Figure 15: Nation climate action plans of the selected 5 countries

Government in relation to climate change for the purpose of pursuing the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy; to establish a body to be known as the Climate Change Advisory Council; and to provide for matters connected therewith”.

3.3.5 Algeria

Performance wise Algeria stands in the red category which is very low. But if we decode it’s sector wise performance in GHG emission, renewable energy, energy use and climate policy, it is being observed that in energy use sector, the country has scored medium whereas in renewable energy and climate policy sectors Algeria has shown very low performance. The National Climate Plan of Algeria was prepared by The National Climate Committee headed by the Minister of Environment in the year 2019. Algeria released its first National Plan of Action for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PNAE-DD) in 2002, with support from the World Bank, the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ), and the Mediterranean Environment Technical Assistance Program (METAP). Financial aid has been received from European Commission and the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation. In 2003, Algeria adopted a National Plan of Action and Adaptation to Climate Change (PNA-ACC), which was updated in 2013. The development of Algeria’s National Climate Plan is a link in a set of actions initiated by Algeria as part of the country’s national development strategy as set out in the action program of the government. It complements other plans such as the National Action Plan for the Environment and the Sustainable Development (PNAEDD), the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (SPANB), and the National Strategy for Integrated Waste Management (SNGID) by 2035.

The stated objective of the National Climate Act is- “To realize sustained economic growth and inclusive social development, while taking due account of climate change related challenges”. Now after developing a brief idea of the climate change acts of these above mentioned countries, there are certain questings those have been tried to be answered in this chapter based on the reviews and analysis of the acts.

Figure 14 Nation climate action plans of the selected 5 countries

Source: Adapted from the national climate action plan handbooks

3.4 Are these policies aligned with the NDC of every countries?

A National Determined Contribution (NDC) is a climate action plan that every country participating in the Paris Agreement is required to submit and improve every five years. India is the only one of the five countries to have created a National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008, prior to ratifying the Paris Agreement in 2016. With an economy that is heavily reliant on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, water, and forests, India’s government was quick to drought its own national climate strategy.

Source: Own compilation based on the national action plans of the subsequent countries

Inference: Cohesion between all five countries can be observed. Almost every countries national climate action plans are more or less aligned with the National Determined Contribution in order to fulfill the requirement of Paris Agreement.

3.5 Who are the main target groups mentioned in the acts?

Interestingly each of the acts talked about different target groups. India is more focused on the urban poor and migrant workers as they are more suseptable to climate induced vulnerabilities. Whereas the Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 in Indonesia is more focused to women empowerment and gender

Table 6 Analysis of target group of the National climate action plans equity. It also focuses on diverse age groups starting from children to elderly people. Ireland’s climate action plan is more inclined towards the farmers. Countries like Denmark and Algiria has not mentioned any specific target groups in their climate action plan.

Source: Own compilation based on the national action plans of the subsequent countries

Inference: In each of the above-mentioned countries’ climate action plans, there is a dichotomy to be found. This demonstrates that everyone is vulnerable to climate change in some way. The vulnerability is mostly determined by the country’s socioeconomic structure.

3.6 Target of the mitigation actions as per plan

Greenhouse gas emission is one of the prime reason for the temperature rise globally. The gases includes, Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Industrial gases such as Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), Nitrogen

Table 7 Analysis of GHG emission and stated Mitigation actions trifluoride (NF3) etc. Hence countries are more concerned with the climate mitigation actions. A comparative study has been done to see the contribution of the countries to the global emission and also what are the key targets of their mitigation plans.

India has committed in COP26 to cut down it’s carbon emission to net-zero by the end of 2070

Source: Own compilation based on the national action plans of the subsequent countries

Inference: Though according to the CCPI the GHG emission reduction performance is high in India this year. The per capita emissions of India is marely about 1.84 Tco2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), whereas the global average is 6.45 tco2/per capita. This target is aligned with what was mentioned in the NAPCC. But the overall global contribution percentage of GHG is high in India. This raises the questions the effectiveness the climate policy and the National Determined Contribution. Denmark emits fewer greenhouse gases than other countries, but the goal of becoming net zero by 2050 is still a long way off. Denmark’s greenhouse gas emissions, on the other hand, account for only 0.1 percent of global emissions. Even if Denmark were to attain climate neutrality right now, it would have little impact on the global climate. As a result, the government’s goal is to lead by example and encourage others. In the other hand India has taken the net-zero pledge in COP 26 in 2021 where the target is to achieve net-zero emission by 2070.

