India is moving towards the Paris talks with a comprehensive set of INDCs. This consists of a two phased approach. The first phase covers mitigation. Being the principal phase, it focuses on the policies already implemented by the government to mitigate the challenges of climate change. The National Solar Mission with 2,970 MW of Grid Connected Solar generation and 364.27 MW5 of off-grid solar application,6 the National Mission for Enhanced Efficiency with PAT cycle-1, which covers 478 plants in eight energy intensive industrial sectors, and the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 introduced in 2013, to promote the adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles are the principal programmes to be followed through in this phase.
The second phase covers adaptation, which includes: the National Wind Mission which has an initial target of producing about 50,000 to 60,000 MW of power by the year 2022; the Sustainable Habitat Mission which focuses on energy conservation in old and new buildings; the Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem Mission to maintain track of the ever changing glacier systems; the National Adaptation Fund which devotes Rs. 100 crore for supporting projects at the Centre and State levels; the National Health Mission which deals with climate impacts on human health; the National Mission for Coastal Areas to formulate integrated coastal resource management plan and map vulnerabilities along the entire shoreline; and the National Mission for Waste to Energy to incentivise efforts towards harnessing energy from all kinds of waste to lower dependence on coal, oil and gas for power production. This phase principally focuses on adapting to the effects of climate change and cultivating a sense of awareness among the people with respect to the changing climate.