21-Dec-2022: Recent report from Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC-AR6 WG1) has noted that the global mean sea level has been rising at an unprecedentedly rapid pace in recent decades

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the recent report from Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC-AR6 WG1) has noted that the global mean sea level has been rising at an unprecedentedly rapid pace in recent decades.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the average sea level rise increased from 1.3 mm/year between 1901-1971 to 3.7 mm/year between 2006-2018. Dr. Singh said that the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai an attached office of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is monitoring the shoreline erosion since 1990 using remote sensing data and GIS mapping techniques. 6,632 km long Indian coastline of mainland has been analyzed from 1990 to 2018. It is noted that about 33% of the coastline is under varying degree of erosion, 26 % is of accreting nature and the remaining 41% is in a stable state.  The observed changes may be induced by natural processes including Sea level rise and anthropogenic activities.

The state wise details are given below:

Sl.No	Coast	State	Coast Length (in km)	Erosion	Erosion
				Km	%
1	West Coast	Gujarat	1945.60	537.5	27.6
2		Daman & Diu	31.83	11.02	34.6
3		Maharashtra	739.57	188.26	25.5
4		Goa	139.64	26.82	19.2
5		Karnataka	313.02	74.34	23.7
6		Kerala	592.96	275.33	46.4
7	East Coast	Tamil Nadu	991.47	422.94	42.7
8		Puducherry	41.66	23.42	56.2
9		Andhra Pradesh	1027.58	294.89	28.7
10		Odisha	549.50	140.72	25.6
11		West Bengal	534.35	323.07	60.5
Total			6907.18	2318.31	33.6

The Union Minister said that the Cyclone Warning Division (CWD) at India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi acts as a Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for monitoring, predicting and issuing warning services on tropical cyclones developing over north Indian Ocean. IMD has three Area Cyclone Warning Centres at Chennai, Kolkata & Mumbai and four Cyclone Warning Centres at Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam for carrying out operational warning activities at state level and to carry out related research & development activities.

6-Apr-2022: Climate & policy experts discuss the seriousness of climate impact on South Asia & adaptation and mitigation steps need for it

Climate and policy experts discussed the seriousness of climate impact on South Asia as highlighted in the IPCC report, and the adaptation and mitigation steps that need to be taken under the current scenario along with necessities for climate finance, net-zero emission, sustainable lifestyle at a panel discussion titled ‘The IPCC Report 2022: Is it Code Red for South Asia?’.

Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser, Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India, reiterated India’s commitment towards serious mitigation and adaptation measures to achieve net-zero by 2070 while maintaining the human development index.

Dr Gupta highlighted the DST’s efforts to understand the quantum of present and future f impacts of climate change through studies like the district level vulnerability assessment as well as disaster risk assessment. “The assessment will help in initiating appropriate climate actions. It will also benefit climate-vulnerable communities across India through the development of better-designed climate change adaptation projects,” he pointed out at the online webinar.   

“We need to work together to meet those challenges whether in local level or global level with our collective wisdom,” he added and underlined that climate funding by developed countries to developing and underdeveloped countries are not up to the mark.

The panel discussion on the recently released sixth assessment report was organized by the AIT School of Environment, Resource and Development (SERD) and moderated by Dr Anamika Barua, Visiting Faculty, SERD, AIT and attended by several students from different parts of South Asia.

Dr Eden Woon, President, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, said that climate change is changing quicker than expected and indicated the need for a proper road map and immediate action. “As climate change is a serious issue, which has an impact on every element of the earth, the role of policymakers is crucial, and the formulation of action should range from local level to global level,” he added.

“The IPCC report shows that there is a need for a paradigm shift of climate mitigation by putting people at the centre and aiming towards sustainable development,” said Prof Joyshree Roy, Bangabandhu Chair Professor at AIT, Bangkok and Coordinating lead author of WGIII report of the IPCC Sixth Assessment cycle while speaking about mitigation options to be adapted in various development activities to reduce the emission.

Mr. Saad Hayat Tamman, Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan, highlighted the need for regional-level adaptation and mitigation efforts and said that South Asia needs capital finance to tackle the problem.

Mr. Sanjay Bhowmik, MoEF, Bangladesh, elaborated on Bangladesh’s climate strategy plan, which prioritises local adaptation to address climate change, while  Dr. Fida Mallik, CEGIS, Bangladesh, highlighted issues like sea-level rise, city heat, and urban burden in Bangladesh and the urgency for putting science into action.

