Government policies on Climate change

India is one of the world’s foremost emitters of CO₂. A recent study conducted by Yale and Columbia universities, ranks India 126 out of 132 countries on environmental performances.  India is the world’s fourth largest economy and fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter. India accounts for about 5% of global emissions.

India’s emissions surged 65% between 1990 and 2005 and are projected to increase another 70% by 2020. When compared to other major economies, India’s emissions are low. India accounts for only 2% of cumulative energy-related emissions since 1850.

On a per capita basis, India’s emissions are 70% below the world average and 93% below those of the United States.

India’s importance    

The importance of New Delhi’s support to the climate pact is seen in the fact that India accounts for over 4% of global emissions and is important for crossing the threshold mark of 55%. The world’s top two polluters are the US and China. They both together account for 40% of global carbon emissions, have already ratified the document. 

Once the 55% barrier is crossed, the climate regime will become legally binding on all signatories after a period of 30 days.
India’s Policies on Climate Change

India has introduced a number of policies that work towards climate change control by reducing or avoiding green house gas emissions.

In June 2008, Indian government released India’s first National Action Plan on Climate Change, which identified eight core “national missions” running through 2017. 

The National Action Plan is mentioned in India’s current Five-Year Plan (2012-2017), which guides overall economic policy. The goals pertaining to climate change are included in this plan which are-
1. Reduce emissions intensity in line with India’s Copenhagen pledge; and
2. Add 300,000 MW of renewable energy capacity.

Since taking office in May 2014, the present government has taken steps to scale up clean energy production and has initiated a shift in India’s stance in international climate negotiations. 

One of the government’s first acts was to rename the environment ministry the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. 
In January, the newly reconstituted Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change launched new initiatives on coastal zone management, wind energy, health and waste-to-energy.

Paris agreement

In Paris, 195 countries signed an agreement to slow the process of global warming in December 2015.  The countries pledged to make efforts to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This means that the countries were in agreement to try to reduce the increase in global temperature rise. 
In this agreement, poor countries and island states are requested a lower goal by considering threats of droughts and sea-level rise. 
The climate experts have also agreed that maintaining a 2 degrees decrease will be a challenge in itself. 

Another important point in this agreement was a decision to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to a level that can be naturally absorbed by soil, trees and oceans.  Climate experts have said that the agreement meant attaining for “net zero emissions” between 2050 and 2100. 

In the UN’s climate science panel, it was decided that the net zero emissions must be attained by 2070 to avoid dangerous warming.
So far, 61 countries, not including India, have already ratified the treaty, and the emissions threshold currently stands at around 47%.

Renewable energy

At the federal level, India has implemented two major renewable energy-related policies. First, the Strategic Plan for New and Renewable Energy, which provides a broad framework. Second, the National Solar Mission, which sets capacity targets for renewables.

The original Solar Mission has set the following targets for 2017: 27.3 GW wind, 4 GW solar, 5 GW bio-mass and 5 GW other renewables. 
For 2022, these targets are increased to: 20 GW solar, 7.3 GW biomass and 6.6 GW other renewables.

Solar  

In November 2014, the Indian government announced that it would increase the solar ambition of its National Solar Mission to 100 GW installed capacity by 2022. It will amount to a five-time increase and over 30 times more solar than it currently has installed. 

Concurrently, the Indian government has also announced its intention to bring solar power to every home by 2019. For this purpose, the government has invested in 25 solar parks, which have potential to increase India’s total installed solar capacity almost tenfold.

Wind

The Twelfth Five Year Plan proposes a National Wind Energy Mission. It is similar to the National Solar Mission, and the Indian government recently announced plans to enhance wind energy production to 50,000 to 60,000 MW by 2022. The government is also planning to promote an offshore wind energy market.

Transportation 

In early 2014, India announced new vehicle fuel-economy standards (Indian Corporate Average Fuel Consumption standard) of 4.8 liters per 100 kilometers (49 MPG) by 2021-2022, a 15 percent improvement. Biofuel legislation has set a target of 20 percent blending of ethanol and biodiesel in 2017. Apart from, India has done away with BS III vehicles which would help in controlling air pollution.

Smart Cities

Present government has launched an initiative to create 100 “smart cities” with better transport systems, utilities, and energy networks to address the challenges of urban growth.

India’s National Mission on Sustainable Habitat also includes initiatives such as the Energy Conservation Building Code, mandated for commercial buildings in eight states, and actions to support recycling, waste management, and improved urban planning.

White Paper: A Resource and Technology Assessment of Coal Utilization in India. India is expected to expand its Electricity production in the near term to energize new industrial development. This expansion will also reduce the electric irregularity in the country.

Much of the new growth in electricity production will be fueled by domestic coal resources; however, there is worldwide hesitation about increased coal use, as coal combustion emits greater carbon dioxide (CO₂) which will exacerbate climate change.

On other hand, there are now a number of various existing and emerging technological options for coal conversion and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction worldwide that could potentially be useful for the Indian coal-power sector

This paper reviews coal utilization in India and examines current and emerging coal power technologies with near- and long-term potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal power generation.

