The document discusses climate change adaptation policies and expenditures in India. It notes that while developed countries are projected to benefit from climate change, developing countries like India will face losses, deepening poverty through impacts on agriculture. It outlines India's national climate change adaptation policies and expenditures over time, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) that established several missions. However, the document notes that NAPCC does not adequately address how existing programs will be coordinated with new missions or linkages among missions. It also discusses estimates of costs for climate change adaptation globally and in India.

1. Durba Biswas
Freelance Consultant Economist
COLLOQUIUM ON CITIZEN VOICES IN ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE
23-24 AUGUST 2012
BANGALORE, INDIA

2. Introduction
 The CC debate has shifted from scientific to policy
arena
 New CC impact on agriculture literature suggests-
 Developed countries (temperate regions) will benefit
 Developing and underdeveloped countries (tropical
regions) will lose
[Christensen et al. (2007); Giorgi et al. (2004); IPCC
(2007)]
 Implication of CC for India: deepening of poverty
through its overall adverse effect on agriculture

3. …cont
 The new question is how, when and where do we
adapt?
 What is adaptation - a response to actual or
expected climate stimuli or their effects, which
moderates harm or exploits beneficial
opportunities. In human systems, adaptation can
be both, anticipatory or reactive and can be
implemented by public or private actors (UNDP
2007/8)

4. CC Adaptation Policies in India
 Over the past six decades India has had sizable
national funded projects to address climate change
related disasters.
 late 1990s and 2000s, expenditure on programs related
to adaptation to climate change remained close to 2.0
percent of annual GDP.
 By 2006-07 it had gone up to 2.6 percent of the annual
GDP.

5. Proportion of critical components in total adaptation expenditure for
2006-07
Crop improvement
and Drought proofing
research, 5.93% and flood
control, 3.04%
Rural education
and
infrastructure, 26.8
5%
Disaster Poverty alleviation
management and livelihood
, 3.46% preservation
, 44.65%
Health , 10.75%
Risk financing
, 4.83%
Forest
Source: Ghosh,
conservation, 0.49 (2009)
%

6. The Birth of NAPCC
 National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was put
forward in 2008.
 Until then no national policies existed to specifically address CC.
 NAPCC outlined 8 missions
 National Solar Mission
 National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
 National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
 National Water Mission
 National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
 National Mission for a "Green India"
 National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
 National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change
National Farmers Policy 2007 before that, sought to train farmers as
“climate managers”.
 Deal with floods, droughts and monsoon aberrations.
 Reducing the gap between the scientific know-how and field level
application. through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

7. The Blind-Spots
The two blind-spots of NAPCC
 Firstly, it only lists out the current programs in place
which address many of the issues listed in the NAPCC.
 Does not address how the missions will be synergized
with the existing programs.
 Secondly, it does not address the linkages among the
missions.

8. Implications
 Adaptation is costly
 it is easier to estimate the costs associated with planned
adaptation than for autonomous adaptation. In which
case it is practical to assess the costs based on the
impact avoided due to adaptation (Kumar, 2010).
 If cost of adaptation > the benefits from reduced climate
damages => unviable option
 May not be possible to itemize and monetize all the
possible costs and benefits in the present context. Still
useful in providing a guiding tool
Such estimations are missing in case of India

9. …cont
Some estimates on adaptation cost estimates
 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2007)
- by 2030, developing countries would face 28-69 billion USD per
year towards adaptation measures in agriculture and related
sectors.
 However, Parry et al. (2009) show that the cost could be 2 - 3 times
higher than the UNFCCC estimates.
 World Bank’s Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change study
team (EACC)- early estimates show that between 2010 - 2050, the
cost of adapting to a 2°C warmer world is between 75-100 billion
USD for developing countries as a whole.
 In case of South Asia the cost of adaptation is about 17 billion USD
(2005 prices)
 In India 2.6% of GDP towards adaptation related activity.

10. Some questions and conclusion
 Why bring out special CC “missions”?
 Are the current policies in place inadequate?
 Policy makers need to justify the ‘pile - up’ of similar
missions since operationalising new policies are costly
 Existing policies can be streamlined and used
effectively to avoid wasteful and costly expenditures

11. Thank You