Lok Sabha Question No. 1901 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-29
Subject: Threats of Global Warming
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Mitesh Rameshbhai (Bakabhai) Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1901

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2019

## Threats of Global Warming

## 1901.   SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI PATEL (BAKABHAI):

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  steps  to  create  awareness  among  people  to  tackle  the threats caused by the rise in Global Warming;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the measures being taken to assess the likely damage caused by the rise in Global Warming;
- (d) whether there are any such schemes/policies involving common citizens to deal with Global Warming; and
- (a) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

- (a) and  (b)  Government  is  taking  various  steps  for  citizens'  involvement  and  creating  awareness  about climate change, which include inter alia :
- i) Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  is  implementing Environment  Education,  Awareness  and  Training  scheme  with  the  objective  to  promote environmental  awareness  among  all  sections  of  the  society  and  to  mobilize  people's participation  for  conservation  of  environment.  Under  the  National  Green  Corps  (NGC) programme, about one lakh schools have been identified as Eco-clubs, wherein, nearly thirty lakh students are actively participating in various environment protection and conservation activities.
- ii) India's  biggest  climate  change  awareness  programme  was  the  'Science  Express  Climate Action  Special  Train'  (SECAS)  -  a  mobile  exhibition  on  climate  change  aimed  to  create awareness among various sections of society, especially students. SECAS intends to increase understanding  of  the  science  of  climate  change,  observed  and  anticipated  impacts  and different possible responses. During 15 October, 2015 to 07 May, 2016, the train travelled a distance of about 19,800 km and more than 23.24 lakh visitors viewed its thematic content on global warming. Due to the unprecedented response received by the train, it was run again from 17 February, 2017 to 08 September, 2017 with the aim to cover a distance of 19,000 km.
- iii) To  involve  citizens in adopting sustainable  lifestyles,  MoEF&CC  launched  a  social movement 'Green Good Deeds' to bring focus on small steps like saving energy, conserving water,  planting  trees,  reduce  reuse  and  recycle,  carpool  where  possible,  and  use  public transport, by which individuals can contribute to combating climate change and environmental challenges.
- iv) Further,  MoEF&CC  has  also  been  involved  in promoting environment  education  to  all sections of the society through various outreach activities, theme-based exhibition galleries, etc. organized from time to time by the National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi and its four Regional Museums, located in Mysuru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Sawai-Madhopur.
- v) Under the National Mission on Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC), 25 State Climate Change Cells in 25 States/ Union Territories have been supported, and providing awareness about the threat of global warming is one of the tasks assigned to State Cells. During last five years 1.5 lakh people have been given exposure as part of public awareness programme conducted by State Climate Change Cells.
- vi) India  was  the  global  host  of  the  World  Environment  Day  2018.  During  the  event,  10,000 school children from 200 schools of Delhi-NCR attended Envithon - The Green Run.
- vii) The Government is also implementing a scheme to support adaptation measures in its States and Union Territories which, inter alia, include capacity building of stakeholders and local agencies.

(c) To ascertain the impact of climate change, Government of India has devised a study 'Climate Change and India: A 4X4 Assessment - A Sectoral and Regional Analysis for 2030s'. The study covers four major regions in  India, namely, Himalayan region, North-Eastern region, Western Ghats and the Coastal Region in regard to observed climate and climate change projections for the  year  2030s  on  four  key  sectors  i.e.  agriculture,  water,  natural  ecosystem,  biodiversity  and health.  As  part  of  the  National  Communications,  the Ministry  conducted  studies  on  impact  of climate change in India which are summarized in the 'Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation' chapters.  The  Indian  Council  of  Agriculture  Research  (ICAR)  under  National  Innovations  on Climate Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA)  Project  has  also  carried  out  studies  on  the  impacts  of climate change on agriculture.

(d)  and  (e)  Creating  awareness  among  citizens  about  the  threat  of  global  warming  forms  an intrinsic part of India's national framework to deal with the issue of climate change, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC) and Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP).

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