AN EVALUATION OF EFFORTS MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO COMBAT THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Abstract

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Intense droughts, water scarcity, rising sea levels, floods, melting of polar ice, catastrophic storms, and declining biodiversity are the consequences of Climate Change. India is the 7^th among the most affected nation due to climate change (The Global Climate Risk Index 2021). India reported 280 heatwave days in the year 2022, as per the report of the State of India’s Environment. The surface air temperature over India has risen by about 0.7 °C during 1901–2018 which is accompanied by an increase in atmospheric moisture content as per the report (“Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region", (MOES). India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its Kyoto Protocol (KP), and the Paris Agreement (PA). The Government of India stands committed to combat climate change and its adverse effects through its several programs and schemes including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which comprises missions in specific areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India, and strategic knowledge on climate change. In this paper, we will examine the efforts made by GOI and its achievement to combat the adverse effects of climate change.

Keywords: United Nations, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Climate Change, Green House Gases, National Action Plan on Climate Change.