PMF IAS Current Affairs
PMF IAS Current Affairs

India’s National Action Plan On Climate Change (NAPCC)

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India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change

  • NAPCC was published in 2008 by the then-Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change.
  • The National Action Plan hinges on the development and use of new technologies.
  • The implementation of the Plan includes public private partnerships and civil society action.
  • The focus will be on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.
  • There are Eight National Missions which form the core of the National Action Plan.

NAPCC - National Action Plan on Climate Change

  1. National Solar Mission (started in 2010 to promote the use of solar power)
  2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (approved in 2009)
  3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (approved in 2011)
  4. National Water Mission
  5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (approved in 2014)
  6. National Mission for A Green India (approved in 2014)
  7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (approved in 2010)
  8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)
  9. National Bio-Energy Mission (approved in 2017)

National Solar Mission

  • The National Solar Mission is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenge.
  • The program was inaugurated in 2010 with a target of 20GW by 2022.
  • It was later increased to 100 GW (100,000 MW) in 2015.
  • MNRE has proposed to achieve 60 GW from large and medium scale solar projects, and 40 GW through rooftop solar projects.
  • Committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (Paris Accord), India made a pledge that by 2030, 40% of installed power generation capacity shall be based on clean sources.
  • It was determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022.
  • This includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power.
Net Metering
  • Net Metering is billing mechanism for grid connected Home Rooftop Solar Installation where
  • The electricity generated by the solar panels is fed into the utility grid
  • Household draws electricity from the utility grid
  • The household pays only for the difference between the energy units it consumes from the grid and the energy units fed into the grid. This is measured by a bi-directional meter called Net Meter.

 

Q. ‘Net metering’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of promoting the (2016)
  1. production and use of solar energy by the households/consumers
  2. use of piped natural gas in the kitchens of households
  3. installation of CNG kits in motor-cars
  4. installation of water meters in urban households

Answer: a)

Objectives

  • To establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible.
  • To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 100,000 MW of solar power by 2022.
  • To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability, particularly solar thermal for indigenous production and market leadership.

October 2018

Source

Installed Capacity (GW) as of October, 2018

Percentage

Thermal

221.76 GW

(63.84%)

Nuclear

6.78 GW

(1.95%)

Hydro

45.48 GW

(13.09%)

Renewable

73.35 GW

(21.12%)

Total

347.37 GW

(100%)

Sector

Target (GW)

Installed capacity (GW) as on 31.10.2018

Solar Power

100

24.33

Wind power

60

34.98

Bio Energy

10

9.54

Small Hydro

5

4.5

Total

175

73.35

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE)

  • Objective: Promote the market for energy efficiency by fostering innovative policies and effective market instruments.
  • The mission document, which was approved in 2010, established the immense energy efficiency potential of India, which was about Rs. 74,000 crores.
  • A recent World Bank study has estimated the country’s energy efficiency market to be at 1.6 lakh crores.

NMEEE includes four specific energy efficiency initiatives under its umbrella:

1) Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT)

Assigning energy reduction targets to large energy intensive industries and distributing Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) on achievement of the targets. These ESCerts can then be traded.
  • Consumers who are not able to meet their energy savings targets will buy the ESCerts.

2) Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency (MTEE)

Promoting adoption of energy efficient equipment and appliances through innovative business models.

Programs that were developed under this scheme include:

  • Domestic Efficient Lighting Program: Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) program to promote the use of more efficient LED lighting for households.
  • Super-Efficient Equipment Program (SEEP): Under this program, the manufacturers are incentivized by the government to elevate the efficiency standards of the equipment. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) launched the program in the XII five-year plan with a focus on ceiling fans, considering its wide use and impact on domestic energy consumption.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency
  • The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a statuary agency under the Ministry of Power.
  • It was created in March 2002 under the provisions of the nation’s 2001 Energy Conservation Act.
  • BEE’s function is to develop programs which will increase the conservation and efficient use of energy.
  • It mandatory for certain appliances in India to have BEE ratings.
Standards & Labelling Program (BEE star label)
  • The Objectives of Standards & Labeling Program is to provide the consumer an informed choice about the energy saving.

