Lok Sabha Question No. 3872 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Climate Science Research Initiatives
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3872 ANSWERED ON 18/12/2024

## CLIMATE SCIENCE RESEARCH INITIATIVES

## 3872. Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) the  current  research  initiatives  in  climate  science  aimed  at understanding and mitigating climate change;
- (b) the  percentage  of  the  budget  allocated  by  the  Government  to environmental  research  in  the  2023  and  the  key  outcomes  achieved during the year;
- (c) the details of collaborations established with international organisations or institutions to enhance climate science research; and
- (d) the measures taken to disseminate research findings to policymakers and the public to inform climate action strategies?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी तथा पृ थ्िी विज्ञान मंत्रालय क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्ितंत्र प्रभार) ( डॉ. जितेंद्र स ंह )

- (a) Yes Sir. Research initiatives in climate science are being led by Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Department of Science and Technology (DST) is leading two National Missions on Climate Change: the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge  for  Climate  Change  (NMSKCC).  These  missions  provide support to academic and research institutions to study various aspects

of climate change, including health, coastal vulnerability, agriculture, of Biotechnology  (DBT)  has  taken  initiatives  to  develop  the  enabling technologies and products for a climate resilient industrial growth such water resources, and the Himalayan ecosystem. Department as high Performance Bio-manufacturing initiative.

Centre for Climate Change Research (CCCR) at the Indian Institute of Tropical  Meteorology  (IITM),  Pune  established  by  MoES,  focuses  on improving  the  understanding  of  regional  climate  change  and  provide scientific inputs for framing climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.  First Earth System Model from India, the IITM Earth System

Model, was developed at CCCR-IITM Pune.

MoEF&CC  has  initiated  different  studies  under  the  Climate  Change Action Programme (CCAP), including National Carbonaceous Aerosols Programme  (NCAP), Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) Programme  to  create  and  strengthen  the  scientific  and  analytical capacity for assessment of climate change in the country.

- (b) There  is  no  separate  allocation  of  budget  specifically  for environmental research in the MoES and MoST, however a budget of Rs. 125  Crore  was  allocated  in  2023  by  DST  for  the  implementation  of Climate,  Energy  and  Sustainable  Technology  initiatives.  Under  the Environment  Research  and  Development  Program  (ERDP)  of the MoEF&CC, Rs. 3 Crore was also allocated for the year 2023.

Key achievements of DST includes the strengthening of State Climate Change Cells (SCCCs) in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Jammu  &  Kashmir,  and  Meghalaya.  Additionally,  a  new  Centre  of Excellence (CoE) focused on Indian monsoons has been established at the  University  of  Allahabad  and  R&D  projects  in  the  area  of  Hydro Climate Extremes and Himalayan Cryosphere were supported during the year.    Further,  first  of  its  kind  21-day  Capacity  Building  Program  in Glaciology, featuring on-field training at the Machoi Glacier in Drass, Ladakh, has been successfully conducted by the University of Kashmir, benefiting twenty doctoral and post-doctoral students nationwide.

DST has also showcased the outcomes of Climate Change Vulnerability and Climate Resilient Development Strategy  in the  Indian  Himalayan Region at a dedicated side event during the COP-28 conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dec 2023 at Dubai.

- (c) Several collaborations have been established with international organisations  and  institutions  for  joint  research  initiatives  aimed  at enhancing Climate science research involving countries like Australia, Austria,  Bangladesh,  Bhutan,  Brazil,  Canada,  Cambodia,  Denmark, Egypt,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Israel,  Japan,  Mauritius,  Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, USA and UAE.

Scientists from IITM-Pune have contributed to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report as Co-coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors. The CCCR-IITM Pune, under MoES, is actively involved in the Climate Model Experiment & Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP) of the  World  Climate  Research  Program  (WCRP)  to  address  projected climate changes. In addition, under the National Monsoon Mission, an Indo-US collaboration has been set up between MoES and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA, for the development  of  dynamical  prediction  system  of  monsoon  at  various scales over India.

- (d) Under  the  DST-led  National  Missions,  NMSHE  and  NMSKCC, several public awareness programmes on climate change and adaptation have been regularly organized. The dissemination has been through    workshops,  seminars  and  publications  that  engage  and sensitise  a  diverse  range  of  stakeholders,  including    state  officials, scientists, research scholars, community  members,  civil society representatives, youth & women organizations and NGOs.

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