National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
03 Jun 2011 Share on:
India has announced a National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in June, 2008 which incorporates its vision of sustainable development and the steps it must take to realize it. The NAPCC is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and implemented through the nodal Ministries and is aimed at advancing relevant actions in specific sectors/areas. Eight national missions in the areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, sustainable habitat, water, Himalayan ecosystem, increasing the forest cover, and strategic knowledge for climate change form the core of NAPCC.
The eight national missions under NAPCC are:
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)
The government has launched the JNNSM in January 2010 with a target of 20,000 MW grid solar power (based on solar thermal power- generating systems and solar photovoltaic [SPV] technologies), 2000 MW of off-grid capacity by 2022. TheMissionwill be implemented in three phases. The first phase will last three years (up to March 2013), the second till March 2017, and the third till March 2022. The Government has also approved the implementation of the first phase of the Mission (up to March 2013) and the target to set up 1100 MW grid-connected solar plants including 100 MW of rooftop and small solar plants and 200 MW capacity-equivalent off-grid solar applications and a 7 million sq.m solar thermal collector area in the first phase of the Mission, till 2012-13.
Energy Conservation and Efficiency
The objective of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) is to achieve growth with ecological sustainability by devising cost-effective strategies for end- use demand-side management. The Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency have been entrusted with the task of preparing the implementation plan for the NMEEE and upscaling the efforts to create and sustain market for energy efficiency to unlock investment of around Rs 74,000 crore. The Mission is likely to achieve about 23 million tons oil-equivalent of fuel savings - in coal, gas, and petroleum products - by 2014-15, along with an expected avoided capacity addition of over 19,000 MW. The carbon dioxide emission reduction is estimated to be 98.55 million tons annually.
National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)
The NMSKCC has been launched with the broad objectives of mapping of the knowledge and data resources relevant to climate change and positioning of a data-sharing policy framework for building strategic knowledge among the various arms of the Government, identification of knowledge gaps, networking of knowledge institutions after investing critical mass of physical, intellectual, and policy infrastructure resources, creation of new dedicated centres within the existing institutional framework, building of international cooperation on science and technology for climate change agenda through strategic alliances and assistance for the formulation of policies for a sustained developmental agenda.
National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)
The broad objectives of the NMSHE include:
- understanding the complex processes affecting the Himalayan ecosystem and evolving suitable management and policy measures for sustaining and safeguarding it,
- creating and building capacities in different domains,
- networking of knowledge institutions engaged in research and development of a coherent data base on the Himalayan ecosystem,
- detecting and decoupling natural and anthropogenic-induced signals of global environmental changes in mountain ecosystems,
- studying traditional knowledge systems for community participation in adaptation, mitigation, and coping mechanisms inclusive of farming and traditional health care systems,
- and developing regional cooperation with neighbouring countries, to generate a strong data base through monitoring and analysis so as to eventually create a knowledge base for policy interventions.
National Water Mission
The objectives of the National Water Mission are 'conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources management'. The goals of the
Mission are a comprehensive water data base in the public domain, assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources, promotion of citizen and State actions for water conservation, augmentation and preservation, focused attention to overexploited areas, increasing water use efficiency by 20 per cent, and promotion of basin-level integrated water resources management.
Green India Mission
The Mission aims at responding to climate change through a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures. These measures include enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and other ecosystems, adaption of vulnerable species/ecosystems to the changing climate, and adaptation of forest-dependent communities. The objectives of the Mission are increased forest/tree cover on 5 million ha of forest/non-forest lands and improved quality of forest cover on another 5 million ha (a total of 10 million ha), improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services, carbon sequestration as a result of treatment of 10 million ha), increased forest-based livelihood income for about 3 million households living in and around the forest, and enhanced annual CO2 sequestration by 55 million tonnes in the year 2020.
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH)
The NMSH seeks to promote sustainability of habitats through improvements in energy efficiency in building and urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste including recycling and power generation, modal shift towards public transport, and conservation. It also seeks to improve ability of habitats to adapt to climate change by improving resilience of infrastructure, community- based disaster management, and measures for improving advance warning systems for extreme weather events.
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) seeks to address issues regarding 'sustainable agriculture' in the context of risks associated with climate change by devising appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies for ensuring food security, enhancing livelihood opportunities, and contributing to economic stability at national level. Under thisMission, the adaptation and mitigation measures would be mainstreamed in research and development activities, absorption of improved technology and best practices, creation of physical and financial infrastructure and institutional framework, facilitating access to information and promoting capacity building. While promotion of dryland agriculture would receive prime importance by way of developing suitable drought- and pest-resistant crop varieties and ensuring adequacy of institutional support, the Mission would also expand its coverage to rainfed areas for integrating farming systems with livestock and fisheries so that agriculture continues to grow in a sustainable manner.
Other Programs
The NAPCC also describes other ongoing initiatives, including:
- Power Generation: The government is mandating the retirement of inefficient coal-fired power plants and supporting the research and development of IGCC and supercritical technologies.
- Renewable Energy: Under the Electricity Act 2003 and the National Tariff Policy 2006, the central and the state electricity regulatory commissions must purchase a certain percentage of grid-based power from renewable sources.
- Energy Efficiency: Under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, large energy-consuming industries are required to undertake energy audits and an energy labeling program for appliances has been introduced.
Implementation
Ministries with lead responsibility for each of the missions are directed to develop objectives, implementation strategies, timelines, and monitoring and evaluation criteria, to be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. The Council will also be responsible for periodically reviewing and reporting on each mission’s progress. To be able to quantify progress, appropriate indicators and methodologies will be developed to assess both avoided emissions and adaptation benefits.