The Tamil Nadu government has decided to establish the Tamil Nadu Governing Council on Climate Change, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin as its head.
It has roped in several eminent persons, apart from Senior Secretaries of various key departments and experts in the sector, as its members. Supriya Sahu, Secretary of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, said the State government was spearheading path-breaking initiatives in climate change and it had set up three key missions — Tamil Nadu Green Mission, Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission and Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission.
It had also set up a special purpose vehicle, known as the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC), to steer climate action effectively.
Its purpose, she said, was to provide a policy directive to the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, advise on climate adaptation and mitigation activities, provide guidance to the Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on Climate Change and guide the implementation strategy for climate action. She said orders were issued in this regard by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests with the approval of the Chief Minister.
Eminent members of the Governing Council are Montek Singh Ahluwalia (economist); Nandan M. Nilekani (chairman of Infosys Board); Erik Solheim (the sixth Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme and Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations); Ramesh Ramachandran (Founder Director of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management); G. Sundarrajan (Coordinator, Poovulagin Nanbargal); and Nirmala Raja (Chairperson, Ramco Community Services).
The Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu and other senior officials are also members, the Vice-Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission and the Senior Secretaries of the Departments of Industries, Municipal Administration, Finance, Energy, Rural Development, Housing, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare are the members.
The Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests, shall be the convener. The Governing Council shall meet once in 3 months, or as deemed fit. It shall decide its own operational modalities to achieve its objectives.
