Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change Comments

Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change Comments by Sharachchandra Lele Centre for E & D, ATREE

Summary of SAPCC • Based on BCCI-K work (World Bank funded) on GHG emissions, CC modelling and other sectors for Karnataka • CC models show temp rising (esp northeast), rainfall fluctuating (but again reducing in Kodagu and northeast) • Sector-wise analysis is made to indicate what policies are already in place that pay CC dividends, and what additional can be done

Several policies already in place • Various agricultural schemes, including organic farming, micro irrigation, etc • Water: RWH compulsory, watershed development, artificial recharge, etc • Forestry: lots of planting • Energy: SWH incentives continue, new building CFL mandatory, green energy cess, biofuel board, Solar PV gen, CNG pipeline

Main recommendations: Mitigation • • • Stabilise grid voltage to improve efficiency Increase agricultural power tariff Notify the building energy code Implement markets for energy efficiency Scale up renewables (wind, co-gen, biofuels) • Spread fuel-efficient chulhas • Promote effluent treatment & solid waste mgmnt • Mangrove replanting

Main recommendations: Adaptation • • • Agency for devising cropping shifts More work on dryland farming Prevent theft of sprinkler pipes (? ) Create market for indigenous crops (? ) Livestock insurance (? ) & native breeds Enforce groundwater act, regulate use, impose cess • Subsidy for RWH structures • Price for irrigation water

Main recommendations: Adapatation (contd) • Estimate carrying capacity of WGhats (? ) • Remove invasive alien species • Clear forest encroachments (? )

Caveat to comments • Easy to critique government documents, but hard to come up with comprehensive strategies in a climate of political uncertainty • VERY hard to come up with meaningful strategies for an issue as uncertain as Climate Change • Temptation to simply fit into Central strategies and funding schemes is very strong

Core approach of the SAPCC • Mitigate wherever we can • Generally to pursue old policies in new bottle • Tap money from NAPCC • Pour money into research • Treat people as ignorant • No societal involvement except at tailend (see section on forestry)

Core issues not addressed • Why mitigate? How much? Who should mitigate? At how much cost? • Why adapt? To what? Who needs help to adapt? What kind of help? • What are the synergies and tensions with other Sustainable Development issues? • How effective are we so far, and why not?

Mitigation • Karnataka’s emissions are at 1. 5 t. CO 2 e/cap/yr. So do we need to mitigate at all? – No national cap. Should we set our own cap? – For any reasonable cap (say 4 t), is the real issue of average emission or distribution? – So we come back to equitable development within a sustainability limit, else there is no issue – Limits and distrib goals – then we figure out steps

Synergies & tensions • Renewables will help energy sector anyway (but question of where, who, how, remains) • Energy efficiency will help anyway, but real goal has to be mass transport & a non-AC lifestyle • Chulhas will not help, have to switch to liquefied fuels for sake of women’s health and convenience

Adaptation • Lots of activities are already going on towards ‘development’ of these sectors (Agri, fisheries) and towards supply augmentation and sustainability (water resources) • Do we need to do more? Or something different? • Again, no evaluation of effectiveness, just listing

Agriculture • Is CC the only issue? What about farmer suicides? What about food security? What about health impacts of pesticide use? What about unsustainable and inequitable water use? • All the issues that CC will aggravate— drought, flood, uncertainty, disease—are already part of the Agricultural situation. So is anything extra really required? Are we already doing what needs to be done?

Water Resources • Entire focus is on efficient water use, groundwater regulation, and rainwater harvesting • How is this related to CC? • Is the govt officially saying no more supply side projects? (not mentioned anywhere) • Is the govt officially saying no more expansion in irrigated agri? How about expansion through better distribution of existing irrigation water? • CC and Dam operation

Forestry • Is Forestry only an ‘impact’ sector? • Even if it is, what really can one do about it? • Not a resource? • Why no mention of democratic governance of forest sector?

Overall • What is the concept of adaptation? • What makes society more or less adaptable and resilient? – MORE development? – Greater ‘capital’ to fall back on? – Loosely coupled systems – Decentralisation for quick local response – Integration of traditional knowledge