When the CO2 emissions caused by mankind balanced worldwide by anthropogenic CO2 exclusions during a given period, the concept of net zero CO2 emissions are accomplished. According to scientists, net zero emission target is needed to be achieved by developing countries by 2050 to 2060. This questions whether the duration of India’s commitment is needed to be reduced or not. But the question is why “Net-Zero” emission pledge is important for India? Alternative technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy can help reduce carbon emissions in sectors like transportation and electricity. However, due to technological limitations, it is difficult to stop carbon emissions in sectors such as agriculture or solid waste management. As a result, to balance out the

amount of carbon in the environment, it is required to remove it, which is referred to as negative emission. As the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and an agriculturalbased country, India’s net-zero commitment is valid. The COP 26 agreement, which is part of the Paris Agreement, mentions the net-zero commitment. The carbon-neutrality oath is still unmentioned in the NAPCC. The vow to reduce carbon emissions per capita is a little ambiguous because it is inversely proportional to the population. The population growth rate of India is extremely high.

Based on the analysis another question which arises that Is long-term target is not sufficient without intermediate targets? The table also shows that except for India, all four countries appear to have met their medium and long-term climate mitigation targets. Long-term goals aid in understanding where countries are headed in the next years, whereas intermediateterm goals make the process more transparent and tangible. Hence it is required to have an intermediate goal along with the long term goal to achieve the target to combat climate change.

3.7 Overview of the adaptation actions

GHG emission is unambiguously one of the major reason of climate change and for that countries are taking various mitigation measures which is true. But there are also other unavoidable degree of climate change like cyclone, drought, heavy rainfall, flood etc. which are severely impacting the socio-economic development of any country. Hence to harness the negative externalities of climate change and take opportunity of using new opportunities, it is required for global countries to take proper adaptation measures.

Table 8 Analysis of adaptation measures

Source: Own compilation based on the national action plans of the subsequent countries

Inference: All the 5 countries successfully gave broader overview of their take on climate adaptation strategies and initiatives. Though the action plans are fairly comprehensive but still falls short of identifying specific action-steps (Except Ireland) and implementation strategies.

Based on the analysis the question that comes to mind is, whether there should be equal or more amount of adaptation actions globally? Specially in countries like India where extreme weather events like flood in Surat, drought in Kalahandi or cyclone like amphan in West Bengal have become that seasonal phenomenon for them. We may be adept at rescuing people once a crisis has struck, but we are woefully unable to prevent preventable tragedies. The devastating experience after every disaster makes us realize that how unprepared we are for such disasters. As a result, several good techniques and their subsequent action plans related to climate-induced adaptation programmes are necessary for almost every countries mentioned above.

nodal climate change agencies are in charge of developing and implementing SAPCC initiatives. SAPCC does not have its own funding mechanism. Funding comes mainly from different National schemes.

Gujarat is the first city which has it’s own climate change department established in 2009. This department is effectively working of climate resilience strategies which comprise both adaptation and mitigation measures. The journey of this department from the beginning to till 2020 is full of successful initiatives in the domain of climate adaptation and mitigation (Fig. 15).

Table 9 Summerising the national climate action plans

Source: Own compilation based on the national action plans of the subsequent countries

3.8 State Action Plan for Climate Change

Unlike other countries, India’s climate action plan does not include intermediate targets alongside the long-term 8 mission in the NAPCC. Instead, India has State Action Plans on Climate Change, which need to be updated with the National Determined Contribution to address region-specific climate initiatives. Out of the 36 states, 32 have their own SAPCC, which is used in conjunction with the NAPCC and NDC. The SAPCC process began in 2009, well before NDC. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a central government entity, is in charge of coordinating, while state