National Action Plan on Climate change

The National Action Plan on Climate change was formally launched on June 30th, 2008. The NAPCC identifies measures that promote development objectives while also yielding co-benefits for addressing climate change effectively. There are eight “National Missions” which form the core of the National action plan. They focus on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.”

The eight missions are:

* National Solar Mission
* National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
* National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
* National Water Mission
* National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
* National Mission for a Green India
* National Mission fro Sustainable Agriculture
* National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

National Solar Mission

Great importance has been given to the National Solar Mission in the NAPCC. The objective of the mission is to increase the share of solar energy in the total energy mix of the country, while also expanding the scope of other renewable sources. The mission also calls for the launch of a research and development (R&D) programme that, with the help of international cooperation, would look into creating more cost-effective, sustainable and convenient solar power systems.

The NAPCC sets the solar mission a target of delivering 80% coverage for all low temperature (<150° C) applications of solar energy in urban areas, industries and commercial establishments, and a target of 60% coverage for medium temperature (150° C to 250° C) applications. The deadline for achieving this is the duration of the 11th and 12th five-year plans, through to 2017. In addition, rural applications are to be pursued through public-private partnership.

The NAPCC also sets the target of 1000 MW/annum of photovoltaic production from integrated facilities by 2017 as well as 1000 MW of Concentrating Solar Power generation capacity.


National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

The Government of India already has a number of initiatives to promote energy efficiency. In addition to these, the NAPCC calls for:

* Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy consuming industries and creating a framework to certify excess energy savings along with market based mechanisms to trade these savings.
* Innovative measures to make energy efficient appliances/products in certain sectors more affordable.
* Creation of mechanisms to help finance demand side management programmes by capturing future energy savings and enabling public
* private
* partnerships for this.
* Developing fiscal measures to promote energy efficiency such as tax incentives for including differential taxation on energy efficient certified appliances.


National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The aim of the Mission is to make habitats more sustainable through a threefold approach that includes

* Improvements in energy efficiency of buildings in residential and commercial sector
* Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
* Promote urban public transport

National Water Mission

The National Water Mission aims at conserving water, minimising wastage and ensuring more equitable distribution through integrated water resource management. The Water Mission will develop a framework to increase the water use efficiency by 20%. It calls for strategies to tackle variability in rainfall and river flows such as enhancing surface and underground water storage, rainwater harvesting and more efficient irrigation systems like sprinklers or drip irrigation.


National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem

The Plan calls for empowering local communities especially Panchayats to play a greater role in managing ecological resources. It also reaffirms the following measures mentioned in the National Environment Policy, 2006.

* Adopting appropriate land
* use planning and water
* shed management practices for sustainable development of mountain ecosystems
* Adopting best practices for infrastructure construction in mountain regions to avoid or minimize damage to sensitive ecosystems and despoiling of landscapes
* Encouraging cultivation of traditional varieties of crops and horticulture by promoting organic farming, enabling farmers to realise a price premium
* Promoting sustainable tourism based on best practices and multi
* stakeholder partnerships to enable local communities to gain better livelihoods
* Taking measures to regulate tourist inflows into mountain regions to ensure that the carrying capacity of the mountain ecosystem is not breached
* Developing protection strategies for certain mountain scopes with unique “incomparable values”


National Mission for a Green India

This Mission aims at enhancing ecosystem services such as carbon sinks. It builds on the Prime Minister’s Green India campaign for afforestation of 6 million hectares and the national target of increasing land area under forest cover from 23% to 33%. It is to be implemented on degraded forest land through Joint Forest Management Committees set up under State Departments of Forests. These Committees will promote direct action by communities.


National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

The aim is to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change by identifying new varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant ones and alternative cropping patterns. This is to be supported by integration of traditional knowledge and practical systems, information technology and biotechnology, as well as new credit and insurance mechanisms.


National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

This Mission strives to work with the global community in research and technology development and collaboration through a variety of mechanisms and, in addition, will also have its own research agenda supported by a network of dedicated climate change related institutions and universities and a Climate Research Fund. The Mission will also encourage private sector initiatives for developing innovative technologies for adaptation and mitigation.


Implementation of Missions

The 8 National Missions are to be institutionalised by “respective ministries” and will be organised through inter-sectoral groups including, in addition to related Ministries, Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission, experts from industry, academia and civil society.