ABSTRACT:
Climate change finds itself being at the forefront of the most discussed problems in the world. Although changes have been noted in the Earth’s climate throughout in its history, the prevailing increase in temperature is occurring at a rate that has not been seen in the last 10 millennia. Inevitably, human activities have been found to be the main ingredient behind greenhouse gases increasingly trapping more and more sunlight and solar energy in the Earth’s atmosphere. Rapid and extensive changes are taking place within the atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere as a result of this process ever since, thus warming up the atmosphere, water bodies, and land. With the up and coming research theories made by scientists, the need to protect our Earth grows by the second.
This problem has also found its way into India in the form of pollution, droughts, and a consistent drop in crop yields, amongst others. India, which is home to various types of physiographical regions, has a distinct weather profile and risk profile, which makes it an even bigger target to the impact of climate change. Bearing this in mind, the Indian government has taken many effective measures to tackle this climate change problem in the country. This paper, therefore, aims to delve into and analyse the legal framework created for the mitigation of climate change in India.
KEYWORDS:
Climate change, energy, mitigation, greenhouse gas emissions, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, National Action Plan for Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol.
INTRODUCTION:
The United Nations define climate change as “long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.” These shifts may be caused by changes in the sun’s activity or volcanic eruptions. However, lots of these changes seem to have been caused due to human activities, mostly as an effect of the burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that human emissions and activities are responsible for approximately all of the warming that has been recorded since 1950.
Climate change has had an adverse effect on India and its climate. It has posed challenges on the socio-economic front and the environmental health of India; there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of heatwaves, erratic monsoon patterns, and a continuous rise in sea levels which endangers the coastal areas are amongst the several effects of climate change. These changes have posed a threat to the environment and the livelihood of Indians, especially people working in the agricultural sector. Over the years, there have been several reports of droughts, overexploited groundwater resources, severe heatwaves, and a constant drop in crop yield.
There may even be major economic repercussions across sectors including infrastructure, tourism, agricultural production, and the fishing sector if we do not direct our attention towards this problem. Being one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases in the world, there is a critical and immediate need for mitigation of climate change in India.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The research paper is both analytical and descriptive in nature. The data is derived from various primary and secondary sources to understand and analyse India’s framework for climate change mitigation. Primary sources include climate change mitigation policy documents, and relevant government reports. Secondary sources include journals, scholarly articles, newspapers, and websites. The paper also includes research from qualitative data, including information derived from interviews with research scientists studying climate change.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
In the publication titled “India’s Energy Policy: Energy Needs and Climate Change” by Nanda Kumar Janardhan (2017), his point of contention lies in providing an extensive analysis of the actions taken by India to be able to balance the country’s rising energy requirements along with efforts to mitigate climate change. His key points of discussion are about energy policy and coordination, legal frameworks created for energy conservation, climate action plans including the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC), energy efficiency measures, and renewable energy initiatives undertaken in India. The author talks about how India’s policy is aimed at approaching problems relating to both climate change and energy security. He highlights the initiatives taken by the Indian government to promote the generation of renewable energy through various different policies. One of these policies is the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Program, that he calls as a “remarkable step” taken by the government towards energy transition in the country. Dr. Janardhan concludes his work by stressing the need for India to balance its increasing energy demands with environmental sustainability. He emphasises the importance of cumulating policies in a manner that will allow the country to effectively mitigate climate change while also ensuring energy security.
In “India’s Treaty Practice in Climate Change” by Anwar Sadat (2014), he studies how India complies with various different international climate change treaties, and in what way that compliance aligns with the nation’s policies and values. The author believes that with regard to tackling climate change and other global environmental problems, India’s treaty practice works on the principle of equity, and this is highlighted in the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also emphasises on the point that developed countries should be the first ones to be addressing and solving the problem of climate change due to their historical emissions. This emphasis is made by discussing the concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” Sadat also talks about how India sprung into action regarding its greenhouse gas emissions even before it was a part of the UNFCCC. This was done by preparing several greenhouse inventories and later, after becoming a party to the UNFCCC, Incorporating climate change considerations into the planning processes of national policies, which reflected India’s commitment to the obligations of the UNFCCC, even when the country did not have any binding mitigation targets. The author, to conclude, mentions that India’s strategy brings a balance between environmental obligations and developmental needs while also supporting efforts made by other countries to mitigate climate change.
