India's National Action Plan on Climate Change

On June 30, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released India's first
National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining existing and
future policies and programs addressing climate mitigation and
adaptation. The plan identifies eight core "national missions"
running through 2017 and directs ministries to submit detailed
implementation plans to the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change
by December 2008.

Emphasizing the overriding priority of maintaining high economic
growth rates to raise living standards, the plan "identifies measures
that promote our development objectives while also yielding
co-benefits for addressing climate change effectively. " It says these
national measures would be more successful with assistance from
developed countries, and pledges that India's per capita greenhouse
gas emissions "will at no point exceed that of developed countries
even as we pursue our development objectives."

National Missions

National Solar Mission: The NAPCC aims to promote the development and
use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the
ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based
energy options. The plan includes:

* Specific goals for increasing use of solar thermal technologies
in urban areas, industry, and commercial establishments;

* A goal of increasing production of photovoltaics to 1000
MW/year; and

* A goal of deploying at least 1000 MW of solar thermal power
generation.

Other objectives include the establishment of a solar research
center, increased international collaboration on technology
development, strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity, and
increased government funding and international support.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: Current initiatives
are expected to yield savings of 10,000 MW by 2012. Building on the
Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan recommends:

* Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large
energy-consuming industries, with a system for companies to trade
energy-savings certificates;

* Energy incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient
appliances; and

* Financing for public-private partnerships to reduce energy
consumption through demand-side management programs in the municipal,
buildings and agricultural sectors.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: To promote energy efficiency
as a core component of urban planning, the plan calls for:

* Extending the existing Energy Conservation Building Code;

* A greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling,
including power production from waste;

* Strengthening the enforcement of automotive fuel economy
standards and using pricing measures to encourage the purchase of
efficient vehicles; and

* Incentives for the use of public transportation.

National Water Mission: With water scarcity projected to worsen as a
result of climate change, the plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in
water use efficiency through pricing and other measures.

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The plan aims
to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in
the Himalayan region, where glaciers that are a major source of
India's water supply are projected to recede as a result of global
warming.

National Mission for a "Green India": Goals include the afforestation
of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest
cover from 23% to 33% of India's territory.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support
climate adaptation in agriculture through the development of
climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms,
and agricultural practices.


National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: To gain a
better understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the
plan envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate
modeling, and increased international collaboration. It also
encourage private sector initiatives to develop adaptation and
mitigation technologies through venture capital funds.

Other Programs

The NAPCC also describes other ongoing initiatives, including:

* Power Generation: The government is mandating the retirement of
inefficient coal-fired power plants and supporting the research and
development of IGCC and supercritical technologies.

* Renewable Energy: Under the Electricity Act 2003 and the
National Tariff Policy 2006, the central and the state electricity
regulatory commissions must purchase a certain percentage of
grid-based power from renewable sources.

* Energy Efficiency: Under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, large
energy-consuming industries are required to undertake energy audits
and an energy labeling program for appliances has been introduced.

Implementation

Ministries with lead responsibility for each of the missions are
directed to develop objectives, implementation strategies, timelines,
and monitoring and evaluation criteria, to be submitted to the Prime
Minister's Council on Climate Change. The Council will also be
responsible for periodically reviewing and reporting on each mission's
progress. To be able to quantify progress, appropriate indicators and
methodologies will be developed to assess both avoided emissions and
adaptation benefits.

As reported on www.pewclimate. org