National Action Plan on Climate Change

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was launched in 2008 with a view to enhance the ecological sustainability of India’s development path and address climate change.

Background:

India has signed and ratified Paris Agreement. Under this agreement India has submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change outlining eight (8) targets for 2021-2030, including

(i) When compared with 2005 level, Emission Intensity of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be reduced by 33 to 35 percent by 2030

(ii) Achieving 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel resources by 2030

(iii) By 2030, additional forest cover will be created, which led to the addition of carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide

The other targets pertain to:

Sustainable lifestyles
Climate-friendly growth path
Climate change adaptation
Climate change finance
Capacity building and technology

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

To achieve the goals, Government of India is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which includes eight national missions being implemented by various Ministries in specific areas.

These 8 Missions are :

National Solar Mission
National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
National Water Mission
National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system
National Mission for a Green India,
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

Out of 8 Missions, three Missions seek to slow down the growth of India’s emissions. They are

Mission on solar energy,
Mission on Afforestation and
Mission on energy efficiency

Another three Missions — on agriculture, water and Himalayan eco-systems — are about initiating measures to adapt to the effects of climate change.
The remaining two missions are service missions and seek to create more knowledge on useful climate response. They are; Mission on sustainable habitat and Mission on strategic knowledge

National Solar Mission:

The Solar Mission has been one of the most important components of the NAPCC as it has the maximum impact on slowing down the growth of India’s greenhouse gas emissions.
National Solar mission set a target to generate 1, 00,000 Mega Watts of solar energy by 2022.

National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency:

National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency aims to strengthen the market for energy efficiency by creating conducive regulatory and policy regime and has envisaged fostering innovative and sustainable business models to the energy efficiency sector.
National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency consists of four initiatives to enhance energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries which are as follows

Perform Achieve and Trade Scheme
Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Financing Platform
Framework for Energy Efficient Economic Development

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH) envisages a framework to build urban resilience to climate change, by integrating adaptation and mitigation aspects into the urban planning process.
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat describes strategies to implement measures in the various sectors listed below:

Energy Efficiency
Urban Transport
Water Supply and Sewerage
Municipal Solid Waste Management
Urban Storm Water Management
Urban Planning

National Water Mission

National Water Mission aims for “conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management”
Five goals identified in the National Water Mission:

Comprehensive water database in public domain and 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 vulnerable areas including over-exploited areas
Increasing water use efficiency by 20%
Promotion of basin level integrated water resources management

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management and synergizing resource conservation
NMSA has following four major programme components or activities:

Rainfed Area Development
On-Farm Water Management
Soil Health Management
Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modeling and Networking

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem

The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) under NAPCC encompasses conservation measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan ecosystems through the establishment of monitoring network, promotion of community-based management, human resource development, and strengthening regional cooperation.
Major initiatives include the establishment of a Centre for Himalayan Glaciology at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun

Green India Mission

Green India mission under NAPCC is implementing the plan to plant 10 million hectares by 2030. This will create additional carbon sinks to the tune of 2.5 billion tons.
A National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change has been established to assist state-level activities to meet the cost of adaptation. A sum of Rs 331 crores has been allocated for sixteen states to implement the adaptation programmes.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change

The objective of National Mission on Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change
Work with the global community in research and technology development by collaboration through different mechanisms. It also has its own research agenda supported by climate change-related institutions and a Climate Research Fund.
Encourage initiatives from the private sector for developing innovative technologies for mitigation and adaptation.

Upcoming Missions:

To reduce effects of climate change, the government of India is planning to add four new ‘missions’ to the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). They are Mission on

Wind energy
To build preparedness to deal with impacts on human health.
Effective management of India’s coastal resources
Harness energy from waste.

Model Questions:

1. In which year United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted?
a. 1990
b. 1992
c. 1995
d. 1999
Ans: b

2. Currently how many missions are launched in India as a part of National Action Plan on Climate Change?
a. 5
b. 7
c. 8
d. 12
Ans: c

3. Green India mission under NAPCC is implementing the plan to plant 10 million hectares by:
a. 2020
b. 2022
c. 2025
d. 2030
Ans: d

4. Under Paris agreement, India aims to reduce Emission Intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33 to 35 percent by:
a. 2020
b. 2024
c. 2030
d. 2050

Ans: c