Lok Sabha Question No. 198 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Climate Change
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Damodar Agrawal, Dr. Kalyan Vaijinathrao Kale, Smt. Mala Roy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 198

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.11.2024

## Climate Change

198. SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SMT. MALA ROY:

DR. KALYAN VAIJINATHRAO KALE:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware about the issue of climate change across the country, if so, the main reasons therefor;
- (b) whether it is a fact that the temperature of earth is increasing every year by one degree due to globle warming and deforestation, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the steps taken by the Government to make likely environment which will be suitable for human being and also good for cultivation;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  for  more  plantations  in  the  country  to  save  the earth from ultraviolet rays and excess sun rays, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  commenced  working  on  any  scheme  for  environmental protection and promotion in the State of Rajasthan, if so, the district-wise details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) the  details  of  specific  plans  for  climate  adaptation  to  protect  vulnerable  communities from increasing climate change impacts?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) and (b) As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Cycle  Synthesis  Report  released  in  2023,  human  activities,  principally  through  emissions  of greenhouse  gases,  have  unequivocally  caused  global  warming,  with  the  global  mean  surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 level in the decade 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions.

The United  Nations  Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) notes that the largest share of the historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases has originated in developed countries, that per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low, and that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs.

The  Government  of  India  is  aware  of  and  committed  to  addressing  the  challenges  of climate  change.  India's  Third  National  Communication  submitted  to  the  United  Nations Framework  Convention on Climate Change  (UNFCCC)  in  2023 reported that India is experiencing a full range of climate change impacts.

(c) The  Government  of  India  has  taken  a  number  of  steps  to  protect  and  conserve  the ecosystem, including steps to combat climate change. India has achieved two primary goals of its Nationally  Determined  Contributions  (NDC)  laid  down  in  2015  and  updated  its  Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2022, and enhanced its target of cumulative electric power installed capacity through non-fossil fuel to 50% by 2030 and to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels. The Government of India has also included a non-quantitative target in the updated NDC, namely LiFE- 'Lifestyle for Environment' as a key to  combating  climate  change  by  involving  people's  everyday  actions.  Besides,  India  has  also prepared and submitted to UNFCCC its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LTLEDS) with a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.

The  Government  of  India  is  also  implementing  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate Change (NAPCC), which comprises missions in specific areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, water,  agriculture,  Himalayan  eco-system,  sustainable  habitat,  green  India,  human  health,  and strategic  knowledge  on  climate  change.  The  respective  nodal  Ministries  implement  these Missions. One of the Missions, the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), aims to make the agriculture sector more resilient to the changing climate. The Government of India is also  implementing  a  network  project,  namely  National  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient Agriculture  (NICRA),  which  aims  to  study  the  impact  of  climate  change  on  agriculture, including crops, and promote climate resilient technologies to cope with weather extremes.

(d) The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest,  and  Climate  Change  is  implementing  various programs and schemes that encourage tree plantation in the country. The National Mission for Green  India  (GIM),  one  of  the  missions  under  NAPCC,  aims  to  protect,  restore,  and  enhance India's forest cover and respond to climate change by undertaking plantation activities in forest and  non-forest  areas  through  Joint  Forest  Management  Committees  (JFMCs),  which  include local  communities. The Ministry is also implementing the Nagar Van Yojana (NVY) with the primary  objective  of  creating  forest/  green  spaces  in  urban  areas  by  developing  Nagar  Van/ Vatikas with a view to protecting  forest  land within cities/towns. The School Nursery Yojana aims to provide an environment for the students to understand and appreciate the significance of plants in maintaining and sustaining the natural ecosystem.

The  Ministry  has  also  requested  States  and  Union  Territories  to  take  up  plantation activities under the campaign "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam,' launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister on World Environment Day on June 5, 2024. The Ministry has met its goal of planting 80 crore seedlings under the campaign before the deadline.

- (e) The Ministry has taken various steps to conserve, sustain, and protect the environment, including implementing specific schemes on a Pan-India basis. The details of central assistance provided  to  the  State  of  Rajasthan  from  time  to  time,  under  some  crucial  schemes  of  the Ministry, are as follows:
- i. National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) includes five cities of Rajasthan State, namely, Alwar,  Jaipur,  Jodhpur,  Kota,  and  Udaipur.  These  cities  have  been  provided  a  total amount of ₹610.25 crore till date to implement City Action Plans to address air pollution;
- ii. Under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change, a grant of ₹ 22.48 crore was sanctioned for the project titled 'Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyaan for Climate Change Adaptation and Water Harvesting in Anandpuri, Arthuna and Sajjangarh blocks of District Banswara' and the project has been completed;
- iii. Under  the  National  Plan  for  Conservation  of  Aquatic  Ecosystems  (NPCA)  for  the conservation  and  management  of  wetlands  in  the  country,  the  Ministry  has  sanctioned ₹  146.165  crore  as  the  central  share  for  the  conservation  and  management  of  seven wetlands/lakes in five districts, namely, Ajmer, Jaipur, Mount Abu, Nagour and Udaipur.
- iv. Under the Nagar Van Yojana, the Ministry has sanctioned twenty-three projects with a total  cost  of  ₹32.5748  crores  in  14  districts  of  the  State  of  Rajasthan,  namely,  Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Churu, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Rajsamand, Sriganganagar and Udaipur.
- (f) The  Government  of  India  recognizes  adaptation  is  inevitable  and  imperative  for  its development  process  and  has  been  undertaking  several  initiatives  to  mainstream  adaptation efforts  through  various  schemes/  projects/programs  of  several  Ministries  viz.  Ministry  of  Jal Shakti, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, etc., to improve adaptive capacities and reducing socio-economic vulnerabilities of the people. Further, six out of nine  missions  under  NAPCC  focus  on  adaptation  in  water,  habitat,  agriculture,  Himalayan ecosystem,  human  health,  and  strategic  knowledge  on  climate  change.  Thirty-four  States  and UTs  have  prepared  their  respective  State  Action  Plans  on  Climate  Change  (SAPCCs).  The SAPCCs are designed to be context  specific,  and  inter-alia,  provides  for  adaptation  strategies considering different ecological, social, and economic conditions of each State.

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