‘Clean air funding program will be based on performance’

In the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it has been said that alarming heat levels and rising sea levels are priority concerns for India. What is the ministry planning to do to help ease the concerns?

The steps we announced at COP26 are integral to the greater challenge of climate change. We are looking at climate friendly infrastructure that takes care of the issues of rising sea levels. For higher temperatures, we have announced measures such as reduction in the use of fossil fuels. Along with the budget announcements, action plans have also come out. We’ve talked about how adaptation and mitigation will be encouraged through Sovereign Green Bonds, with a greater emphasis on solar. All these are part of the circular economy, a larger plan to take systematic steps to address all the issues related to climate change.

What adaptive measures have been implemented and what measures can we expect in the future?

NCAP has already been launched. The way to build this into a program of activities in partnership with states and, in turn, municipal authorities is part of the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, which is well underway. We’re also looking at the solar field, which was assigned 19,000 crore in the budget this year. We are also looking at ways to eliminate plastic pollution. We have plastic waste management rules since 2016. India was part of a resolution passed at UNEA 2022. It is a continuous action which has been and continues to be taken in all aspects related to environment.

Under NCAP, performance based green fund allocation has been adopted. What is the basis of evaluation of cities that are part of the programme?

This will be a graded action plan. Slabs are prescribed for comparison, according to which a city will get that proportionate amount. is a mathematical calculation where population and pollution levels are taken into account. There is no specific number whether city A will get this amount or city B will get another amount. The level of pollution will be dynamic and will be compared to the slab where you were, which has improved compared to where you were.

Which action plan is the ministry contemplating to prevent loss of biodiversity?

The approach is to take care of mitigation measures. There is a very detailed river basin programme, which has been developed and we are going to release a detailed project report very soon. We are looking at the number of wetlands and giving them Ramsar recognition. We are also trying to integrate it with our other plans for biodiversity management. We have coastal zone management plans for marine pollution. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will be combined with measures and mitigation measures against loss of biodiversity.

Green bonds were announced in this year’s budget. What is the purpose of these bonds?

It’s all about encouraging funding. Climate finance is a very important aspect. At UNEA, we have maintained our stand for climate justice, India, to get our share from the developed countries.

Production of single use plastic is under investigation. How long can we expect it to be banned? Also how will the ban be enforced?

We will ban the production of single use plastic in July 2022. We have identified items like straws, cutlery, wrappers etc. For this a lot of outreach is done through Central and State Pollution Control Boards and MSMEs (Ministry). Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Dept. With all the increased awareness among consumers as well as industries that manufacture plastics, we will surely be able to achieve the objective of not producing these banned items.