Download Complete PDF - apctt

IIICONSIDERATION OF ISSUESA. BackgroundIndia’s National Action Plan on Climate Change will take a strategic jump through the12 th FYP, with the government planning to make substantial investments through eightNational Missions – Solar Mission, Mission for Energy Efficiency, Water Mission,Mission for Sustainable Habitat, Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system,Mission for Green India, Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and Mission for StrategicKnowledge on Climate Change. The government plans to set up a dedicated structureof governance to oversee different programmes under the 12 th FYP. It already spends2.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on programmes that bring adaptationbenefits. An expert group headed by Mr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of PlanningCommission, has prepared a report that advices the country to commit to emissionmitigation norms only after consultation with all relevant ministries and stakeholders.India’s commitment to reduce energy intensity by 20-25 per cent below 2005 levels by2020 would incur an expenditure of several billions of dollars. The report hasrecommended that a national authority be set up for implementing mitigation activities.It must be noted that the national political coalition constraints have often worked asdampeners, and only very limited efforts have been made for political consensus onpost-Kyoto climate change issues.The Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) of the Planning Commission suggests the followingsteps to reduce GHG emissions from current levels:• Energy efficiency in all sectors;• Emphasis on mass transport;• Active policy on renewable energy;• Accelerated development of nuclear energy and hydro energy; and• R&D for climate-friendly technologies.India’s mining sector has shown a particular weakness in the financial year 2011-12,caused by a combination of the weak coal output growth (negative growth in fourmonths of the year), a sharp decline in natural gas production in the KG-D6 fields andnegative growth in crude oil output in the third quarter of the year. There has beenimprovement in coal output from November 2011 onwards and the electricity sectorhas performed well. With appropriate supportive policy and administrative measures, itis possible to visualize an improvement in the investment rate in the financial year2012-13, notwithstanding difficult conditions in the international financial markets.Infrastructure – such as power, roads, railways, ocean ports and airports – is an areawhere the government can express its role most powerfully. The inadequacy ofinfrastructure availability continues to act as a constraint for the expansion of economicactivity across the country. It is likely that the targets set for 2011-12 in power androads may be achieved. The government must set ambitious targets for the financialyear 2012-13 for both capacity creation in key infrastructure areas and operationalperformance, especially in the coal sector, such that the economy will get an impetusduring the 12 th FYP.6