Question : Climate Change and Global Warming

(a) whether the Government has conducted any study on climate change and global warming with special reference to deforestation, water management, agricultural production etc. in the country;
(b) if so, the details and outcome thereof and the action initiated to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change and global warming on the environment, forests, water resources and agricultural production etc;
(c) whether the Government is implementing international treaties in connection with environmental protection; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

(a) & (b): A scientific study to assess the impact of climate change has been undertaken and a report entitled “Climate Change and India: A 4X4 Assessment - A Sectoral and Regional Analysis for 2030s” was published in 2010 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The study assessed impacts of climate change on four key sectors of Indian economy, namely, agriculture, water, forests and human health in four climate sensitive regions of India, namely, the Himalayan region, the Western Ghats, the Coastal region and the North-Eastern Region.

The study projects a variable rate of change in agriculture production including losses in some crops, change in the composition of the forests and net primary productivity. The extreme precipitation events are likely to increase in all the regions. Water yield is projected to increase in the Himalayan Region, whereas it is likely to be variable across other three regions. Malaria is projected to spread to new areas and threats of its transmission are likely to increase for longer duration.


The Government has launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in June 2008 to deal with the climate change related issues. NAPCC comprises of eight Missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, habitat, water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, forestry, agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change, which addresses the issues relating to mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change on environment, forests, habitat, water resources and agriculture. All States and Union Territories (UTs) have also been requested to prepare State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with the objectives of the NAPCC and consistent with State’s specific issues relating to climate change. So far, 32 States and UTs have prepared their SAPCC.

(c) & (d): India is party to number of Conventions, Protocols, International Treaties, Multilateral Environment Agreements like United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete Ozone layer, Basel Convention on control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal, etc.


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