waste and environmental-health issues, Loss of human capital for natural resources

India’s first NDC includes commitments

  • To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030.
  • To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
  • To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
  • To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

  • The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is a government document that includes eight ambitious goals set for the country to achieve.
  • The 8 Missions forms the core of the Plan, representing multi-pronged, long termed and integrated strategies for achieving goals in the context of climate change. The 8 missions are:
    • National Solar Mission
    • National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
    • National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
    • National Water Mission
    • National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
    • National Mission for a Green India
    • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
    • National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

  • The Environment (Protection) Act was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing for the protection and improvement of the environment.
  • It empowers the Central Government to establish authorities [under section 3(3)] charged with the mandate of preventing environmental pollution in all its forms and to tackle specific environmental problems that are peculiar to different parts of the country.
  • The Act was last amended in 1991.

Institutes

  • Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
  • Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi
  • C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre, Chennai
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur
  • Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

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