As per the Economic Survey 2018, Climate Change has the potential to reduce agricultural income by 15-18% every year. This percentage increases to 20-25% in unirrigated areas.
Human-induced climate change is contributing to increased temperature and heat waves altering India’s climate at a faster rate than expected. Extreme changes in weather patterns are already visible. Impact of Climate Change is felt across the ecosystem-biodiversity, agriculture, human health, shifts in weather patterns, and frequent and intense natural disasters.
Government’s National Action Plan on Climate Change as well as declaration of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement have paved the way towards low carbon growth in India. Deployment of large-scale renewable energy projects and manufacturing of e-vehicles are transforming the technological landscape of the country by offering opportunities to invest in climate action.
CII is of the view that the efforts of the Government in any sector or area of intervention are complemented or enhanced by Industry participation. Over the years, CII has been working actively with businesses to mainstream climate action that includes capacity building of industry catalyzing the green buildings movement, which has resulted in a foot print of over 5.0 bn sq ft of green buildings in India.
The Climate Change Council of CII leads the policy advocacy and works with all stakeholders including the Government to facilitate greater climate action. The latest initiative of the Council is Climate Action Programme (CAP) 2.00, a unique climate recognition programme.
This edition of Policy Watch highlights some important issues related to climate change and initiatives by CII and its members. It also highlights some immediate gaps where policy intervention can help accelerate implementation.