A second green revolution?

8226;How did this action plan come about?

On the World Environment Day June 5 last year, the Prime Minister had constituted a Council on Climate Change to prepare this action plan. The council had senior cabinet ministers, bureaucrats, scientists, economists, journalists, industrialists and climate change experts as its members. After a number of meetings, this council prepared a draft action plan that was released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.

8226;What does the action plan entail?

As of now, the action plan has just identified the means by which to achieve the end 8212; that of ensuring long-term sustainable development in the cleanest possible way. It has identified eight sectors that will be promoted in 8216;mission8217; mode. Accordingly, there is a mission on solar energy, which would work out ways to ensure more and more use of solar energy in our economic activities. There is another mission on improving the efficiency of our energy sources. A huge proportion of energy gets wasted because of the inefficiency of our machines and the methods. This needs to be minimised. Similarly, a mission on conservation of water has been constituted, which will try to find out ways in which our scarce and dwindling water resources can be best harnessed for the common good of the people. There are other missions on sustainable agriculture, sustainable habitat, preservation of Himalayan ecosystem, creating a knowledge platform for awareness about climate change, and afforestation.

8226;What happens now?

The missions will now start working on their respective assigned areas and come up with detailed plans on how to achieve the desired goals. For example, the mission on solar energy would recommend policy initiatives that would lead to large-scale use of solar energy for private as well as industrial use.

8226;What is the significance?

This action plan works on two levels. First, it is recognition of the fact that India needs to proactively plan its response to the challenge of climate change. A number of studies have pointed out that India would be one of the worst-affected by global warming, and this action plan is a timely initiative to prepare the country to meet the challenge. Secondly, the action plan also gives out a strong message to the developed nations that India is willing to share the responsibility in dealing with this global problem even though it is not obliged to do so. A number of developed countries have been demanding that India, and China, be also made to undertake emission targets like the Annex-I countries in the Kyoto Protocol. Though India, and China, has been strongly opposing this, this action plan sends out the message that India is not shying away from its responsibility.

8226;How effective is the action plan?

As of now, the action plan is no more than a vision document. Its effectiveness would be evident only after the detailed roadmaps prepared by the eight missions start getting implemented.