India has always emphasized that climate change is a global collective action problem and requires international cooperation for its solution. India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and its Kyoto Protocol (KP), and the Paris Agreement (PA). Reports from various sources including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlight that the challenges faced due to global warming are mainly due to cumulative historical and current greenhouse gas emissions of the developed countries. In a written reply submitted in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed that India with more than 17 per cent of global population has contributed only about 4 per cent of the global cumulative greenhouse gas emissions between 1850 and 2019.
Even though, India is not part of the problem, it is part of the solution, and has done far more than its fair share in addressing the climate change. The Government of India stands committed to combating climate change through its several programmes and schemes including the National Action Plan on Climate Change(NAPCC) which comprises missions in specific areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, water, sustainable agriculture, health, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India, and strategic knowledge for climate change. The NAPCC provides an overarching framework for all climate actions. Thirty-four States /Union Territories (UTs) have prepared their State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with NAPCC taking into account the State specific issues relating to climate change. India has also proactively taken a lead in promoting international collaborations through International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and has undertaken various programmes and activities through these arrangements.
Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy(LT-LEDS) are determined by countries themselves and communicated to the UNFCCC. In keeping with this, India has submitted its updated NDCs on August 26, 2022 and its long-term low carbon development strategy on November 14, 2022.
The impact of climate change on agriculture and other sectors is being assessed by the relevant Ministries from time to time. Agriculture in India is primarily the site of adaptation and not mitigation, though mitigation co-benefits may arise and be utilised from time to time depending on context specific and local circumstances. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated a network project, National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) in 2011 to study and address the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture. As per the studies under NICRA, rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce marginally (<2.5 per cent) in 2050 and 2080 and irrigated rice yields by 7 per cent in 2050 and 10 per cent in 2080 scenarios. Wheat yield is projected to reduce by 6-25 per cent in 2100 and maize yield by 18-23 per cent. Climate change is likely to benefit chickpeas with an increase in productivity (23-54 per cent). Further, Department of Science and Technology is implementing two national missions namely National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change. Under the missions, a number of R&D projects have been supported in climate change studies across India to assess the impact of climate change on sectors like coastal vulnerability, health, agriculture and water.