Dr Abid Hussain, ICIMOD, Nepal, stressed on the vulnerability of the mountains, the increasing impacts like loss of glaciers, change in timing of seasons as well as socio-economic changes. Dr. Arun Prakash Bhatta, Under Secretary, MoFE, Nepal, emphasized the need for immediate implementation of the National Framework on Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) through the participation of people.

“The impact on South Asia is serious. This will impact both urban and rural areas and their livelihood. Cities in particular also have an impact on climate, and hence cities need to come up with action plan and act with urgency,” Dr. Anjal Prakash, Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad and coordinating lead author for the IPCC special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (SROCC) pointed out.

The sixth assessment report highlights that increased heatwaves, droughts, and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring simultaneously, causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to manage. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, Central, and South America, on Small Islands, and in the Arctic.

To avoid mounting loss of life, biodiversity, and infrastructure, ambitious, accelerated action is required to adapt to climate change, at the same time as making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. So far, progress on adaptation is uneven, and there are increasing gaps between action taken and what is needed to deal with the increasing risks, the new report stressed.

5-Apr-2022: IPCC report on Mitigation of Climate Change scientifically establishes India’s position on the historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget

Welcoming the Summary of Policymakers (SPM) and the Working Group III (WG3) contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on 4th April 2022, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav said in his tweet message that the historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget is scientifically established by the report, and called for the need of taking deep and urgent global emissions reduction.

The Report dealing with climate change mitigation and international cooperation is a major contribution of IPCC to the global fight against climate change.

Stating further, Shri Yadav said that the report fully supports India’s view on the necessity of public finance for developing countries and the need for scale, scope and speed in climate finance.

The report specifically notes: “Tracked financial flows fall short of the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals across all sectors and regions. The challenge of closing gaps is largest in developing countries as a whole.” It also states that public finance falls short of the Copenhagen (reiterated when the Paris Agreement was signed) goal of USD 100 billion per year by 2020.

On climate finance, the report states: “Accelerated financial support for developing countries from developed countries and other sources is a critical enabler to enhance mitigation action and address inequities in access to finance, including its costs, terms and conditions and economic vulnerability to climate change for developing countries.”

Among other important things the Report has underlined the need for deep and urgent global emissions reduction mentioning that four-fifths of the total carbon budget for 1.5 deg C temperature increase and two-thirds of the total carbon budget for 2 deg C warming has been already consumed.

Both cumulative and per capita annual emissions rose during the pre-2020 period. Pre-2020 emissions reduction in developed countries has been insufficient in comparison to the developing world’s needs for sustainable development. Both historical cumulative emissions and per capita annual emissions show that India’s role (as part of South Asia) is minimal.

The historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget is scientifically established by the SPM which has included following two figures to emphasize this point.

The report justifies India’s emphasis on equity at all scales in climate action and sustainable development. Equity is essential for

• The social and economic transformation required for climate mitigation,
• Manage the negative consequences of climate mitigation on vulnerable populations,
• Enable just transition towards low-emissions development,
• And ensure sustainable development.

India’s position that equity is fundamental to international co-operation on climate change is endorsed by the report. Report says: “Equity remains a central element in the UN climate regime, notwithstanding shifts in differentiation between states over time and challenges in assessing fair shares”.

This finding is based on the Report’s assessment that with a shrinking remaining carbon budget, the access to a fair share of this budget for developing countries has become an important question.

The report embodies that changes in lifestyle and behaviours have a significant role to play in mitigating climate change. The Report endorses India’s view on the need for curbing unsustainable consumption.

It may be recalled that India was instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of “climate justice” and “sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production” in the preamble of the Paris Agreement.

Further, at COP26 in November 2021 at Glasgow, United Kingdom, as the implementation of the Paris Agreement began, India reaffirmed its commitment to climate actions, including the goal of net zero by 2070. Sustainable lifestyles underpin the survival of our planet. India believes that utilization of resources must be based on ‘Mindful and Deliberate Utilization’ and NOT ‘Mindless and Destructive Consumption’. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gave a clarion call of L.I.F.E. - Lifestyles for Environment at COP26 at Glasgow.

India firmly believes that climate change is a global collective action problem that can be solved only through international cooperation and multilateralism.

India has taken tremendous actions under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to address the threat of global climate change by taking several initiatives including, inter-alia, setting up of International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ and Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, raising the domestic renewable energy target to 500 GW by 2030, putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth.

India will continue to be the voice of ambition as well as the champion of equity on behalf of developing countries. India demonstrates this in specific, targeted actions, in specific suggestions and proposals and a firm faith in both science and human values.

