Corroborating with the SDG target on strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, India has clearly identified the need for disaster management and climate change adaptation in the vulnerable Himalayan and coastal regions and sectors such as agriculture and water resources. These inter linkages between climate change adaptation and India’s development needs for different geographic regions, climate sensitive sectors and socio-economic groups shows that fighting climate risks is a national priority.

Against its voluntary goal of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 20–25%, over 2005 levels by 2020, India has already reduced its intensity by 12% between 2005 and 2010. India’s expenditure on programmes with critical adaptation components has also increased from 1.45% of the GDP in 2000-01 to 2.82% during 2009-10. In addition to several national and state policies which offer adaptation and mitigation co-benefits, National and State Action Plans on Climate Change provide a framework for integrating climate change concerns in various sectors.

While the national and state level framework for integrating climate change concerns is rapidly strengthening in the country, building capacities at the national, sub-national and local level requires immediate attention. Even though India’s INDCs have roughly estimated that capacity building needs would require 2.5% of the government salary budget, a roadmap for successful implementation of climate actions at national and local level is still missing in the picture. Improving human and institutional capacity on climate change would require ongoing knowledge and planning support to local and national institutions, local level decision makers and implementation entities.

While these are some of the strategies directly in line with the goal on climate change, India’s recent commitments to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 % by 2030 using 2005 levels shows clear linkages with sustainable goal on ensuring access energy services for all. These ambitious targets show clearly that ensuring energy access in energy deprived areas and adopting cleaner path for economic development would require energy efficient technologies and investments in renewable energy sources.

Furthermore, the cross cutting concerns of climate change addressed in India’s INDCs have been clearly mentioned through several sectoral strategies for forestry, urbanisation, transportation, construction, industrialisation etc. These co-benefits offer a lot of potential to meet India’s commitments and implement other development goals.

Lastly, technology, finance and capacity building needs of the country to meet the dual development imperatives forms the basis for identifying domestic resources and utilising international cooperation for support. New emission intensity reduction targets and adapting to climate change will require approximately $2.5 trillion at 2014-15 prices between now and 2030. Stating this, India has highlighted the need to mobilise domestic and new and additional funds from developed countries to implement actions in view of the resources required and the resource gap. On technology, India has advocated the transfer of technologies and their knowhow as a crucial measure for enhancing adaptation and mitigation measures.

Both the SDG framework and climate discourse offer a good opportunity for India to use a mix of international and domestic resources to achieve its targets judiciously. While the national and international framework has laid the foundation for the Post 2015 development agenda, it is now important to see that how developing countries ensure climate compatible development. q