Challenges

India has a vulnerable position when it comes to its condition of climate deterioration. The reason is India is a large country with many living in poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of government planning to deal with complex weather systems.

A recent World Bank report showed how India will be subject to flooding,  irregular monsoons, rising sea levels, and higher temperatures. The monsoon season is vital to the Indian economy because many Indians are agrarian.

Climate change is going to continue to create uncertain extremes throughout the monsoon season. Preparation for weather irregularities brought by climate change is thus essential to protect the lives of the Indian people and the growth of the Indian economy.

India has tried to balance its carbon emissions with its economic growth objectives by not setting an outright pollution reduction goal. 
But, being a part of the global climate change regime, India will have significant obligations to meet under the treaty. The country will have to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels. This has to be achieved by 2030.

The key challenge that will come in front of India in the form of the reduction of emission intensity targets, which is the volume of emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). 

The country will have to extend its power generation base and shift it significantly towards renewable energy sources to reduce volumes of emissions per unit of GDP.

In numbers, by 2025, India will need a 175 gigawatt-power production capacity from non-fossil fuel sources. Yet another pledge under the treaty demands India to increase its forest cover by five million hectares along with an improvement in the quality of green cover of an equal measure. 
It is reasonable to expect that increased forest coverage will help India absorb massive carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

India has sets its aims for a total installed power production capacity of somewhere around 800 GW till 2030. It would be almost a three-fold jump from the current levels. 

To fulfill this commitment, India would have to install 320 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. India has also targeted 63 GW for nuclear energy for 2032. 

At Present, India’s installed capacity of nuclear energy is only 5.7 GW. Hydropower capacity is 42 GW. Therefore it can be said that the renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass would play an important role to achieve the 40 per cent target India has set for itself. The government has already announced an ambitious program of installing 175 GW of renewable capacity by 2022. If this target is achieved, adding another 50 GW in the next eight years would not be a very difficult task.  So, by keeping all these initiatives in mind, we can conclude that India is heading in right direction when it comes to its stand and efforts related to climate change and environment.

While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report projected that the impacts at 2°C are “catastrophic” for the poor and developing nations like India, news reports also provided evidences of how change in the climate has been affecting the nation and its plans to cope up.

Several flagship reports and studies released at the end of the year too provided facts and figures on the state of India’s climate.

Here is a low down on what the climate has been up to in 2018

WIDESPREAD IMPACT

Change isn’t productive

The Economic Survey 2018 said climate change is taking a toll on India’s agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes.

Scarcity alert!

Overall 600 million Indians will be moderately or severely affected by changes in temperature and rainfall, warned the new World Bank report released in June.

Not-so-super 30

Farming of 30 traditional crops has been abandoned in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand in the last one decade due to climate change and migration, said a study by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

Nilgiri Tahr must worry

Most of the existing habitats of the Nilgiri Tahr in the Western Ghats will become unsuitable as global warming intensifies, projects a study by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.

Yak under threat

Yak—the lifeline of pastoral nomads in high altitudes of the Indian Himalayan region—is facing the threat of gradually rising temperatures in the region.

NOT INACTION, BUT IN ACTION

In a first

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) came up with the country’s first state energy efficiency preparedness index to achieve India’s climate commitments

Hit the gas

India plans a Rs 65,000-crore project to reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture. The goal of the project, with a run period 2018-2025, is to “sequestrate” 49.9 million tonnes of carbon gases through improved agro-ecosystems.

Pledge to perform

In September, at the Global Climate Action Summit, mayors and government functionaries of Indian cities announced to scale up their actions to combat climate change and to protect people from hazardous climate impacts.

Inked

In April 2018, more than 170 countries, including India, signed an agreement in London to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50 per cent (based on 2008 levels) from shipping by 2050.

‘Unsatisfactory’ change

Eight years after the Centre's direction to formulate a state action plan on climate change, the Maharashtra adopted a plan on climate change, but meteorologists and environment experts weren’t satisfied with it.

Smart Himachal, Bihar

Himachal Pradesh became the first state in India to get its climate-smart agriculture (CSA) profile done. The agriculture department in Bihar with support from the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (Bisa) also launched a project to develop 100 climate smart villages in the state.

Orissa deal

On June 6, the state government released a five-year action plan to deal with climate change

Capital health

Delhi government's health department prepared a road map on how to deal with the seasonal changes in the Capital.

Paris rulebook lacked balance

At Conference of Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Katowice on December 16, nearly 200 countries agreed upon and adopted a rulebook to implement Paris Agreement. But India and many other developing countries said the “balance” that they would have liked to see in the agreement was missing.

WAY FORWARD: STUDIES DONE, POLICIES MADE

Climate costs heavy

A World Bank report released in June said climate change could cost India 2.8 per cent of GDP, and lower living standards of nearly half of its population by 2050. It added that average annual temperatures are expected to rise by 1-2 per cent over three decades.

Time to act

The latest report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on October 8 warned that global warming is occurring faster than anticipated and that it can have devastating impacts if steps are not taken to cut down emissions.

