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New Delhi: The Delhi government’s state action plan for 2021-2030 to combat climate change will focus on adaptation and mitigation strategies. Experts have voiced concern over the extreme weather patterns that the region has witnessed in the recent past which, they warn, can lead to a climate crisis in the future.
“The plan for the current decade will be prepared by January 31. It will be then shared with other departments for comments or suggestions and later placed before the Cabinet for approval,” a senior official from the environment department said.
The previous plan, for 2011-2020, was approved only in 2018 and could, therefore, be implemented for a very short period.
Officials said the new plan will be based on eight sectors or departments — energy, transport, water, forest, health, agriculture, disaster management and urban development.
“Plans for the water sector will be related to improving use and efficiency, addressing urban flooding, wastewater treatment and rainwater harvesting. Similarly, other plans will focus on energy efficiency in buildings and promotion of renewable energy. Addressing vector-borne diseases and heat and cold waves will be part of the health sector plan. We are focusing on urban planning to address vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change and also on management strategies for extreme events,” said officials.
A concept note, prepared after a meeting on revision of the state action plan, said, “Observation shows that Delhi falls in the areas of greatest climatic variability, vulnerability and limited adaptive capacity. For instance, water resources in the state are scarce and have a highly uneven distribution, both temporally and spatially.”
The Centre had launched the first national action plan on climate change in 2008 and states were asked to prepare their own plans accordingly. Later, the ministry of environment, forests and climate change directed states to revise their plans for the next decade, i.e., 2021 to 2030.
TOI had earlier reported that the capital has been reporting extreme weather events every month. According to Prof A P Dimri, School of Environmental Science, JNU, “The weather extremes in the past 18 months show intriguing records for temperature and precipitation. For instance, in Delhi-NCR, excessive rain caused flooding due to urban expansion. Extreme events may have an adverse impact on agriculture. If such extreme events turn disastrous, the question arises if we are prepared.”
The revised state action plan will include current climate profile, historical trends and projections, along with vulnerability assessment (impact and vulnerability), mitigation and adaptation strategy, financing roadmap and monitoring and evaluation.
“The plan for the current decade will be prepared by January 31. It will be then shared with other departments for comments or suggestions and later placed before the Cabinet for approval,” a senior official from the environment department said.
The previous plan, for 2011-2020, was approved only in 2018 and could, therefore, be implemented for a very short period.
Officials said the new plan will be based on eight sectors or departments — energy, transport, water, forest, health, agriculture, disaster management and urban development.
“Plans for the water sector will be related to improving use and efficiency, addressing urban flooding, wastewater treatment and rainwater harvesting. Similarly, other plans will focus on energy efficiency in buildings and promotion of renewable energy. Addressing vector-borne diseases and heat and cold waves will be part of the health sector plan. We are focusing on urban planning to address vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change and also on management strategies for extreme events,” said officials.
A concept note, prepared after a meeting on revision of the state action plan, said, “Observation shows that Delhi falls in the areas of greatest climatic variability, vulnerability and limited adaptive capacity. For instance, water resources in the state are scarce and have a highly uneven distribution, both temporally and spatially.”
The Centre had launched the first national action plan on climate change in 2008 and states were asked to prepare their own plans accordingly. Later, the ministry of environment, forests and climate change directed states to revise their plans for the next decade, i.e., 2021 to 2030.
TOI had earlier reported that the capital has been reporting extreme weather events every month. According to Prof A P Dimri, School of Environmental Science, JNU, “The weather extremes in the past 18 months show intriguing records for temperature and precipitation. For instance, in Delhi-NCR, excessive rain caused flooding due to urban expansion. Extreme events may have an adverse impact on agriculture. If such extreme events turn disastrous, the question arises if we are prepared.”
The revised state action plan will include current climate profile, historical trends and projections, along with vulnerability assessment (impact and vulnerability), mitigation and adaptation strategy, financing roadmap and monitoring and evaluation.
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