India ranked 7th out of 182 countries affected by climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2024, showing high exposure and vulnerability (Eckstein, Künzel, Schäfer, & Winges, 2023). Over 80% of Indian districts are now hotspots for extreme climate events (Ministry of Earth Sciences, 2023). To sustain its developmental trajectory while addressing climate change, India must focus on building community resilience.
The Indian government has committed to reaching Net Zero by 2070, with 2030 targets including increasing non-fossil fuel electricity capacity to 500 GW, meeting 50% of electricity needs from renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions by one billion tons, and cutting the economy’s carbon intensity by 45% (Government of India, 2021). Achieving these targets and transitioning to a net-zero pathway will require significant efforts from both the Central and sub-national levels.
States play a crucial role in implementing necessary measures and actions. State governments, local actors, and civil society organizations must take substantial and immediate action to achieve the 2030 targets and eventually net zero. However, the significant capacity gap within the states regarding understanding climate change and the required cross-sectoral efforts poses a challenge. Urgently addressing this gap and building state actor capacities is essential to keep India on track with its climate action targets (Climate Policy Initiative, 2023).
Significant impediments hinder climate action in most Indian states:
- Climate change is not a top priority for many Indian states. Although most states have developed SAPCCs (State Action Plans on Climate Change) or are updating them, these documents are difficult to translate into fundable project ideas. Most SAPCCs also do not adequately emphasize mitigation. Effective climate action requires synchronizing adaptation and mitigation levers (Centre for Science and Environment, 2022).
- In most states, SAPCCs function as stand-alone documents with limited recognition of the activities of other line departments, which, if integrated, can lead to collective climate action. SAPCCs also lack in-built design for upscaling, creating problems. Developing replication strategies for successful pilots at the planning stage is important (TERI, 2023).
- Climate change and low carbon development are new and technical fields, and most states lack dedicated and knowledgeable officials to take responsibility and execute climate action.
- States face difficulties in developing and implementing evidence-based low carbon development and resilience plans, engaging private players to achieve climate goals, and making a business case for climate action.
Capacity building in states needs greater focus. Fostering ownership in state machinery is important to ensure climate action is embedded within the process. Institutionalizing best practices like green budgeting and science-based climate planning through policies and incentives can significantly help. Additionally, several civil society organizations operating at the state level often do not understand the nuances of climate change and best practices in executing climate action. Developing the requisite expertise within these civil society actors is critical for advancing state-level climate action (World Resources Institute India, 2023).
Several states, such as Bihar and Tamil Nadu, have expressed ambition to undertake low carbon development and foster climate resilience. This is an encouraging development that promises to stoke climate ambition within the country. However, even the ambitious states require substantial support and ecosystem-level changes to realize their aspirations (NITI Aayog, 2023). Progressive and forward-thinking state action depends on enabling policies at the national level. Here, engaging with the Central government to facilitate policies and incentives that can deepen climate action in states is important.
Ecosystem Changes: Several vital changes are required across state institutions to undertake ambitious low carbon and climate-resilient pathways:
- Long-Term Climate Planning: State climate action plans need a long-term approach, addressing associated complexities and fixing accountability among various institutions.
- Roadmap for Low Carbon Development and Climate Resilience: States need evidence-based roadmaps serving as guiding documents for low carbon and climate-resilient development. These should inform state officials about actions needed to achieve targets and further augment climate ambition.
- Integrated and Coordinated Actions: Low carbon development should integrate with adaptation, environmental, and ecological measures grounded in science-based targets and adaptable to the local context. States must ensure various line departments work together to implement climate plans.
- Building Local Institutional Capacity: Strengthening the local civil society ecosystem by building technical capacity is important to augment state government efforts through evidence-based research, unbiased opinion, and technical assistance.
- Funding Climate Action: Lack of financial resources is a significant barrier to low carbon and climate-resilient development. States need to allocate funding for climate action within their budgets to ensure long-term impact.
- Participative Climate Action Planning: Given the involvement of various stakeholders in state-level climate action, participatory planning is necessary to address all voices and build consensus.
- Equity and Justice: Low carbon development should focus on marginalized communities, leading to equitable growth, shared prosperity, and a climate-resilient future. A critical focus on co-benefits like improved public health, green jobs, and overall quality of life is required.
Strategies: To achieve the targeted outcomes and impacts, we will undertake a strategic approach to state-level engagements within this program, including the following strategic priorities:
- Evidence-based Planning and Implementation: Provide state governments with the knowledge support needed to develop effective roadmaps for low carbon and climate-resilient development, and aim to have these roadmaps absorbed within the State Transition Plans/SAPCCs/state budgets to ensure definitive state buy-in.
- Government Capacity Building: Enhance the capacities of government officials to execute measures outlined in the roadmaps through technical assistance in the form of training and workshops, and house experts within the government by setting up a Project Management Unit (PMU) to ensure seamless information flow between CSOs and policymakers, aiming to have the PMU absorbed by the state government in due time.
- Enhancing Institutional Capacities for Climate Action: Incubate and/or augment capacity within the existing local CSO ecosystem through training on climate change issues, hiring new capacity through core grants, and other support as required. Partner local CSOs with established organizations like the Council for Energy, Environment and Water, and World Resources Institute to work with state governments and give local CSOs exposure and support climate-thinking.
- Pilot Projects and Practical Training: Support implementation projects in selected instances—help states develop detailed DPRs, investment plans, green procurement guidelines, design incentive structures, design templates for tenders, etc., and undertake these implementation activities along with concerned state officials to provide hands-on training.
- Cementing Government Ownership: Work with state governments to either strengthen existing climate committees or constitute new ones, headed by high-level authorities and including actors from various sectors to foster government ownership.
- Exporting Learnings to Other States: Work with partners across India to ensure cross-state diffusion of learnings and findings from the “model” states through convenings, coalitions, knowledge products, training modules, cross-learning platforms and networks, and other available channels. Facilitate robust centre-state dialogues to ensure necessary provisions for state-level climate action.
Desired Impact: Supporting state-level climate action can create enabling conditions to ensure that by 2030, most Indian states are on the path to low-carbon development and climate resilience is mainstreamed across communities. This program will build the capacities of key ecosystem actors, including state and local governments and the civil society network, to independently carry out climate planning and implementation. Enabling low carbon development and climate resilience in Indian states will also have direct humanitarian impacts, such as more green jobs, higher incomes per capita, and greater resilience. Further, Enhancing the capacity of states on climate action and building their climate ambition will enable them to contribute more effectively within India's federal structure. This will help in developing India's overall climate ambition and devising strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.