India Has Spent Over ₹140 Billion to Mitigate Climate Change

India launched NAPCC in 2008 to fight climate change

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From financial year 2014-15 to date, the Indian government has spent a corpus of ₹140.14 billion (~$1.96 billion) to fight climate change. The corpus was spent on implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

The NAPCC was launched in 2008 with eight missions in specific areas of energy efficiency, solar energy, sustainable habitat, water, Himalayan ecosystem, forestry, agriculture, and strengthening of scientific knowledge on climate change.

The Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, in a reply to the Rajya Sabha, said, “The Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC) and the Executive Committee on Climate Change (ECCC) review the progress of national missions under NAPCC.”

The minister also stated that in since FY 2014-15, funds totaling ₹76.27 billion (~$1.07 billion) have been spent under the National Solar Mission (NSM), ₹1.59 billion (~$0.02 billion) have been spent under the National Mission for a Green India, ₹1.09 billion (~$0.01 billion) has been spent under National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.

Vardhan also stated that, a corpus of ₹268 million (~$3.6 million) has been spent under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.

Key Achievements Under NAPCC

  • National Solar Mission: A cumulative capacity of 24,567 MW has been installed till November 30, 2018; 194,700 solar pumps set up till August 2018; 45 solar parks in 21 states with an aggregate capacity of 26,500 MW sanctioned.
  • The Perform, Achieve and Trade program under National Mission for Enhancing Energy Efficiency resulted in an energy saving of 8.67 Million Tons of Oil Equivalent (MTOE) which has led to an emissions reduction of 31 million tons.
  • Six thematic task forces and 11 state climate change cells have been set up to facilitate climate change action in the Himalayan states.
  • Currently, 11 centers of excellence and 20 major research and development (R&D) programs are supported in different areas of climate change science and adaptation.
  • State climate change centers have been established in 10 states; global technology watch groups have been set up in eight different sectors.

In his statement, Vardhan also added “No specific funds have been allocated or are sought for the Mission on Sustainable Habitat, which is being implemented through three flagship missions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission, and Smart Cities Mission.”

On October 2, 2016, India became the 62nd country to ratify the Paris Agreement. The agreement requires every ratifying member country to come up with a national plan to curb carbon emissions and rising temperatures. India has set a goal of generating 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, as part of its plan.

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