Suggestions Letter to the sixteenth Finance Fee- Local weather Adaptation

To, 
The Chairman,
sixteenth Finance Fee,
Authorities of India
seventh, ninth, nineteenth Ground Jawahar Vyapar
Bhawan Annexe, 1 Tolstoy Marg(Entry from Janpath),
New Delhi – 110001

Revered Sir,

(Topic- Key Suggestions on Strengthening Local weather Adaptation for the sixteenth Finance Fee)

We’re writing to precise our concern relating to the vital want for integrating local weather adaptation into the monetary insurance policies and frameworks being developed by the sixteenth Finance Fee. As we face an more and more pressing local weather disaster, it’s important that our monetary methods handle the disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities.

In 2024, India witnessed a regarding improve in fatalities as a consequence of excessive climate occasions, with 3,238 lives misplaced within the first 9 months alone, marking an 18% rise from 2022. This stark actuality highlights the pressing want for local weather motion that prioritizes susceptible communities. To handle this, it’s crucial that our monetary frameworks heart on fairness and justice. On this context, we now have developed a set of suggestions geared toward making certain that local weather justice is just not solely acknowledged however actively promoted throughout the Fee’s initiatives.

Suggestions: 

1. Recognition of Heatwaves as a Nationwide Catastrophe: The sixteenth Finance Fee should urge the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority (NDMA) to formally acknowledge heatwaves as a nationwide catastrophe.
   Whereas the 15th FC concluded that existing disaster categories sufficiently cover state needs, this angle overlooks the rising frequency and affect of heatwaves. A number of current studies have revealed {that a} overwhelming majority, exceeding 90 p.c, of India’s complete land space is now categorized as being within the “extraordinarily cautious” or “hazard zone”.

   In response to a parliamentary response, whereas developments in climate prediction have led to raised forecasts and a reported discount in heatwave fatalities, the rising variety of deaths attributed to heatwaves lately raises issues. The Lancet has famous a 55% rise in deaths as a consequence of excessive warmth in India between the intervals of 2000-2004 and 2017-2021. Furthermore, the financial affect of heatwaves is substantial. India may account for 34 million of the 80 million world job losses from warmth stress-related productiveness declines by 2030 (World Bank, 2022). Additional, as much as 4.5% of India’s GDP may very well be in danger as a consequence of misplaced labor hours from excessive warmth and humidity. In gentle of those alarming developments, it’s important to designate heatwaves as a notified catastrophe to successfully improve useful resource allocation, catastrophe preparedness, and local weather resilience.

2. Establishing a Devoted Local weather Adaptation and Resilience Fund for Marginalized and Weak Communities: Whereas the nationwide adaptation fund exists, it typically doesn’t sufficiently goal the distinctive wants and of marginalized and susceptible communities who face disproportionate affect of local weather change. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reviews that marginalized communities, together with girls, indigenous teams, and people in casual sectors, are sometimes extra severely affected by climate-related disasters, with the next mortality price throughout occasions similar to heatwaves.

   To handle these shortcomings, the proposed fund ought to prioritize the next:

   a) There’s a vital want for higher integration of local weather adaptation methods into current large-scale growth packages, such because the Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Act and watershed administration initiatives. By integrating local weather resilience into these packages, we are able to strengthen the adaptive capability of susceptible communities whereas selling sustainable growth and native local weather motion. This method will improve livelihoods and infrastructure, successfully mitigating the impacts of local weather change. Within the city areas, native local weather motion needs to be funded by incentivising simply transition.

   b) It’s important to spend money on coaching native stakeholders to equip them with the required information and expertise to deal with local weather adaptation challenges. Moreover, the event of adaptation plans should be participatory, involving group members within the planning course of to make sure that options are context-specific and culturally acceptable. Partaking native voices is not going to solely improve the effectiveness of adaptation methods but additionally empower communities to take possession of their resilience efforts. It ought to have measures to fund localised early warning methods which can be simply and well timed accessible to most of the people.

3. Devolve funds to state governments for managing excessive climate occasions, with allocations based mostly on up to date epistemological proof such because the Local weather Vulnerability Mapping Atlas: Native governments are important for responding to and managing excessive climate occasions successfully. To optimize useful resource allocation, funds needs to be distributed in response to vulnerability to excessive climate occasions and different impacts of local weather change, such because the findings of a Climate Vulnerability Mapping Atlas, which identifies areas most in danger from local weather impacts. This method ensures that monetary assist is focused in direction of areas with the best vulnerability, enhancing native capability to deal with and mitigate excessive climate occasions.
4. Local weather Injury Tax (CDT): With a view to maintain the polluters accountable, there needs to be a tax on the local weather damages inflicted as a consequence of emissions from fossil fuels. The CDT needs to be levied in a progressive taxation mannequin, focusing on excessive emission sources similar to extra tax on income of oil companies, and different industries similar to plastics and many others. Notably a examine by Carbon Majors Report, signifies that the highest 100 fossil gasoline corporations have been accountable for over 70% of world greenhouse gasoline emissions since 1988. By levying a tax on these companies, we are able to create a monetary incentive for them to cut back their emissions whereas holding them accountable for his or her environmental affect. The income generated from the Local weather Injury Tax may be redirected to fund local weather adaptation initiatives, renewable vitality initiatives, and assist for susceptible communities impacted by excessive climate occasions, making this a vital device for selling sustainability and fairness.
5. Local weather Compensation : Enough compensation for losses and damages as a consequence of local weather change needs to be supplied to impacted states, with particular concentrate on marginalized and impacted communities. This could additionally use the proceeds from the Local weather Injury Tax as a method of redistributive and local weather justice. It is very important notice that, in India alone 45 million people may very well be pushed again over the poverty line by 2030, primarily as a consequence of agricultural shocks and elevated incidence of illness; highlighting the pressing want for focused assist. 
   The compensation may be within the type of common fundamental earnings for casual and nature based mostly livelihoods, which constitutes 90% of the workforce. Moreover, implementing local weather insurance coverage packages can present a security internet for communities susceptible to local weather impacts. These measures not solely assist restore livelihoods but additionally improve the resilience of affected populations, making certain that they’re higher geared up to face future local weather challenges.

These suggestions are essential in addressing the pressing challenges posed by local weather change and making certain that each one segments of society are geared up to deal with its impacts. We urge the Fee to contemplate these suggestions critically, as we try to construct a extra equitable and simply society within the face of a local weather disaster that is aware of no borders.

Thanks to your consideration to this urgent matter.

Yours Sincerely, 

1. Greenpeace India
2. Poovulagin Nanbargal
3. RIGHTS 
4. Basti Suraksha Manch 
5. VAN Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sangathan Uttarakhand
6. Justice in Mining Community 
7. Mukti
8. Youth For Local weather India 
9. Heatwave Motion Coalition India
10. Janpahal
11. HeatWatch
12. Folks for Himalayan Growth 
13. Telangana Gig and Platform Employees Union