Climate change plan awaits 'nuts and bolts'

A year after the country’s ambitious National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was unveiled by the prime minister, its nuts and bolts are yet to be finalised.

The plan envisages eight national missions, of which the most important one is the solar mission.

The NAPCC was the outcome of deliberations of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change, which has not met for the last few months.

Officials said the focus shifted away from climate change due to various reasons —Mumbai terror attacks, the prime minister’s health, and then elections. A pick-up in momentum is expected after the Budget session.

 

In addition to solar, the NAPCC envisages national missions on energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water conservation, Himalayan ecosystem, greening India, sustainable agriculture and strategic knowledge build-up.

“The blueprint for six missions has been finalised. Only two, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem and strategic knowledge, are left” said a senior official in the prime minister’s office.

These missions will have to be endorsed by the prime minister’s council before becoming a part of the policy.

“We are hoping that the council is able to meet soon, now that the elections are over and a new government has taken office,” said Shyam Saran, prime minister’s special envoy on climate change.

The NAPCC, which improves India’s negotiating position ahead of the Copenhagen Summit, lays out what are described as “no-regret” measures by India to limit emissions, though the country is strongly opposed to committing to any quantifiable targets. The main reason is that India has to cater to the increased energy demands of its growing economy and has a whopping 480 million people who do not have access to electricity.

“They are living as they did in caves. It burns my soul,” said Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, the chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate change and the director general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He is a member of the council.

The prime minister has, however, voluntarily committed to ensure that in spite of the demand, India’s per capita emissions will not exceed those of the developed countries.

SOLAR PUSH
One way to ensure that the energy needs of the country are met in a sustainable manner is to push for solar energy in this sun-rich country, even though the initial capital cost (up to Rs 25 crore per megawatt (Mw) compared with Rs 4 crore per Mw for thermal power plants) and unit electricity cost (about Rs 16-20) is the highest among all energy sources.

“I would like to see 20,000 Mw of solar power being generated in India by 2020” said Pachauri.

That would be quite a jump for solar energy given that the country’s installed capacity is less than 5 Mw. “It is entirely doable,” adds Pachauri.

Though the initial investment is high, producing solar power on a large scale is expected to drive capital costs and per unit costs significantly lower.

“Solar could play a critical key in our energy security.….and energy security and climate change control go together,” said a senior environment practitioner.