“Mapping ‘Consistency’ in India’s Climate Change Position: Dynamics and Dilemmas of Science Diplomacy” is a perspective piece written by Himangana Gupta, Amrik Singh Ahluwalia, and Ravinder Kumar Kohli (2015). The authors, in this work, offer an analysis of the developing stance taken by India on climate change discussions. They mention the shift in India’s primary position during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen, where it went from working on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and equity to accepting voluntary commitments regarding the reduction of the intensity of emissions. After this, at COP-17 which was held in Durban, India, with all parties, signed an agreement to commit to binding emission targets. However, India declared that the principles of equity and CBDR remain integral to its stance in the following two COPs, which leads to the authors to question the accounting of these sudden changes in the country’s stance. The paper subsequently explores India’s role on building of coalition and defending developing countries’ interests by focusing its initiatives towards protecting the carbon space for countries with low emissions. The authors also take insights from scientists, who suggest new green technologies and renewable energy as the solution to move forwards.
INDIA’S COMMITMENT IN GLOBAL CLIMATE AGREEMENTS:
India has never backed down from showing its commitment towards battling climate change, and this is evident through its participation in several international climate agreements. The most notable climate change agreement is the Paris Agreement.
Paris Agreement –
The Paris Agreement is defined by the UNFCCC as “a legally binding international treaty” on climate change. On December 12, 2015, the agreement was accepted to by 196 parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-21) held in Paris. The Paris Agreement is highly significant to the battle against climate change because it is the first legally binding agreement that brings all the nations together in this fight and adapt to its effects.
The Agreement was brought into effect on November 4, 2016. Ever since then, the goal of the parties was to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and make efforts to keep the increase in temperature to no more than 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement is based on a five-year cycle of succeeding progressive climate actions taken by countries. Ever since 2020, national climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have been submitted by the nations. Every consecutive NDC showcases an even greater level of ambition to tackle climate change than the previous one.
India ratified the agreement on October 2, 2016, and has since reflected its commitment towards climate change in its NDCs. The targets set by India’s NDCs include reducing the intensity of the country’s GDP’s emissions by 33%-35% from the 2005 levels by 2030, making it attain about 40% of the installed capacity for electricity generated by sources other than fossil fuels by that same year. It also aims to add more forest and tree cover to create a carbon sink equivalent to 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes CO2 by the same year. While these are highly ambitious goals considering the pre-existing socio-economic challenges and developmental needs of India, the move is highly significant.
Kyoto Protocol –
The Kyoto Protocol is a landmark international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Undertaken in 1997, it was brought into effect in 2005. The Kyoto Protocol committed its signatories to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. India plays a significant role in this agreement; as a developing nation and a signatory to the Protocol, it has worked its way into being focused on voluntary efforts to address climate change and sustainable development.
As per the Kyoto Protocol, India was classified as a Non-Annex I country. Non-Annex I countries are usually developing countries that are not obligated to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. However, these countries are encouraged to increase their mitigation efforts and provide updates on their progress. They also receive technical and support from Annex I countries. Since India is classified into Non-Annex I countries, it was not mandated to cut its GHG emissions to be able to meet the binding targets. Instead, India’s contribution towards the mitigation of climate change included voluntary efforts to promote sustainability and sustainable development. This classification of the Annex and the Non-Annex countries was mainly made because of the different historical responsibilities and abilities of the developed and developing nations with respect to greenhouse gas emissions.
An important aspect of India’s role in the Kyoto Protocol was regarding its active participation in the Clean Development Mechanism. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was established to allow developed countries to invest in emission reduction projects that were being carried out in developing countries. This investment gave them Certified Emission Reductions (CER) in return, and that could be used to meet their Kyoto targets. India became one of the largest beneficiaries of the CDM; it hosted various projects that contributed to sustainable development and reduced emissions. The CDM projects in India were spread across several sectors, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy (wind, hydro, biomass), and waste management. These projects not only helped in reducing emissions, but also provided additional benefits like technology transfer, improved infrastructure, and increased employment opportunities.
However, India still has challenges in its way of being able to strike a proper balance environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. Problems relating to the socio-economic effects of shifting to a low-carbon economy, improving capacity towards climate change adaptation, and building resilience within vulnerable communities still exist. Furthermore, consistent innovation and international cooperation is required to meet the different needs of the country’s increasing population.
NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE (NAPCC):
India’s primary tool to combat climate change is the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The NAPCC, which was launched on June 30, 2008, is a national strategy that is aimed at improving India’s ecological sustainability and subsequently allow the country to adjust to climate change effects. The Action Plan is focused on maintain a high growth rate in order to raise the living conditions of Indians and lessen their susceptibility to the effects of climate change.