Risky business

India ranked 14^th in the Global Climate Risk Index done by Germanwatch. It was released at the annual climate summit in Poland's Katowice in December.

Carbon jump

Global carbon emissions jumped to all-time high in 2018 and almost all countries contributed to the rise, with emissions in China up 4.7 per cent, in the US by 2.5 per cent and in India by 6.3 per cent in 2018.

Shaping up

The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, published in Lancet, said an average person experienced an additional 1.4 days of heat wave per year in 2017 compared to 2000. The research was conducted by the University of York.

Secretary Kerry travels to India for the Fifth India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue, it is worth noting the prospects for cooperation in one of the five pillars of the dialogue: energy and climate change. This is particularly important because the new prime minister of India, will appear on a global stage in New York in September at a special UN Summit on Climate Change, called for by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

It turns out that this is a global issue for which the Govt. has been studying and preparing for at least five years – well beyond any other state-level leader in India. Efforts to bring electricity to every corner of the state, Gujarat, are relatively well-known in India. That power push helped unleash an economic growth boom that propelled him to the prime minister’s office. But in the middle of that effort, he also went out of his way to get educated on climate change and to take early steps to try to do something about it.

India, coal, and greenhouse gases

India’s challenges in taking advantage of its wealth of energy resources. That has been particularly true of efforts to access and use coal.

But in fact, not exploiting fossil fuels has had one positive benefit: it has been good for the global climate. India already is a greenhouse gas giant: it is the world’s third-largest national emitter. But if it had fully exploited its coal and gas resources, its emissions would be much greater. At 2 gigatons in 2012, its carbon emissions ranked far behind those of the United States (5.2 gigatons) and China (9.9 gigatons). When adjusted for population, the average Indian emits four times less than the average Chinese and ten times less than the average American. Of course, one of the reasons that the average Indian emits so few greenhouse gases is because hundreds of millions of Indians are still not connected to the grid.

That disparity in average emissions per person has dominated India’s position on global climate talks for two decades. Since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, India has been the strongest voice for “common but differentiated” responsibilities. Those were enshrined in the famous 1997 Kyoto Protocol where developing countries avoided binding agreements to reduce their emissions until developed economies first dramatically slashed their own.

For over a decade after Kyoto, India refused to discuss any binding limits. Indians would only discuss binding targets when other countries had reduced their own emissions to the per-person level of the average Indian – which at current rates would not happen until sometime in the 2030-2040 range

Growing awareness of climate change

Still, India increasingly sees the local impacts of climate change and growing coal use. The biggest climate impact has been on changing weather patterns in South Asia. Over the last 50 years, rising temperatures have led to a nearly 10 percent reduction in the duration and rainfall levels of the annual monsoons that are vital to nearly all Indian agriculture. Moreover, the melting of Himalayan glaciers threatens the country’s other vital water supply. In addition, rising sea levels have put hundreds of millions of Indians at risk in low-lying population centers in the Kolkata and Chennai metropolitan regions—a reality brought home during the devastating 2004 tsunami.

So Indians now take climate change more seriously. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, has become a global spokesman for the cause. For a decade, he has headed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the UN-backed research body that collects and reviews the scientific evidence that human activity has been the main contributor to climate change. And little by little, his fellow Indians have begun to take notice.

At the central level, Govt. of India has already taken two dramatically important steps: he has streamlined energy decision-making, and also environmental decision-making. India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests is now the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Domestically, he has put the experienced and effective Suresh Prabhu as the head of a high-level panel on reorganizing the various energy ministries — an “Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy.” The new consolidated energy ministries offer the promise of an integrated approach to clean energy.

Internationally, the challenge will be the upcoming UN Special Summit on Climate Change – and India’s negotiating stance in the next Paris meeting of the UN climate negotiation in 2015.

Historically, India has held fast to “equity” – that is, an emphasis on the industrial world’s historic role as the greatest greenhouse gas polluter and contributor to global warming, and India’s still relatively low per-capita emissions. And as Jairam Ramesh pointed out, some Indians are suspicious of a “covert political agenda” among climate scientists. Indians have, as a result, been reluctant to lay down any national goals for greenhouse gas emissions that would sacrifice the nation’s international sovereignty in a legal sense, and that would inhibit its economic growth.

India can still be mindful of those objectives. Yet it now faces growing domestic attention to climate change impacts, as well as a more complex international picture. The United States has signaled that it will implement ambitious greenhouse gas regulations, and China appears to be doing the same.

If we project an image of an India “that actively engages with the world” and which wants to lead, as he said in his inaugural address, he may be willing to go beyond old-line climate change talking points. The new environment minister Prakash Javadekar still uses the language of “common but differentiated responsibilities” – still a relevant concept when India’s level of economic development and per-capita emissions are well below the United States or Europe. Yet how those responsibilities are taken within India remains an issue of both Indian and global importance.

Internationally, Prime Minister has an opportunity for India to step forward to lead a new low-carbon approach to development – and in the process to demonstrate that India can be a global environmental leader without sacrificing economic growth.