Mains Marathon

• Explain the NAPCC and its aim.
• Mention the eight missions with their aims and achievements.
• Suitably conclude the answer.

Answer

India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008, establishing eight National Missions to advance action on the country’s climate priorities. It outlines a national strategy that aims to enable the country to adapt to climate change and enhance the ecological sustainability of India ‘s development path. It stresses that maintaining a high growth rate is essential for increasing living standards of the vast majority of people of India and reducing their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

Major developments under the NAPCC

1. National Solar Mission (NSM) which aims to establish India as a global leader in solar energy to achieve 100 GW of solar power in seven years starting from 2014-15. Solar power capacity of 49.35 GW has been installed in the country till 2021.

2. Under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), The Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme was initiated in March 2012 which resulted in annual energy savings and emission reduction.

Phases of PAT	Annual Energy Savings (Million Tonne of Oil Equivalent, MTOE)	Emission reduction (Million Tonnes)
PAT Cycle I	8.67	31
PAT Cycle II	14.08	66.01

Results are waited for PAT Cycle III and IV.

3. National Mission for a Green India (GIM) aims to improved ecosystem services by increasing forest/tree cover by 5 m ha and improving quality forest cover on another 5 m ha. Afforestation activities were taken up over an area of 1,17,757 ha. Alternative fuel energy devices have been distributed to 33,099 households.

4. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH) - NMSH is being implemented through three programmes: Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission, and Smart Cities Mission. Under this mission, Energy Conservation Building Rules 2018 has been made mandatory for commercial buildings having connected load of 100 KW or above. 702 km of conventional metro is operational in the country. Additional 1,016 km of metro and regional rapid transit system is under construction in 27 cities. Under Smart Cities Mission, Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2019 has been launched to provide a clear roadmap to combat climate change through mitigation and adaptation measures. Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will be implemented.

5. National Water Mission (NWM) focuses on monitoring of ground water, aquifer mapping, capacity building, water quality monitoring and other baseline studies. The National Institute of Hydrology is the nodal agency to get the State Specific Action Plan (SSAP) for the water sector for 19 selected states. Five States have completed the first phase of SSAP. 15640 ground water observation wells are being monitored by the Central Ground Water Board.

6. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture aims at enhancing food security by making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative, and climate resilient. The mission has resulted in the formation of National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture, a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

7. National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystems continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan Ecosystem. Centre for Glaciology has been established at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. State climate change centres have been set up in 12 Himalayan states. State climate change cells have been established in 11 out of 12 Himalayan states. Glaciologists have been trained under Indo- Swiss Capacity Building Programme in glaciology. Glacial lake outburst floods R&D studies for vulnerability assessment have been conducted for Sikkim.

8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC) aims to gain better understanding of climate science and formation of knowledge networks among existing knowledge institutions engaged in research and development (R&D). The mission has created and strengthened 11 Centres of Excellence for climate change. State Climate Change Cells have been established. Development of national capacity for modelling the regional impact of climate change on different ecological zones within the country.

If these missions are successfully achieved then India can adapt to climate change and enhance the ecological sustainability. India can maintain high growth rate without affecting the environment and can achieve the net zero emission before 2070.