From Margins to Mainstream?

Abstract

In 2009, the Government of India requested states to develop State Action Plans on Climate Change. Based on a detailed analysis of five state climate plans, this article finds that climate plans provide an important institutional platform to mainstream concerns of environmental sustainability into development planning but fail to update ideas of sustainability to include climate resilience. There are shortcomings in approach, process, formulation of outcomes, and implementation efforts. These shortcomings are united by a common thread—a tendency to prematurely view state climate plans as vehicles for generating implementable actions, rather than an opportunity to redirect development towards climate resilience. However, if state plans are viewed as the beginning of a complex process of updating sustainable development planning rather than as an end in themselves, they provide a foundation upon which climate concerns can be more effectively mainstreamed in local development planning.

Ten Years After: Evaluating State Action Plans in India

“…†9 States that have included mitigation-linked sectors such as energy and transport have done so based on local priorities. 10 Given initial time constraints and lack of access to relevant data, most strategies and actions highlighted in the climate plans are insufficiently embedded in the available science ‡ on climate change. 11 In the absence of a conceptual understanding of what constitutes climate action, most of the plans equate 'good' development with adaptation.…”

“…For instance Odisha's first climate plan focuses on interventions in the energy sector (in need of funds post reforms) as well as fly ash management (a polluting after-effect of coal production). 12 Budget estimates, wherever included, do not seem to follow a consistent methodology and vary substantially across states. Despite these limitations, the plans have served as a useful exercise in building awareness on climate change among government and non-government stake holders involved in the process, and have provided an entry point to motivated bureaucrats for suggesting sustainable development imperatives as part of existing sectoral planning.…”

India's journey towards a greener future: A policy-driven transition

“…India's commitment to a sustainable future has been marked by significant progress through various policies and initiatives aimed at renewable energy, energy efficiency, and emission reduction. The establishment of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008 (Yenneti, 2016; Dubash & Jogesh, 2019) [21,20] marked a crucial starting point. This comprehensive plan outlined eight missions targeting specific sectors like solar energy, sustainable habitat, and water conservation.…”