India is all set to respond to the challenge of climate change. Various actions have been initiated in this direction. These include a growth strategy based on sustainable development, setting up of the Prime Minister¡¦s Council on Climate Change to coordinate the national action for assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, release of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) by the Prime Minister on 30th June 2008 and setting up of Expert Committee on Impact of Climate Change by the Ministry of Environment & Forests in June 2007.
According to the studies conducted by India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other institutions, there has been a warming of about 0.5„aC during past 100 years over the country with a significant warming trend along the west coast, central India, and interior peninsula and over northeast India. A cooling trend has been observed in northwest and some parts of southern India. The all India monsoon rainfall does not show any trend but there are some regional patterns. Areas of increasing trend in monsoon rainfall are found along the west coast, north Andhra Pradesh and north-west India, and those of decreasing trend over east Madhya Pradesh and adjoining areas, north-east India and parts of Gujarat and Kerala. Analysis of past tide gauge records for the Indian coastline regions gives an estimate of sea level rise of 1.30 mm/year.
The thirteenth Conference of Parties (COP-13) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Bali in December 2007 launched a comprehensive process called Bali Action Plan (BAP) in order to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC through long-term cooperative action amongst all Parties to the Convention, now, upto and beyond 2012. Bali Action Plan envisages enhanced actions for providing financial resources and technologies to developing countries in order to support their actions for adaptation and mitigation of climate change. It is expected that an agreed outcome would be reached and a decision adopted regarding BAP, at the fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP-15) to be held in December 2009.
India follows a path of sustainable development through a range of policies and programmes to mitigate climate change aimed at energy conservation, improved energy efficiency in various sectors; promoting use of renewable energy; power sector reforms; use of cleaner and lesser carbon intensive fuel for transport; fuel switching to cleaner energy; afforestation and conservation of forests; promotion of clean coal technologies and encouraging Mass Rapid Transport systems. National Action Plan on Climate Change will further enhance India¡¦s efforts towards adaptation and mitigation.
Minister of State for the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh replied in a written question by Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya in Rajya Sabha today.