AUTHOR: VISHVAK KANNAN
ANALYSING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLIMATE ADAPTATION: A CASE STUDY OF INDIA – Global Policy Consortium Podcasts
Climate Finance: A Global Portrait
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate finance as, “the local, national, or transnational financing that supports climate change mitigation and adaptation actions”. The need for climate finance stems from the issue of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) that seeks to address the fact that emissions by countries have historic inequities – developed countries have taken up a larger share of the global carbon budget than developing and least developed countries. Climate finance has been in the spotlight since 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol was ratified. In 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed, developed countries supported a pledge to make available $100 billion every year from 2020 to 2025 that would be used by developing and least developed countries for climate actions – both mitigation and adaptation.
Parties to UNFCCC established the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Special Climate Change Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund, and the Adaptation Fund between 2001 and 2010, towards supporting low-carbon growth and climate resilience initiatives in developing least developed countries. In addition, climate finance is also routed through multilateral development banks such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). However, global climate finance has only trickled in slowly, calling to question various commitments and pledges made by developed country Parties. A large part of the finance, provided by both public and private funders, is used up in mitigation actions such as generating power from renewable sources and developing sustainable transport systems. Figure 1 shows estimates of global climate finance by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and UNFCCC, and the sectors in which this money has been spent.
Climate Actions: India’s Trajectory
Climate Policy Initiative estimates annual climate finance requirements in India at an average of ₹11,10,000 crores. However, domestic and international finance stood at around ₹1,24,000 crores across sectors – a little over 10% of this requirement. The study reveals a severe paucity of resources essential for meaningful climate action. The CPI study also points to public sector financing of climate action at just 29% of the total ₹1,24,000 crores made available on average annually. The power generation sector received nearly 80% of this funding – in solar PV and onshore wind power projects.
A significant proportion of incoming climate finance (from the GCF, inter-governmental development programs, and philanthropic organizations) is spent on climate mitigation projects – for ramping up renewable energy capacity around the country. Important in the scope of such projects is the substitution of coal as a primary source of energy, with renewable sources such as solar and wind. India has also developed action plans at the National and State levels to realize these objectives. Considering voluntary commitments, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) as defined under the Paris Agreement, India has increased renewable energy capacity from 76 GW in March 2014, to over 150 GW as of November 2021.
India has taken further steps in this direction, including the more recent push for green and blue hydrogen highlighted by the India-Denmark Joint Committee’s Green Strategic Partnership Action Plan 2020-2025. PSUs like BHEL and NTPC are also involved in the decarbonization drive – scoping domestic solar panel manufacturing, green hydrogen plants, and skill enhancement programs to train youth.
Climate Adaptation: Need of the Hour
While mitigation actions are critically important for a developing country for various reasons: sustainable development, promotion of future industry and not least exhibiting global climate leadership and responsibility, Indian domestic needs lie squarely in adapting to a changing climate and protecting her vulnerable populations.
Figure 2 highlights findings of a district-level study conducted by CEEW which shows that more than 80% of Indians live in districts that are vulnerable to debilitating effects of climate change, including floods, droughts, and cyclones. The study also brings out the low adaptive capacity of regional disaster management systems to cope with such consequences of climate change. Seen together with the issue of paucity of climate finance, it becomes essential to target the low-hanging fruit of adaptation and capacity development projects.
India has taken steps in this direction, with the allocation of budgetary funding for the National Adaptation Fund, National Afforestation Programme, and MGNREGS, among others. These funds are utilized to finance projects under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change, and various other greening projects. Although less charismatic compared to sparkling solar plants and imposing wind farms spanning acres of land, ostensibly diverted from agricultural uses, adaptation actions can improve the climate resilience of crores of vulnerable Indians. This will involve landscape and infrastructure planning considering climate exposure profiles and risk assessments of ecosystems in different parts of the country.
The Government of India can lay out national priorities insofar as climate change mitigation and adaptation actions are concerned. A lot of eyes in the climate policy space are on India, on the heels of various commitments made at COP26. Significant among those include:
- Indian Railways to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 through 100% electrification of operations. Railways to be operated through solar and wind power sourced from grid. This will also help in savings of ~ ₹17,000 crore and generate ~20.4 crore man-days in employment opportunities.
- 50% of Indian energy requirements to be met from renewable energy sources by 2030. Rapid increases in installed RE capacity signal a movement in this direction.
- Commitment to net zero year by 2070. This will involve a major overhaul of power generation and transport systems, not to mention offsetting of agricultural and allied sector emissions.
Adaptation actions would ensure that development programs over the last few decades that have successfully helped lift people out of poverty are not pushed back. The paradigm shift in the understanding of poverty to recognize its multidimensional aspect must also consider threats to lives and livelihoods for climate-vulnerable sections of the population. While sustainable development in the Indian context will involve meeting future energy demand from renewable sources, the welfare model of development should ensure that climate change does not lead to the disenfranchisement of people at the forefront of these disasters.
*“The views expressed in the article are author’s personal and is not endorsed by the Global Policy Consortium (GPC) or assumed by their members”
Global Policy Consortium 