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#Paris2015: Why India’s Critical to the Climate Change Challenge

India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.

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India
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As home to one sixth of the world’s population and as the fourth highest emitter of greenhouse gases (in absolute terms), India has the responsibility of making sure that it follows a development agenda while staying on a sustainable growth path. India’s position and policies are critically important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets. India’s commitment to the environment is guided both by the Constitution as well as international agreements.

Article 48A of the Constitution directs the state to “protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests”. Our courts have also been proactive in declaring that the right to a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental right for all in India. At the same time, international agreements including the Stockholm Convention and the Rio Declaration require us to make environmental policies which are in line with our international commitments.

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What’s India Doing to Deal With Climate Change?

 India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.
India’s positions and policies are critically important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets. (Photo: iStockphoto)

India has been working to align its environmental plans with its international commitments while keeping domestic needs in mind. Broadly speaking, India’s efforts can be divided into Mitigation efforts (which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) and Adaptation efforts (which seek to prepare and respond to climate change impacts and reduce their negative effects).

Here, we look at some of the critical “missions” of India’s climate change policy:

 India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.
Solar and wind are a major part of India’s target to generate 175 GW of renewable energy capacity. (Photo: iStockphoto)

National Solar and wind Missions: By increasing the share of renewable resources in India’s energy mix, the long-term objective is to diversify our energy sources as well as to ensure that India’s energy needs are not compromised. Solar and wind are a major part of our target to generate 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022.

Sustainable Habitat Mission: Focusing on the adoption of energy conservation measures in buildings, public transport and solid waste management.

National Mission for a Green India: The Mission aims at increasing our forest cover to 33 per cent from the current 23 per cent. The Green Highways Policy is one step taken under the mission

 India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.
A farm worker looks for dried plants to remove in a paddy field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The Mission aims at increasing Indian agriculture’s resilience to climate change which is likely to play havoc with known temperature and rainfall patterns, among other things. This involves developing newer cropping patterns and specialised crop varieties to withstand climatic anomalies.

National Water Mission: In spite of enjoying rich water resources, our unsustainable usage of this precious resource is likely to make us a water scarce country in the near future. The mission aims at water conservation and more efficient management and distribution of water.

 India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.
The Himalayas. (Photo: iStockphoto)

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: Given the fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem and its huge impact on India, this mission looks at carefully tracking changes to glacier systems, precipitation and temperature and focuses on enhancing local community involvement in ecological management.

• In addition, India’s undertaking a host of other initiatives looking at public health, energy efficiency, waste to energy, electric and hybrid vehicles and coastal areas in order to make sure that our climate plans are both broad and relevant to all the potential impacts.

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Conclusion

 India’s position and policies are important for the world to ensure that it meets its climate targets.
Men work on the site where COP21 World Climate Summit will be held at Le Bourget, near Paris, France. (Photo: Reuters)

India’s climate plans are both ambitious and exhaustive but as with most policies, implementation is critical to ensure their success. As the plans show, climate change impacts are wide-ranging and touch upon every aspect of our lives and in order to cope with them, we have to plan and be prepared instead of being caught by surprise each time we feel some new impact from the changing climate. Ultimately, India’s plans are about driving towards a healthier and more sustaining environment and that requires a commitment for change from all of us.

(Shalini Iyengar is a lawyer and research associate at the International University College, Turin)

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