An Inter-Governmental Body On Climate Change: First Step On The Path Of Adaptation, Resilience

In the first of a two-part series, The Secretariat highlighted the climate agenda for the new government, arguing how adaptation and mitigation need to go hand in hand. In this concluding part, we highlight what the country can do to increase the capacity of adaptation and resilience to climate change. 

As one of the first measures, climate change experts root for the establishment of an inter-governmental climate change body to monitor, analyse and find solutions tailored to specific issues in diverse areas and regions. 

“India can greatly benefit from an inter-governmental body that looks at issues as the country doesn’t have a singular climate pattern that can be understood in one broad stroke. There are nuances within each state and each state’s climate conditions. Every state has its own kind of problems and its own conventional solutions. I believe such a body can help facilitate coordinated and effective climate action across those diverse regions,” Anushree Joshi, Climate and Sustainability Researcher at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) India, told The Secretariat.

She said the body could be very beneficial for establishing a unified climate action framework. 

“Our National Determined Contribution does exist with a 2070 net zero agenda but there is no such national climate plan with detailed goals and guidelines that can also be taken into account through state-specific nuances. I believe there should be a state-specific action plan and a national plan that complement each other,” she added.

Joshi noted an inter-governmental body can help in making a coordinated form of funding and resource allocation as some states have different needs, given the different crises they face.

The Group of Ministers Model

It is not that inter-governmental bodies are new. But it will be new for climate change. After coming to power in 2014, PM Narendra Modi abolished ministerial panels, such as the Empowered Group Of Ministers and Group Of Ministers set up by the previous government.

These groups were created to allow ministers to discuss important matters without the obvious red tape. It allowed the exchange of information and domain expertise across ministries, helping in comprehensive decision-making.

The abolition of the inter-ministerial group ministries was cited as a measure to expedite decision-making and usher in greater accountability in the system.

But without these bodies, there is no mechanism for assessing how central and state schemes have faired. While the erstwhile UPA's Group of Ministers had just ministers, it would help to have domain experts sit in on any new group created. Such groups have the potential to bring an enhanced form of collaborative practices.

For instance, having technocrats of the ministries of finance, industries, commerce, and environment and forests apart from fertilisers and agriculture in the group could bring fresh expertise for multi-dimensional solution solving. 

In the absence of extant formal inter-governmental bodies, the courts have had to intervene and seek their constitution in some cases. Hearing the suo motu case on air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region case, the Supreme Court in 2021 gave an ultimatum to state governments that it would constitute a task force if the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana did not follow the Commission for Air Quality Management’s directions.

Such instances underscore how important it is to have an inter-governmental body on climate change. Such a group can also help monitor and devise an action plan for prevention, adaptation, as well as mitigation. 

Reinvigorating The National Climate Action Plan

Some also say that an inter-governmental body can also be helpful to revitalise the National Action Plan on Climate Change, which was formally introduced in 2008. The plan is a nation-wide strategy to adapt to climate change and enhance the ecological sustainability of India's development path.

Climate expert Sankalp Suman told The Secretariat, “An intergovernmental body can help the National Climate Action Plan identify India’s risk factors better and help strategise better.”

Take, for instance, the recent water shortage in Delhi and other parts of the country. Delhi Water Minister Atishi has accused Haryana of not supplying enough water to the capital. She has also levelled accusations at the Centre for not finding a just way to solve the water crisis in Delhi. A similar political slugfest had erupted when a water crisis hit Bengaluru. 

Tussles between states and the centre point to the lack of cooperative federalism, making it all the more important to have a climate change body that oversees and monitors the effects of climate change with representatives from states as well. 

Moreover, an inter-governmental body can help in the collection of vast data from across India and help policymakers look at issues from the ground up. 

Experts note an inter-governmental body can facilitate resource sharing between states and the centre, which also includes the sharing of data and communication at a technical level. This exercise can help propel better transparency in the country on climate change and help the country move towards a sustainable future.

The priority for the new government should not be to focus on just emissions, but rather aid all vulnerable communities in building resilience and adaptation. For this to happen, an intergovernmental body is imperative.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court itself ruled that the Right against Climate Change was part of the Right to Life—a fundamental right.

Suman noted the government should be obligated to tell us what are the threats affecting citizens' fundamental rights. “The onus is on the government to identify these threats first and then devise a comprehensive plan for mitigation or adaptation,” he added.

These threats are detrimental to the lives of people, which range from people not getting basic amenities like water, food, health assistance and social security, which is worsened by the loss of livelihood. 

An earlier article in The Secretariat looked into how the informal sector and gig workers were being affected by heatwaves. Lack of support from employers and the government had left these two groups exasperated by climate change and its effects.

Only last month, a priest in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal died of heatstroke while he was doing his self-imposed penance (tapasya) by sitting inside a circle of fire for the well-being of humankind against climate change and other threats.

While this is an extreme case, the country may have something similar to look forward to if the government doesn’t focus on building adaptation and resilient capacity. The first step to get out of the tight spot seems to be the inter-governmental body on climate change suggested by experts. 

(This story is the concluding part of a two-part series by The Secretariat that highlights the climate agenda for the new government)