Mandatory Appliances as of March 2019

Voluntary Appliances as of March 2019

  1. Room Air Conditioners
  2. Frost Free Refrigerators
  3. Tubular Florescent Lamp
  4. Distribution Transformer
  5. Room Air Conditioner (Casettes, Floor Standing Tower, Ceiling, Corner AC)
  6. Direct Cool Refrigerator
  7. Color TV
  8. Electric Geysers
  9. Inverter Air conditioners
  10. LED Lamps

Source

  1. Induction Motors
  2. Agricultural Pump Sets
  3. Ceiling Fans
  4. Domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) Stoves
  5. Washing Machine
  6. Computer (Notebook /Laptops)
  7. Ballast (Electronic/Magnetic)
  8. Office equipment’s (Printer, Copier, Scanner, MFD’s).
  9. Diesel Engine Driven Monoset Pumps for Agricultural Purposes
  10. Soli State Inverter
  11. Diesel Generator
  12. Chillers
  13. Microwave Ovens
Q. On which of the following can you find the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Star Label? (2016)
  1. Ceiling fans
  2. Electric geysers
  3. Tubular fluorescent lamps

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 3 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: d) all

3) Energy Efficiency Financing Platform (EEFP)

Increasing the confidence of financial institutions and investors to support energy efficiency initiatives.
  • The EEFP initiative is intended towards catalysing the finances for energy efficiency sector by addressing the barriers and challenges in market development and project implementation.
  • It provides a platform for financial institutions, investors and project developers to increase their confidence in supporting energy conservation and efficiency projects.

4) Framework for Energy Efficiency Economic Development (FEEED)

Promoting energy efficiency initiatives by hedging against investment risks.
  • BEE institutionalized two types of funds in order to protect the confidence of banks and investors in energy efficiency projects and to avoid the stalling of projects due to lack of funds.
  • Partial Risk Guarantee Fund for Energy Efficiency (PRGFEE): The fund guarantees a risk cover for banks and investors for up to 50% loan amount or INR 10 crore per project, whichever is less.
  • Venture Capital Fund for Energy Efficiency (VCFEE): This fund is intended towards promoting equity financing (stock, share) in the energy efficiency sector and thus reducing the impact of non-availability of debt financing (bond, loan) to small size companies and projects. The equity support is equivalent to INR 2 crore or 15% of total equity whichever is less.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

  • The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat was approved in 2010.

It seeks to promote:

  • Improvements in energy efficiency in buildings by extending energy conservation building code to new and large commercial buildings.
  • Better urban planning and efficient and convenient public transport to facilitate the growth of medium and small cities.
  • Improved management of solid and liquid waste, e.g. recycling of material and urban waste management (like producing power from waste).
  • Improved ability of habitats to adapt to climate change and measures for improving advance warning systems for extreme weather events.
  • Conservation through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory framework.

The Mission is being implemented through the following programmes of Ministry of Urban Development:

  1. Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
  2. Swachh Bharat Mission
  3. Smart Cities Mission
  4. Urban Transport Programme

National Water Mission (NWM) Mission

  • Objective is to ensure integrated water resource management helping to conserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across and within states.

The Mission, in line with National Water Policy, aims to

  • increase water use efficiency by 20%.
  • ensure that a considerable share of the water needs of urban areas are met through recycling.
  • ensure that the water requirements of coastal cities are met through modern desalination technologies.
  • ensure basin level management strategies by working with states to deal with variability in rainfall.

The Mission aims to achieve its objectives through:

  • Increasing efficiency through regulatory mechanisms (differential entitlements and pricing).
  • Enhanced storage both above and below ground, rainwater harvesting.
  • Incentivising water-neutral or water-positive technologies, and adoption of large scale irrigation programmes which rely on sprinklers, drip irrigation and ridge and furrow irrigation.

Ridge ad furrow irrigation: The crops are grown on the ridges and the furrows are used to irrigate.

ridges and the furrows

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)

  • The primary objective of the Mission is to
  • develop a sustainable model to continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan Ecosystem, and
  • enable policy bodies in their policy-formulation as also to assist States in the Indian Himalayan Region with implementation of actions selected for sustainable development.

The NMSHE will attempt to address a variety of important issues:

  • Himalayan glaciers and associated hydrological consequences.
  • Prediction and management of natural hazards.
  • Biodiversity conservation and protection.
  • Wild life conservation and protection.
  • Traditional knowledge societies and their livelihood.
The effect of Climate Change on Himalayan glaciers and associated hydrological consequences:
  • Increased drought like situations due to overall decrease in the number of rainy days.
  • Increased flood events due to overall increase in the rainy day intensity.
  • Effect on groundwater quality in alluvial aquifers due to increased flood and drought events.
  • Influence on groundwater recharge due to changes in precipitation and evaporation.
  • Increased saline intrusion of coastal and island aquifers due to rising sea levels.

