For environmentalists, climate change is a topic that makes them sound alarm bells a little louder each passing day to force attention on an important issue affecting the future of the planet.
And, with its geographical profile including its lengthy coastline, climate change is a very real issue for the Union Territory of Puducherry.
In the years to come, the Union Territory is expected to be warmer, experience a large degree of rainfall variability and have extreme weather events which would affect sectors such as agriculture and tourism, says the concept note of Puducherry’s State Action Plan on Climate Change.
It also quotes a study by Anna University which analysed data from 1972 to 2010 and found coastal erosion of 4.2 per cent of the total Puducherry coast. Now, Puducherry’s State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) has been endorsed by the National Steering Committee on Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
It is now with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance with regard to funds. As the Plan was prepared in consultation with World Bank, officials of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment say there is a good chance of the Plan receiving funding from the World Bank of around Rs. 800 crore in the five-year period. Puducherry is among three States being considered by the World Bank for funding, apart from Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, said M. Dwarakanath, director, Department of Science, Technology and Environment.
The short-term part (current financial year 2014-15) of the Plan of Rs. 105 crore is also expected to ‘stand a fair chance’ of getting funding from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, they said.
Under the SAPCC, seven missions deemed relevant to the UT were picked. These include the Solar Mission, the Enhanced Energy Efficiency Mission, the Sustainable Habitat Mission, Green Puducherry and Sustainable Agriculture Mission, Water Mission, Strategic Knowledge Mission, and Coastal and Disaster Management Mission.
“Implementing the Climate Change Action Plan in Puducherry has some advantages like accessibility because of a smaller size and there is a good awareness of the environment here, thus implementation will be easier,” said a top official of the government, adding, “it can serve as a model for other States.”
The SAPCC also includes a capacity building component, with a Climate Change Cell proposed to be formulated under the Department of Science, Technology and Environment. The Department will be the nodal agency responsible for implementation and monitoring of projects. The ambitious SAPCC will involve multiple departments in implementation.
