The Centre has constituted a committee which will oversee the implementation of the climate change mitigation targets committed under the Paris Agreement by India. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Wednesday issued a Gazette notification on the constitution of a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA).
“The purpose of AIPA is to generate a co-ordinated response on climate change matters which ensures that India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement, including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC),” said the public statement by MOEFCC.
There are 8 commitments made by India under the NDC, under which there are three quantitative goals - reduction in the emissions intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels; achieving about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030; and creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
The Centre’s notification said AIPA would operate as a national authority to regulate carbon markets in India, formulate guidelines for consideration of projects or activities, issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs.
It will also take note of the contribution made by the private sector as well as multi-/bi-lateral agencies in the field of climate change and provide guidance for aligning their climate actions with national priorities.
The AIPA will have members from 14 ministries and will be chaired by the secretary, MOEFCC. The constituent ministries include health, power, renewable energy, finance, science & technology, jal shakti, earth sciences, urban affairs, rural development, commerce & industry and NITI Aayog.
The AIPA has currently been given 16 functions which range from issuing guidelines for climate friendly government decisions, to carbon pricing, taking note of private sector efforts and commissioning of research projects.
“The year 2021 would mark the beginning of the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the constitution of AIPA is central to strengthening the national systems and institutional arrangements for implementation and monitoring of climate actions. It will also ensure that India maintains its climate leadership as one the few countries in the world whose climate actions are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said the notification.
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