National Mission for A Green India (Green India Mission)

It aims at

  • protecting; restoring and enhancing India’s diminishing forest cover and
  • responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures.
  • Enhanced annual CO2 sequestration by 50 to 60 million tons in the year 2020.
  • The mission will be implemented on both public as well as private lands.
  • The mission will local communities in planning, decision making, implementation and monitoring.

The intended major outcomes of the project

  • Improved ecosystem services and reversal of land degradation.
  • Augmentation of the shared natural resources on which extreme poor communities depend.
  • Enhance connectivity between Protected Areas (PA) through biological corridors.
  • Inclusive growth by reaching the communities living around remote forest areas.
  • Increased wage labour opportunities during the lean agriculture season.

Goals of the National Mission for A Green India

  • Improvement in quality of forest cover and ecosystem services of forests, degraded grassland and wetlands.
  • Eco-restoration of shifting cultivation areas, cold deserts, mangroves, ravines and abandoned mining areas.
  • Improvement in forest and tree cover in urban/peri-urban lands.
  • Improvement in tree cover on agricultural lands and other non-forest lands (agroforestry/social forestry).
Q11. Which of the following best describes/describe the aim of ‘Green India Mission’ of the Government of India?
  1. Incorporating environmental benefits and costs into the Union and State Budgets thereby implementing the `green accounting’
  2. Launching the second green revolution to enhance agricultural output so as to ensure food security to one and all in the future
  3. Restoring and enhancing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: c) 3 only

National Mission on Seabuckthorn

  • The initiative is a part of Sub-Mission on Cold Desert Ecosystems under the Green India Mission.
  • Seabuckthorn, popularly known as Leh berries is also called the “Wonder plant” and “Ladakh gold”.
  • The MoEF and DRDO have launched the initiative for Seabuckthorn cultivation in the cold deserts.
  • It has multi-purpose medicinal and nutritional properties.
  • The plan the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen.
  • It is tolerant to extreme temperatures and has an extensive root system, making it ideal for controlling soil erosion and preventing desertification.
Q. Government of India encourages the cultivation of ‘sea buckthorn’. What is the importance of this plant?
  1. It helps in controlling soil erosion and in preventing desertification.
  2. It is a rich source of biodiesel.
  3. It has nutritional value and is well-adapted to live in cold areas of high altitudes.
  4. Its timber is of great commercial value.

Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

  1. 2, 3 and 4 only
  2. 1 and 3 only
  3. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  4. 1 only

Answer: b) 1 and 3 only

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

  • NMSA has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas.
  • 60% of the country’s net sown area is rainfed and accounts for 40% of the total food production.
  • The focus areas are integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health and resource conservation.

Stated dimensions of NMSA:

  1. Improved crop seeds, livestock and fish cultures
  2. Water Use Efficiency
  3. Pest Management
  4. Improved Farm Practices
  5. Nutrient Management
  6. Agricultural insurance
  7. Credit support
  8. Markets
  9. Access to Information
  10. Livelihood diversification

Soil Health Management (SHM)

  • Soil Health Management (SHM) is one of the components under NMSA.
  • SHM aims at
  • promoting Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) through judicious use of chemical fertilizers including secondary and micro nutrients in conjunction with organic manures and bio fertilizers and
  • fertilizer testing facilities to improve soil test based recommendations to farmers.
  • Soil Health Card Scheme is under implementation since 2015 to provide Soil Health Card to all farmers.
  • Soil Health Card will provide information to farmers on soil nutrients status of their soil and recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)

  • NMSKCC seeks to build a knowledge system that supports national policy and action for responding effectively to climate change challenges, while not compromising on the nation’s growth goals.

Mission Objectives:

  • Formation of knowledge networks among the existing knowledge institutions engaged in research and development relating to climate science.
  • Development of national capacity for modelling the regional impact of climate change on different ecological zones.
  • Establishing research networks and encouraging research in the areas of climate change impacts on important socio-economic sectors like agriculture, health, natural ecosystems, biodiversity, coastal zones, etc.

National Bio-Energy Mission

  • The aim of the mission is to push sustainable development of the renewable energy sector.
  • The national mission will aim at improving energy efficiency in traditional biomass consuming industries, seek to develop a bio-energy city project and provide logistics support to biomass processing units.
  • It will also propose a GIS-based National Biomass Resource Atlas to map potential biomass regions in the country.
  • According to estimates, biomass from agro and agro-industrial residue can potentially generate 25,000 MW of power in India.
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