The NAPCC lists eight National Missions, which are devised to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development. The missions are as follows:
- National Solar Mission (NSM) –
The National Solar Mission was established with the aim to significantly raise the proportion of solar energy in the overall energy mix, while also acknowledging that we have other renewable and non-fossil choices such as nuclear, wind, and biomass energy. This was essentially introduced to lower the dependency on non-renewable sources and focus on options such as solar energy to meet our needs.
- National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) –
The NMEEE plans the strengthening of the market for energy efficiency”, which is done by developing creative and sustainable business models for the energy efficiency sector. It also intends to create a legal and policy framework that supports these goals. Through the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) within the Central Government and authorised bodies in each state, the Energy Conservation Act of 2001 establishes a legislative mandate for the implementation of energy saving measures. The NMEEE consists of four initiatives namely Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT), Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency (MTEE), Energy Efficiency Financing Platform (EEFP), and Framework for Energy Efficient Economic Development (FEEED).
- National Mission on Sustainable Habitat –
The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is aimed at the development of sustainable habitats that result in strong development strategies while also addressing climate change issues. The Mission is also focused on creating city development plans that fully address the issues of adaptation and mitigation, and creating extensive mobility plans that will allow cities to establish a long-term, energy-efficient, and economical mode of transportation.
- National Water Mission –
The National Water Mission provides an integrated management of water systems which will help in water conservation, reducing waste, and guaranteeing more equal distribution of water between and among states. The Mission takes into account the National Water Policy provisions to create a framework for maximising water use by achieving a 20% increase in the water use efficiency.
- National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system –
The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem is focused on addressing issues concerning the Himalayan glaciers, the conservation and protection of biodiversity and wildlife, and plans for the sustainability of the Himalayan Ecosystem.
- National Mission for a Green India (GIM) –
The GIM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which is aimed at increasing and improving the quality of forest cover, increasing forest-based livelihood income, improving the ecosystem services, and enhancing the annual CO2 sequestration.
- National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) –
The NMSA is equipped with the role of devising plans to strengthen the climate change resistance of Indian agriculture. Its goals also include increasing agricultural productivity, sustainability, and profitability. The NMSA’s components include Soil Health Management (SHM), Farm Water Management (FWM), and the Soil Health Card Scheme.
- National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC) –
The NMSKCC aims to support and guide national action in effectively addressing the goal of ecologically sustainable development. It is focused on identifying the problems caused by and solutions to climate change with the goal of involving the global technology development and research community, and collaborating on channels such as open source platforms.
ADDITIONAL POLICIES:
There are several more policies that have been devised by the Indian government for climate change mitigation in various different sectors. These are as follows:
- The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 –
The Energy Conservation Act, 2001, was introduced to help regulate the efficient use of energy and its conservation. This Act also led to the establishment of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The BEE assists in the development of schemes and strategies with the primary goal of reducing energy intensity.
- The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 –
The National Green Tribunal was established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. The National Green Tribunal specialises in hearing and deciding matters relating to the environment. The Tribunal’s objective is to provide an efficient and speedy remedy in disputes involving environmental protection, enforcement of any environmental legal rights, and the preservation of forests and other natural resources. The Tribunal holds the authority to award damages and compensation to the injured parties, and its orders are legally binding.
- Green Energy Corridor Project –
The idea of a Green Energy Corridor relates to the advancement and integration of renewable energy sources, specifically solar and wind power, into the existing electrical grid framework. The Green Energy Corridor Project is crucial for India to be able to meet its targets for carbon emission reduction and renewable energy. The project discusses the need for a reliable transmission infrastructure to move electricity from areas rich in renewable energy sources to demanding centre.
CONCLUSION:
With its focus on renewable energy and climate justice, as well as incorporating national policies and globally binding agreements, India has proven itself to having a comprehensive and varied legal framework for mitigating climate change. Furthermore, while there has been a huge amount of progress, there still exist roadblocks in the way of successfully putting these policies into place and reaching our goals. India’s ability to tackle the challenges presented by climate change and secure a sustainable future for its population heavily depends upon the consistent efforts supported by strong legislative frameworks and international cooperation. India’s journey towards climate change mitigation serves as an example for other developing countries, emphasising the significance of striking a balance between development objectives and environmental sustainability. India can keep up its progress in climate change mitigation and ensuring a sustainable future for its coming generations by encouraging innovation, improving the implementation of policies, and increasing international engagement.
Rujul Raina
Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University