National Action Plan on Climate Change

Geography glossary

Also called: NAPCC · Topic: Climate Change: Causes, Evidence and the Global Response · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is India's first national climate strategy. It was released on 30 June 2008 and works through eight national missions (now nine, with human health added), each with its own goals. It matters because it is the base of India's climate policy. India's state plans, its targets under the Paris Agreement and its climate programmes all build on it.

Explanation

How NAPCC works

  • The problem it tries to solve
  • India has to grow its economy and bring energy to people who still have very little.
  • At the same time it has to take mitigation steps (cutting greenhouse gases at the source, or soaking them up in sinks such as forests).

  • NAPCC tries to do both at once: development and climate action together.

  • How it is built

  • The plan is split into national missions.

  • Each mission is a programme run by a lead ministry and has its own goals.

  • How it reaches the states

  • Almost all states have made State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs) that follow the NAPCC.

  • These SAPCCs are now being revised to include updated climate risks [1].

  • Support from weather services

  • Mission Mausam improves weather and climate forecasting.
  • Better forecasts help people adapt and be ready for disasters.

The eight original missions

# Mission What it does
1 National Solar Mission (launched 2010) Expands solar power. In 2015 the target was raised to 100 GW by 2022, and this was reached later. Solar is at the centre of the 500 GW non-fossil goal.
2 Enhanced Energy Efficiency Includes PAT (Perform, Achieve and Trade). Plants that use a lot of energy get energy-saving targets. Plants that beat the target earn certificates. Plants that miss it buy them.
3 Sustainable Habitat Energy-efficient buildings, better urban transport and better waste management.
4 Water Saving water and using it more efficiently.
5 Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) Studies glaciers and mountain ecosystems, sets up climate cells in Himalayan states and records traditional knowledge.
6 Green India Protects, restores and increases forests. It aims to raise forest and tree cover on 5 million ha and improve forest quality on another 5 million ha.
7 Sustainable Agriculture Climate-resilient farming: drought-tolerant crops, soil health and better water use.
8 Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change Research, climate models and data networks.
  • From eight to nine missions
  • India's 2035 NDC describes NAPCC as having nine missions, with human health added to the original areas [1].
  • NCERT-level books still give eight missions, so read the question carefully.

Why the Himalayan mission (NMSHE) matters

  • Himalayan glaciers feed big rivers

  • The glaciers feed the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra.

  • Warming changes the flow of these rivers

  • At first, glaciers melt faster, so rivers carry more water.
  • The risk of GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) goes up. A GLOF is a sudden flood when a lake made of glacier meltwater bursts its natural wall.

  • Later, as the glaciers shrink, river flow in the dry season falls.

  • What the states do

  • Himalayan states keep watch on their glaciers through climate cells.

The principles behind NAPCC

  • Low emissions per person

  • India's emissions per person are about one-third of the world average [1].

  • Decoupling

  • From 2005 to 2019 the economy grew by nearly 7% a year (CAGR), but emissions grew by only nearly 4% a year [1].

  • Decoupling means the economy grows faster than its emissions.

  • Equity

  • The carbon budget is the total CO₂ the world can still release and stay within a temperature limit.
  • India says this budget must be shared fairly, based on each country's cumulative (total past) emissions [1].
  • India relies on CBDR-RC (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities). This means all countries must act, but rich countries that polluted first must do more and must give finance and technology [1].

Where it occurs

  • Where it applies: across all of India. It is a national plan carried out through national missions.
  • Who runs it: each mission has a lead ministry. At the state level it runs through SAPCCs, which almost all states have made and are now revising [1].
  • Year: released 30 June 2008. The National Solar Mission under it started in 2010.
  • Himalayan region: NMSHE works in the Himalayan states through climate cells. It watches the glaciers that feed the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra.
  • Forests: the Green India Mission works on 5 million ha of new forest and tree cover and 5 million ha of better-quality forest.
  • Industry: the energy efficiency mission's PAT scheme covers plants that use a lot of energy. PAT is now being replaced by the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), which the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) runs.
  • Link to global promises: NAPCC missions help India meet its NDC targets under the Paris Agreement and its Panchamrit pledges made at COP26, Glasgow (2021).

Don't confuse with

  • NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution): an NDC is India's formal promise under the Paris Agreement, submitted to the UNFCCC and updated every five years. NAPCC is a domestic plan from 2008, older than the Paris Agreement.
  • SAPCC (State Action Plan on Climate Change): an SAPCC is a state-level plan made to follow the NAPCC. NAPCC is the national plan.
  • Panchamrit: Panchamrit is the five pledges India made at COP26, Glasgow (2021), such as 500 GW of non-fossil capacity and net zero by 2070. These are targets. NAPCC is the set of missions that does the work.
  • PAT vs CCTS: PAT comes under NAPCC's energy efficiency mission and trades energy-saving certificates. CCTS (notified June 2023 under the Energy Conservation Act 2001) trades carbon credit certificates and replaces PAT.

Prelims Hooks

  • NAPCC was released on 30 June 2008 with 8 missions. It now has 9, with human health added [1].
  • National Solar Mission started in 2010. In 2015 its target was raised to 100 GW by 2022.
  • NMSHE covers glaciers, climate cells in Himalayan states and traditional knowledge. It does not deal with solar or forests.
  • Green India Mission: 5 million ha of new forest and tree cover plus 5 million ha of better-quality forest.
  • PAT (Perform, Achieve and Trade) belongs to the Enhanced Energy Efficiency mission, not to the Solar Mission.
  • Trap: NAPCC (2008) came before the Paris Agreement (2015). It is not a Paris Agreement document. NDCs are.

Mains Points

  • NAPCC is the base of India's mixed climate approach (GS-III). Missions and SAPCCs plan the work. NDC targets based on emission intensity set the goals. CCTS (a market tool) and LiFE (behaviour change) add to them. This keeps "development space" open while India still meets targets early: a 33% cut in emission intensity by 2019 and 40% non-fossil power capacity by 2021 [1].
  • NMSHE shows climate risk in the Himalaya (GS-I/GS-III). Faster glacier melt first raises river flow and GLOF risk, then cuts dry-season flow in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. This affects farming, water supply and disaster readiness across the northern plains, so Himalayan states need climate cells and glacier monitoring.
  • There are limits. Coal still produces most of India's electricity, and installed capacity is higher than the power actually produced. SAPCCs need updating for new climate risks [1]. Future targets depend on finance and technology from developed countries, in line with CBDR-RC [1].

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1India's Nationally Determined Contribution (2031–2035), April 2026unfccc.int · tier 2