core sector communique

Climate Change

The Minister of State (I/C) for Environment and Forests Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan today informed the members of Lok Sabha that towards fulfilment of reporting obligations regarding implementation of the Convention, being a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India has submitted its Second National Communication (a report) to the UNFCCC in May, 2012. The report contains information on greenhouse gas emissions of anthropogenic origin from sectors such as energy, industry, agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry and waste for the years 2000 and 2007. The report also provides details of impacts of projected climate change in key sectors such as agriculture, water, health, natural ecosystems etc. Some results includes inter-alia, an annual mean surface air temperature rise by the end of the century ranges from 3.5°C to 4.3°C, which is likely to impact four key economic sectors of the country namely Forests, Health, Water and Agriculture, Changes in agriculture production, projected increase in the Net Primary Productivity of forests by an average of 30.3% by 2035, and 56.2% by 2085, projected increase in droughts and floods, projected increase in windows of transmission of Malaria. In reply to a question the Minister stated that with the objective to support India’s policies for sustainable development, Government of India has released a National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on June 30, 2008, which includes eight Missions in specific area of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change. These missions includes activities such as promotion of energy efficiency, appropriate mix of fuels and primary energy sources including nuclear, hydro and renewable sources, energy pricing, pollution abatement, afforestation, mass transport etc.