Govt constitutes high-level ministerial committee for implementation of Paris Agreement

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 2

To reaffirm India’s seriousness to “walk the talk” on climate change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA)—under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC, said an official statement.

The purpose behind AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change which ensures, that India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement, including its National Determined Contributions (NDC).

Senior officials from fourteen ministries would serve as Members to AIPA—who would oversee the progress implementation of India’s NDC, and receive periodic information updates to monitor—to review and revisit climate goals to fulfil the requirements of the Pairs Agreement.

Another key function of AIPA would be to operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, formulate guidelines for considerations of projects or activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement—issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs.

This will take note of the contributions of the private section as well as multi-and-bi-lateral agencies in the field of climate change, and provide guidelines for aligning their climate actions with national priorities.

The year 2021 would mark the beginning of the implementation of the Paris Agreement and constitution of AIPA is central to strengthening the national systems, and institutional arrangements for implementation and monitoring of climate actions.

It would also ensure, that India maintains its climate leadership as one of the few countries in the world whose climate actions are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.