Evolution and Imperatives of India's Climate policy

Evolution and Imperatives of India's Climate policy

GS-3: Environment and Climate Change

(IAS/UPPCS)

Relevant for Prelims:

Rio Summit, United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), National Mission for Green India, National Clean Air Program (NCAP), National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), Swachh Bharat Mission, National River Conservation Plan (NRCP).

Relevant for Mains:

Evolution of India's climate policy, India's leading performance compared to other countries, key determinants of India's climate policy, role of the Supreme Court in climate policy, Way forward, Conclusion.

13/04/2024

Source: Indian Express

Context:

India's climate policy has evolved significantly over the years, reflecting the country's commitment to address the challenges posed by climate change.

Development of India's climate policy:

  • India's climate change policies have primarily focused on supporting the trade-offs between development and climate outcomes, and have always been clear, coherent and coordinated.
  • After the Rio Summit of 1992, the Department of Climate Change and Biodiversity in the then Ministry of Environment and Forests of India gradually and increasingly became active.
  • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched several major initiatives to promote environmental protection and sustainable development in India, including:
  • National Mission for a Green India: A national afforestation program aimed at increasing the forest cover of the total geographical area of the country to 33%.
  • National Clean Air Program (NCAP): A comprehensive strategy to reduce air pollution in Indian cities by 20-30% by 2024.
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC): A comprehensive strategy to address the challenges of climate change in India, focusing on eight key missions including solar energy, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission: A national campaign to improve sanitation and hygiene in India, focused on eliminating open defecation and promoting waste management.
  • National River Conservation Plan (NRCP): A program to reduce pollution and improve water quality of major Indian rivers, including the Ganga and Yamuna.

Role of Supreme Court in Climate Policy:

  • Recently the Supreme Court of India has recognized the links between ecology, human dignity and climate change and highlighted the important links between human rights and global warming mitigation.
  • According to the Supreme Court, 'Without a clean environment unaffected by the vagaries of climate change, the right to life cannot be fully realized.'
  • It states that the right to a healthy environment safe from the ill effects of climate change is a 'fundamental human right'.
  • The court linked the right against climate change to Articles 21 (right to life) and 14 (right to equality), which states that the rights to life and equality cannot be fully realized without a clean, stable environment.

Leading performance of India compared to other countries:

  • India has been a consistently strong voice of the Global South: The CBDR-RC (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Related Capabilities) principle was developed largely through Indian intervention at the Rio Summit, 1992.
  • India clearly believes that the problem of climate change is the result of excessive exploitation of natural resources by developed countries.
  • Consumption by developed countries: The US accounts for 27% of the world's excess material consumption, followed by the EU (25%). Other rich countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan and Saudi Arabia collectively accounted for 22%.
  • High-income countries, with only 16% of the world's population, are responsible for 74% more resource use than their fair share.
  • China has also increased its sustainability limit to 15% due to overuse of resources.
  • Over the same period, 58 countries representing 3.6 billion people – including India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh – remained within their sustainability limits.
  • While India is within its sustainability limits, high-income countries will have to reduce resource use by about 70% from current levels to reach sustainability limits.

Way forward:

  • India contributes only 6-7 percent to global emissions but India is one of the most vulnerable countries to it. In such a situation, we need to look at climate change more seriously.
  • India has to be very careful about climate change mitigation as the country has not been able to fully explore the window of opportunity between the 'low carbon agenda' and the 'development agenda'.
  • There is still a severe lack of infrastructure development in India and unfortunately no effective action has been taken to address the development gap and find suitable opportunities for real climate change adaptation. Therefore, the aspect of lack of development should be given special attention.
  • We need to understand ‘development versus adaptation’ and assess how much and what type of mitigation the country needs to do.
  • The need to improve and explore clean energy transportation modes should not mean that we move blindly towards electric vehicles, rather the first priority should be to develop better and universal public transportation.
  • We must characterize climate change as a global collective action problem. We need to keep the issue of climate change and global warming at the top of our foreign policy agenda.
  • We cannot see our current level of energy consumption as a benchmark for India's future needs. This is because our per capita energy consumption level is very low and is not in line with the development and lifestyle expected in India.
  • The real dilemma is whether we want to increase energy use at a time when there is a global decarbonization effort. In this context, another big challenge is to provide employment, especially when the use of automation and artificial intelligence is increasing in strength and capacity. India should therefore not view climate change adaptation as a single technology transformation. Instead, questions like employment, energy and pollution should be considered in this context.

Conclusion:

  • India's climate policy is driven by the vision of inclusive growth for all-round economic and social development, poverty alleviation, reduced carbon budget, strong adherence to the fundamental principles of UNFCCC and climate-resilient lifestyle.
  • It has launched international institutions such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to focus on the transition to renewable energy, decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA).
  • If there is a need, India should change its climate policy and remain committed and aware towards sustainable development and environmental protection so that the challenges related to climate change can be tackled in time.

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Mains Question:

India has shown leading performance compared to other countries in the development of climate policy. Discuss.

Discuss the way forward to tackle climate change in India.