Orissa to finalise climate change action plan soon

The Orissa government is in the process of giving final touches to the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). The draft CCAP which is expected to be finalized by the first week of June will address the climate change concerns across 11 sectors.

“The state government expects the Action Plan on Climate Change to be finalized by the first week of June. The draft action plan has been prepared and discussions are being held with the various stakeholders. The department of environment and forests is acting as the nodal agency in the preparation of this plan”, P K Jena, the state energy secretary told reporters here on the sidelines of a Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on 'Orissa Climate Change Action Action Plan'.

Talking on the Action Plan for Energy, he said, “The implementation of the Action Plan on Energy will involve an investment of Rs 6500 crore and a major part of this expenditure will be on reducing Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses due to which the state is losing around Rs 2000 crore every year. Our aim is to bring down the T&D loss from the existing level of 40 per cent to 10 per cent in the next 5-6 years.”

The Action Plan on energy will also focus on technological upgradation of thermal power plants, opting for super critical technologies, use of washed coal, maximizing solar power generation and promotion of small and medium hydel power units.

It may be noted that 11 working groups have been constituted covering sectors like agriculture, coasts and disasters, energy, fisheries, forestry, health, industry, mining, transport, water and urban development for preparing the Draft Action Plan on Climate Change.

The Action Plan has been drafted with the help of sectoral experts from the World Bank and the UK-based Department for International Development (DIFD) while the city-based CTRAN Consulting has been engaged as the knowledge partner.

The working groups have devised short-term and medium-term plans for adaptation and mitigation and it has been decided to have consultations with the different stakeholders at all levels including the grassroots level for finalizing the draft climate change action plan.