India prepares national adaptation plan to combat climate change challenges

Greater Noida, a vibrant National Capital Region zone lying in Uttar Pradesh, has a distinctive academic zone called Knowledge Park. It is marked by imposing building structures of different higher education institutes. As you go past the Greater Noida Expo stretch (another major attraction of the Knowledge Park) and hit the first circular point, you will notice a large building that belongs to IIT Roorkee. It is the extension centre of a premier institute known for its research and incubation activities. On the second floor of the building, you have a dedicated office of Integrated Centre for Adaptation, Disaster Resilience & Sustainability (ICARS), a centre of excellence jointly formed by the department of science & technology (DST) of the government of India and IIT Roorkee early last year.  Inside this section, you will come across a bunch of researchers, busy framing a new policy -- the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) -- which has serious implications for all players and stakeholders in the climate change combat value chain. ICARS is the anchor institute working to prepare this draft (in consultation with multiple stakeholders) and the ministry for environment is the nodal agency for this exercise, which is expected to trigger plenty of action in all stakeholders’ quarters, including industry and businesses.

Having a dedicated adaptation policy is a global inevitability, especially for those who abide by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). And, there are more than 140 countries committed to this. Over 50 countries have already framed this policy and they are now entitled to get funding for adaptation projects from the Green Climate Fund. India, which has been somewhat late in preparing this plan, is now getting ready to present its policy at the next COP edition scheduled this November in Brazil. “Adaptation is the next big thing in our efforts to deal with climate change challenges,” informs Anil Kumar Gupta, CEO of the centre, who is spearheading this draft paper preparation drive. “And, in that sense, this policy we are working on will play a significant role on a long-term basis. The basic draft will soon be ready and then it will be put up for cabinet ratification”.

Components of the plan

In general terms, differentiating between mitigation and adaptation often turns out to be quite confusing and could often result in serious overlapping. But experts point at the difference in no uncertain terms.  “Mitigation mostly pertains to using technology to curb carbon emissions due to our activities,” explains Anita Gupta, head, scientific division, Climate Energy & Sustainable Technology (DST). “If you want to see its most common manifestation, then just look at the trends in mobility space, the growing inclination towards EVs. As against this, adaptation means switching over to the set of practices, which empower you to deal with the adverse impact of climate change vagaries. The basic premise is to prepare communities to meet challenges of all kinds on a perpetual basis. The world has understood that the climate change troubles will be there and so you have to always be on your guard and ready with right solutions”. Seen from this prism, even Prime Minister Modi’s recent initiative -- ek ped maa ke naam (one tree in the name of mother) -- is an adaptation exercise, which could significantly benefit in the long run. Or for that matter, switching over the LED bulbs is a clear example of an effective adaptation policy.   

With the ministry for environment as the nodal government agency, there are multi-stakeholders involved in giving shape to this critical policy, which is expected to add a new dimension to India’s response to climate change challenges. “The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) we are building today will be a cornerstone of our march towards Viksit Bharat,” said Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union minister of state for environment, forest & climate change, in a conference earlier this year. Further emphasising, he had referred to the policy as the broader blueprint for integrating adaptation into national development plans and policies across economic sectors, ensuring a systematic and long-term approach. “It will contribute to building resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate-related risks across various sectors such as agriculture, water resources, the Himalayan region, coastal regions, health, disaster management, etc,” he had explained.

Researchers at ICARS have been working to implement this vision since last June.  While the ministry for environment is spiriting the drive, it is getting subtle support from different ministries and the institute called ICARS has been designated as an anchoring institute for the entire exercise. “We have been working since last June. “Our mandate is to help in creating a policy framework which should have efficient technical, legal and institutional provisions and deliver on a long-term basis,” Anil Gupta emphasises. “There are nine functional areas that are going to be focussed on.” The areas include water, agriculture, health, ecosystem & bio-diversity, forestry, disaster management, poverty eradication & livelihood heritage and adaptation resourcing. “Disaster management is the common element among all these domains,” Anil Gupta specifies. “And we have to make a policy which should ensure effectively responding to climate change triggered disasters in areas mentioned in the list”.

NAP for business

It is no secret to anybody that the country’s mitigation plan and drives have been focusing more on industries and businesses as the prime objective has been to bring down the carbon emission level. India is estimated to be contributing over 4 per cent of the total global emission but with rising economic prowess, its contribution has also gone up in the recent years. There is a marked emphasis in giving a hard push to non-fossil fuel capacity and also pushing the mobility sector to the electric lane. There have been a flurry of initiatives and there have been reports of both kinds emphasising on the impact of these efforts.  “India’s current climate policies are already helping bend its long-term emissions curve and are projected to reduce CO2 emissions by almost 4 billion tonnes between 2020 and 2030,” a report by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) released late last year had maintained. However, there have been some reports in the recent past from international agencies, which are pointing at growing carbon emission contribution from India in the recent years due to its growing economic prowess.

The point is: carbon mitigation has been a busy space for Indian business stakeholders. The moot question now is: what kind of paradigm shift do they have to make, when a dedicated National Adaptation Plan comes into existence? According to Anil Gupta, the NPA could pave the way for some critical structural changes. “The companies, especially the big ones, both in the public and the private sector, indulge in business continuity (BCM) exercise,” Gupta explains. “This is more to judge their preparedness to deal with different and difficult economic and financial cycles. Similarly, a policy like the NPA will advocate to undertake Business Impact Assessment (BIA) analysis especially from the prism of potential damages to their business from climate change. It has already started happening in Japan”. And then, it would also result in business opportunity especially for new age IT firms with expertise in AI and other new generation tools. “It could be a massive business opportunity. You will need high-end toolkits like early warning systems for different facilities or even agrarian fields. There would be different predictive analysis systems telling a facility owner how much damage his unit could face in different inclement climatic conditions. This kind of information and resulting solutions (which could be non-IT) means huge business opportunity,” he further explains, while adding that the industry’s leading associations have provided their inputs for this plan.

“With climate risks posing growing challenges to business operations, supply chains, and infrastructure, Indian industry views the upcoming NAP as a timely and strategic step forward. Stakeholders across sectors – especially MSMEs, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and agri-based industries – look forward to a plan that goes beyond addressing vulnerabilities to also create new pathways for resilient and sustainable growth. The Indian industry sees the NAP not merely as a climate necessity, but as a strategic opportunity to enhance long-term competitiveness, attract investments, and align with global sustainability benchmarks.” says Jyoti Vij, DG, FICCI. Quite clearly, the industry seems to be aware of what lies ahead in the battle with climate change challenges and is willing to align with a new set of rules.