- India is all set to submit the second biennial update report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which takes stock of India’s action to tackle climate change and notes that India is on track to achieve the major milestones promised.
- The first BUR report was submitted in December 2015. The draft of the second BUR reveals that over 5,800 people and thousands of animals died across India during 2014-17 due to extreme weather events whose frequency is rising due to climate change.
- The draft report enumerates impact of climate change on pattern of India’s rainfall, and temperature while expressing concerns about India’s climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry for livelihood.
In just four years, over 5,800 people and thousands of animals in India have lost their lives to “extremes of temperature, rainfall and tropical cyclones.” Increase in frequency and intensity of such disasters related to climate change impacts on the weather systems is a serious concern, notes the draft of India’s report to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
A final version of the report, ‘Second biennial update report (BUR) to the UNFCCC’, which is to be submitted during the ongoing 24th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-24) to the UNFCCC at Katowice, Poland. The meeting from December 2-14 is significant as it is expected to finalise the guidelines for implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. At Paris Agreement in 2015, the world agreed to aim to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
India’s 17-member delegation to CoP 24 is led by environment minister Harsh Vardhan, said that India expects that COP-24 should be able to frame guidelines, which are pragmatic and gives due consideration to challenges and priorities of developing countries inter alia different starting points as compared to developed countries, their vulnerabilities, development priorities like eradication of poverty, food security, energy access and providing health infrastructure.
“COP-24 should give equal focus to all agenda items, and the outcome of COP-24 should be balanced, inclusive, comprehensive and consistent with the principles and provisions of Convention and its Paris Agreement” said Harsh Vardhan.
India has over 17.6 percent of the world’s population living on 2.4 percent of the world’s geographical area. India is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and the report is significant as about 49 percent of the population depends on agriculture and other climate-sensitive livelihood activities.
The report presents an overall look at the threats that India’s weather systems, ecological dynamics and natural resources already faces from climate change, the impacts that it is already having, update on India’s greenhouse gas emissions and efforts for climate change adaptation and mitigation like India’s massive renewable power programme. It also expresses concerns about the international finance required by India to effectively tackle climate change.
Last month, the draft report BUR was first reported by Business Standard newspaper which emphasised that India is well on the trajectory to achieve two of its three major commitments under the Paris Agreement. It stressed that India is on its way to achieving the commitment regarding reduction in the greenhouse gas emission intensity by 33-35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and having 40 percent of its power capacity from non-fossil fuel resources. But where it is falling short, for now, is the promise of an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
The draft report notes that India has witnessed, “many instances of extremes of temperature, rainfall and tropical cyclones in recent years.”
As per the data about the ‘weather extremes in India (during 2014-2017)’, over 5,800 people and 10,000 cattle died due to extreme weather events like cold wave, heat wave, heavy rainfall resulting in floods, hailstorm, lightning and cyclonic storms. Of these, at least 3,650 were due to heat waves and cold waves alone.
For the period 1961-2013, the frequency, total duration of heat waves per season and maximum duration of heat waves increased over India during the summer season, revealed the draft while adding that the duration of heat waves over central and north-west India has gone up by about five days over the past 50 years.
“The frequency of occurrence of hot days during the pre-monsoon season shows a significant increase over the east and west coasts of India and interior peninsula. Likewise, an increasing trend in the frequency of hot nights is seen in the east coast, west coast and north-west India. The frequency and duration of heat waves over north-west India and east coast of India have also increased,”said the report.
