As per an Economic Survey 2015-16 which has been presented by India’s Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, 2015 was a landmark year for India with respect to climate change initiatives both at the national and international level.
Internationally, India has played an important role in the climate change talks and agreement under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) held in Paris in December 2015 with the launch of International Solar Alliance. India had also put forth its ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to the UNFCCC on 2nd October 2015.
The Economic Survey that was presented by Mr Jaitley outlines along with these achievements several other contributions and steps taken by India for dealing with climate change as well as promotion of sustainable development. It elaborates that India has played a significant role in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) under the UNFCCC and adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015. The Paris Agreement outlines the roadmap for all nations in the world to take actions against climate change after 2020. It states that the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has played a leading role at COP 21 in the launch of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and has also volunteered to host its Secretariat. The ISA will offer a special platform for mutual cooperation among 121 solar-resource-rich countries in the world.
The survey also highlighted that on 4 January 2016 there were 1593 out of 7685 projects registered under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of UNFCCC. India accounts for the second highest number of projects registered under CDM showing its commitment towards fighting climate change. The survey noted that domestically, India has continued in taking ambitious targets in its actions against climate change.
