Govt committed to combat climate change at highest level: Env Ministry

The government is committed towards combating climate change at the highest level through its several programmes and schemes, the Environment Ministry told Parliament on Friday.

Responding to a query in the Lok Sabha on India's preparedness to tackle climate change, Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo said several schemes have been initiated by the government to fight the global issue, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

"The government of India is committed towards combating climate change at the highest level through its several programmes and schemes. This includes inter-alia implementation of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which comprises missions in specific areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan eco-system, sustainable habitat, Green India and strategic knowledge on climate change," Supriyo said in a written response.

The NAPCC provides an overarching framework for all climate actions, he said, adding that more than 25 states and Union Territories have prepared their State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in lines with the NAPCC taking into account state's specific issues relating to climate change.

On another question on possible human migration due to climate change in the country, the MoS said assessing the magnitude of migration is challenging as there are various factors affecting it.

"As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), social, economic and environmental factors underlying migration are complex and varied. Therefore, detecting the effect of observed climate change or assessing its possible magnitude with any degree of confidence is challenging," he said.

Recently, the ministry had informed Parliament that more than 2,000 people died in India in the last one year due to extreme weather events like cyclonic storm, flash floods, landslides, cloudburst.

The country experienced 431 major natural disasters during the period 1980-2010, resulting in loss of human lives, property and resources.

India is likely to participate in the upcoming United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York to be held in September this year.