India releases national plan on climate change

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on Monday released a National Action Plan on Climate Change in New Delhi. The draft plan is meant to chalk out India’s response to climate change viewing its growing energy needs. India after acknowledging the scale of the problem in tackling the effects of the climatic changes first on July last year, had proposed to come up with a national policy.

Dr Singh while releasing the plan of action stressed on the need of a careful long-term strategy which can further facilitate overall development efforts, without any adverse impact on people’s livelihood and the living standards.

As India and China are two of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, India has undoubtedly taken the first and a great step being such a large country towards the climatic change. Any concrete and specific measure to get over from the effects generated by the cumulative accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions arose with the growing needs of Indian economy desperately needed an action plan.

PM Singh in his statement said: ‘the national action plan describes a broader perspective of India’s growth towards an ecologically sustainable development. It must include the quality of life, not merely the quantitative accretion of goods and services. Our people want higher standards of living, but they also want clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe and a green earth to walk on.’

The Plan encompasses a very broad and extensive range of measures. Under this plan it is decided to focus our national energies on Eight National Missions which will be pursued as key components of our strategy for sustainable development. These include National Missions on Solar Energy, on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, on Sustainable Habitat, on Conserving Water, on Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, on creating a “Green India”, on Sustainable Agriculture and finally, on establishing a Strategic Knowledge Platform for Climate Change.

The Prime Minister highlighting the fact of reduction in net greenhouse gas emission said, “Despite our developmental imperatives, our per capita GHG emissions will not exceed the per capita GHG emissions of the developed industrialised countries. This should be testimony enough, if one was needed, of the sincerity of purpose and the sense of responsibility we bring to the global task on hand.”

Through this National Action Plan the government also projects the need of greater innovation in making India energy-efficient and for that focus should be given to non-fossil fuels like solar energy, and renewable sources of energy by using scientific and technological talent. The government in its part also intends to work upon various plans but with a greater international cooperation.

Under the existing Kyoto agreement, India is exempted from emission cuts but as Kyoto Protocol is about to lapse in 2012, India has been under constant pressure from several key countries to come up with a binding commitment. However, irrespective of the action plan, India is not expected to take on any commitment under any international treaty that comes at the cost of its poverty alleviation and growth targets.

India has consistently opposed any mandatory emission caps on developing countries but as the prime minister said: ‘Climate Change is a global challenge and it can only be tackled successfully through a global, collaborative and cooperative effort and India is committed to its part.’