India walks the talk and speaks from a position of strength and responsibility on the subject of climate change. It is from this experience that India sends a message of hope and optimism that humanity and all nations can strive together and meet the challenge of climate change.

21-Mar-2022: IPCC Report on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), periodically prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports on the state of knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response options. These assessments are based on the extant scientific literature available at the time. Scientists from all over the world, including India, contribute to the preparation of IPCC Assessment Reports. The IPCC is currently in its Sixth Assessment cycle and has completed two reports so far, released in August 2021, by Working Group I and in February 2022 by Working Group II.

India has taken note of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on ‘Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’. The report notes that global hotspots of high human vulnerability are found particularly in West, Central and East Africa, South Asia, Central and South America, Small Island Developing States and the Arctic. Further, as per the report, Asia is identified as one of regions most vulnerable to climate change, especially on extreme heat, flooding, sea level rise, and erratic rainfall. However, the report also notes that vulnerability and the burden of adaptation is highest for those who have contributed the least to global warming. India is one of the leading examples of this, having contributed so far only about 4 per cent of global cumulative emissions.

The risks due to climate change and climate extremes will rise throughout the world with increasing temperatures, with the historical emissions due to developed countries already causing a number of adverse impacts in different sectors and different regions. The developed countries who have contributed the bulk of cumulative emissions so far, and continue to emit at a level disproportionate to their share of the global population with their inadequate efforts in climate mitigation, have to drastically step up their efforts at climate action. The developing countries also need support under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement in terms of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building in order to adapt to growing climate impacts primarily arising from stock of historical and current high per capita emissions of the developed countries.

The Government is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which is the overarching policy framework for climate action in India, covering mitigation, adaptation and generation of strategic knowledge on climate change. It comprises of national missions in the specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, the Himalayan eco-system, sustainable habitat, green India and strategic knowledge on climate change. Most of these missions are adaptation focussed. Further, 33 States/Union Territories have prepared State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs) consistent with the objectives of NAPCC. The Government is also implementing the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change to support adaptation measures of States/UTs in areas that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 articulates the need for mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into development planning. The central government has established a robust early warning system and has significantly enhanced accuracy of weather forecasts. Forecasting agencies are continuing their efforts for improvement of warning and dissemination systems vigorously. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) supports National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) /State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA) in framing necessary guidelines for the public with respect to different extreme weather events and the same are available in the public domain.

Some other measures for improving disaster preparedness include; (a) Publication of various guidelines on different disasters by NDMA; (b) Setting up of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for prompt response and pre- positioning of NDRF in disaster vulnerable areas;  (c) Encouraging States to set-up their own State Disaster Response Forces;

Strengthening of State and District Disaster Management systems through various schemes of Central Government; (e) Conducting mock drills and workshops for effectively responding to disasters; and (f) Carrying out capacity building of disaster professionals and communities by NDMA, NDRF and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM).

A number of other measures are taken, keeping in view the threat of climate change, by various departments, ministries and entities of the Government, as part of their regular mandated activities and responsibilities. These are periodically shared with all stakeholders and the world through India’s National Communications and Biennial Update Reports submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

28-Feb-2022: India welcomes the IPCC Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

India welcomes the release of the Working Group II (WG2) contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav in a series of tweet messages said that the report reaffirms India's call for equity and climate justice and stated that the Developed countries must take the lead in urgent mitigation and providing finance for adaptation, loss and damage.

“India is walking the path of climate resilient development under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and has demonstrated a clear resolve to move ahead along a sustainable, resource efficient growth path.”, said the Union Minister

A delegation from India participated in the final discussions on the Summary for Policymakers of the Report, held online from 14th February to 27th February (extending two days over its scheduled duration) and has joined other nations in approving the Summary for Policymakers of the Report.

The following are the key findings of the Report and its Summary for Policymakers:

