Opinion Jharkhand’s task force to assess impact of India’s climate commitments is a step in the right direction

Jharkhand has constituted a task force to assess how India’s transition to a green economy will affect the mineral-rich state. The panel, reportedly the first of its kind in the country, will gauge the “magnitude and nature of effects of the accelerated phase-out of coal mines and coal-based industries” on Jharkhand’s economy as well as “the people who are dependent on these industries”. At the COP26 in Glasgow last year, India had pledged to meet 50 per cent of its energy needs through renewables by 2030, and offset its GHG emissions with climate-friendly technologies by 2070. This decarbonisation is bound to affect the livelihoods of people in the state that has more than 25 per cent of the country’s coal reserves. The Jharkhand government’s initiative is, therefore, a step in the right direction.

A number of reports and studies have underlined that both climate change and the efforts to mitigate it will have far-reaching social and economic consequences. However, the understanding of how this churn will affect the lives of local communities remains sketchy. Surveys on pollution and its health effects, forest cover reports and data on water contamination and groundwater extraction do provide valuable insights into the environmental challenge faced by states. Developmental projects have to undergo audits to account for their footprint on the local environment. And, state governments have climate action plans. But, these documents do not adequately connect the dots between the economy and global warming. Initiatives such as the one undertaken by Jharkhand, if executed well, could lay the ground for meaningful conversations between the Centre and states on an imperative that is yet to receive adequate attention: Making the country’s “net-zero” drive as painless as possible, especially for those at the margins of the fossil-fuel driven economy. Studies estimate that more than 1 million jobs are directly dependent on the coal and allied power sectors — several more more draw sustenance from related industries. Most such workers will need retraining to be gainfully employed in other sectors. That’s why other coal-rich states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal would do well to take a leaf out of Jharkhand’s book.

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India’s climate commitments are not just about limiting the use of hydrocarbons. The country, for instance, will need to find a balance between conserving forests — another COP26 pledge — and improving the well-being of people whose livelihoods depend on developmental projects such as the construction of roads and dams. Inputs from states will be crucial for this endeavour. The Jharkhand government’s task force is expected to submit an interim report in about a year. But the imperatives of climate-compatible growth demand that this exercise does not remain a one-time affair. State governments should make climate-related assessments part of their regular plans and budget-making exercises.