• The Report affirms that climate change due to historical emissions is leading to serious impacts which are already being felt globally including in developing countries with low contribution to cumulative emissions. These impacts will rise as warming proceeds and will rise rapidly at higher levels of warming.
• The Report emphasizes that action on adaptation is urgently needed – as urgently as action on mitigation.
• The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) underlines the need for climate action on the basis of equity and climate justice to ensure the well-being of humanity and the planet. 
• The science of climate resilience now fully acknowledges the importance of equity and climate justice that India has always championed and had brought into the Paris Agreement. 
• Further, the SPM clearly acknowledges the importance of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in adaptation to climate change.
• Vulnerable and marginalized communities, regions and populations face rising exposure to hazards. The SPM notes that vulnerability is enhanced by lack of development, social and economic inequalities. 
• The Report is a clarion call for the world to abandon their unsustainable production and consumption and move urgently to climate resilient development. Reference to sustainable lifestyles has already been introduced in the Paris Agreement thanks to India’s efforts, led by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at Paris in 2015.
• The Report notes that the impacts and the consequent limitations to adaptation would rise beyond 1.5 degree warming above pre-industrial levels. India notes that the Working Group I contribution to AR6 released in August, 2021 had made clear that developed countries need to rapidly decrease their emissions and reach net zero by 2050 .
• Provision of finance is critical for helping developing countries and vulnerable populations act quickly and effectively. Public finance is the key enabler for adaptation. 
• Development to reduce non-climatic drivers of vulnerability is critical to promoting adaptation and is already reducing vulnerability. Rapid progress on achieving the SDGs will help in enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience.
• The Report re-affirms that the balance between adaptation and mitigation in climate resilient development depends on national circumstances according to countries’ capabilities including resources and past contributions to global emissions.
• The Report fully acknowledges the importance of losses and damages arising from climate change. Inadequate adaptation due to lack of financial and technological resources, capacity building and other constraints lead to losses and damages. Further losses and damages would increase as some limits to adaptation are being reached and more would be at higher levels of warming.
• Adaptation suffers from a tremendous lack of finance, with only a small proportion of climate finance devoted to it, while the overwhelming proportion goes to mitigation.
• Ecosystem based adaptation and Nature-based approaches such as green infrastructure offer multiple benefits and synergies between adaptation and mitigation. Though the Report refers to the prospects and limitations of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in climate mitigation, the SPM acknowledges the reservations of developing countries that NbS will be promoted as the sole or the major solution to climate mitigation which is obviously not the case.
•  The Report recognizes the key role of agriculture and the great importance of food security in adaptation.
• India faces multiple climate hazards and has high vulnerability to climate change. 
• The Report notes that future climate-resilient development pathways depend on climate risks, adaptation measures and the remaining carbon budget.

India is already walking the path of climate resilient development with its combination of several adaptation-oriented development actions and its contribution to mitigation. At COP26, as the implementation of the Paris Agreement began, India reaffirmed its commitment to climate actions, including the goal of net zero by 2070, and the one-word mantra of L.I.F.E. = lifestyles for environment.

India notes that future reports should strengthen the “solution space” and more comprehensively assess knowledge regarding effectiveness, costs and benefits.

India firmly believes that climate change is a global collective action problem that can be solved only through international cooperation and multilateralism.

India has taken tremendous actions under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to combat climate change by taking several initiatives including, inter-alia, setting up of International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ and Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, raising the domestic renewable energy target to 500 GW by 2030, putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth.

India’s cumulative and per capita current emissions are significantly low and far less than its fair share of the global carbon budget and its actions to address global climate change are compatible with Paris Agreement goals.

9-Aug-2021: India welcomes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.

India welcomes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report “Climate Change 2021 : The Physical Science” released today by the IPCC. Several Indian Scientists have participated in the preparation of this report.

Union Environment Minister, Shri Bhupender Yadav said in his tweet message that the report is a clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarbonisation of their economies.

Developed Countries have usurped far more than their fair share of the global carbon budget. Reaching net zero alone is not enough, as it is the cumulative emissions up to net zero that determine the temperature that is reached. This has been amply borne out in the IPCC report. It vindicates India’s position that historical cumulative emissions are the source of the climate crisis that the World faces today.

The report notes that the Carbon dioxide has been and will continue to be the dominant cause of global warming under all greenhouse gas emissions scenarios.

The Environment Minister further said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi India has taken numerous steps to tackle the global problem of climate change and is well on the path of decoupling its emissions from economic growth.

India notes that the climate change is impacting the South Asian Monsoons. The report brings out that the monsoon rainfall is expected to intensify in all ranges of the projected scenarios. Intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall events are projected to be on the rise. India notes that the rising temperature will lead to increased frequency and intensity of extreme events including heat waves and heavy rainfall.

India also notes that the GHG warming is assessed to be partially offset by aerosol cooling by almost 30%.

India’s cumulative and per capita current emissions are significantly low and far less than its fair share of global carbon budget.

India has taken tremendous actions under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to tackle the global collective action problem of climate change by taking several initiatives including, inter-alia, setting up of International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, raising the domestic renewable energy target to 450 GW by 2030 and putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth. India’s actions to address global climate change are 2oC compliant and rated highly by several independent agencies of the world.