Events of CSEC
East India Climate Change Conclave
24th - 25th June 2018
Patna, 24 June 2018. The Department of Environment & forests, Government of Bihar organized a high level council named East India Climate Change Conclave in partnership the intellectual partners Action on Climate Today (ACT) under Department for International Development (DFID), UK and The Centre of Environment, Energy and Climate Change at Asian Development Research Institute, Patna (under aegis of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India). Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, and Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the “High Level Council on Climate Change Resilient East India: Minister’s Network” along with Ministers of Environment and Forest from Chhattisgarh, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal held in Patna today. The conclave that starts today brings together policy makers, top government officials, decision makers and industries from East Indian region, and other global, national, sub-national and non-governmental experts to deliberate and exchange lessons on building a climate-resilient nation.
“Impacts of climate change are most felt in Bihar even though it is the least contributor to this issue Bihar is most impacted by climate change even though it has not contributed to it in any way; it faces the most unique occurrence of both floods and droughts”, said Shri Nitish Kumar in his inaugural address. He also highlighted the issue of silt deposition in its two big water bodies, in Ganga and Kosi, and suggested that removing the silt cannot solve the problem, but giving it way to pass on to the oceans.
“Commending the conclave, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, said that it is very important to look at East India as it is the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change owing to its geographical and ecological diversity. Dr. Vardhan reiterated India’s commitments at the Paris Agreement and said India will potentially achieve the targets of Paris Agreement before the deadline. He also talked about inculcating Green Good Behavior in ourselves. Lastly, he said that such a conclave that brings experts and practitioners from the scientific community will not just help the East India region but the country at large.
Sushil Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar remarked, “We are happy that Bihar gets the opportunity to host this EICCC. Climate Change is the biggest challenge in the world. COP Agreement in 2015 saw 195 countries coming together and make commitments to mitigate emissions and adopt adaptation strategies that are most important for marginalized communities and agriculture dependent communities. India will not shy away from its commitments made at the Paris Summit; and Bihar, in particular, is committed to take climate smart actions. He said Bihar will install solar power plants of 2000MW capacity by 2022, setting up of Climate Change Knowledge Portal and develop climate smart villages through Climate Smart Agriculture.” He concluded, “ ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ should be the mantra of all our future climate actions.”
The two-day long conclave looks at developing a common understanding of latest trends, practices, and challenges pertaining to climate change governance, climate finance, disaster risk reduction, climate resilient water management and decision support systems for climatic and weather services. It also looks at exploring methods and approaches to improve the governance of climate change adaptation issues through system enhancements, institutional developments and policy shifts. Mainstreaming climate change issues into sectoral domains such as agriculture, water, energy, finance and disaster risk reduction and develop approaches and methodologies for the same is another important dimension of EICCC.
Further, the conclave will deliberate on ways to build adaptive capacity across the East Indian states and identify potential opportunities for exchange between states on climate change mainstreaming into planning and policy formulation process.
25 June 2018. After a high-level inaugural session that saw Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Sushil Kumar Modi and Shri Mahesh Gagda, Hon’ble Minister, Forest Department, Government of Chhattisgarh inaugurate the two-day long East India Climate Change Conclave, Day 2 of the Conclave focussed on three dedicated technical sessions on climate resilient agriculture, water and finance.
The conclave that started yesterday and is organised by Department of Environment and Forests, Government of Bihar, in collaboration with Action on Climate Today (ACT), DFID-Climate Change Innovation Programme & Centre for Environment, Energy and Climate Change (CEECC) at Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) brings together policy makers, top government officials, decision makers and industries from East Indian region, and other global, national, sub-national and non-governmental experts to deliberate and exchange lessons on building a climate-resilient nation.
Each of the sessions also saw the release of thematic reports –‘Value Chain Assessment of Climate Resilient Crops in Bihar’, ‘Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP): Water Budgeting & Auditing’ and ‘Climate Change Budget Coding in Odisha’ – on climate resilient agriculture, climate resilient water management and climate finance, respectively.
The report on Value Chain Assessment of Climate Resilient Crops in Bihar, prepared by Action on Climate Today – Climate Change Innovation Programme (ACT-CCIP) identifies Maize, Paddy and Lentil as three potential climate resilient crops in Bihar and assesses full spectrum of opportunities in these identified crops using a Value Chain approach.
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change ambitious skill development programme : Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) module on Water Budgeting & Auditing is been launched in East India Climate Change Conclave 2018 which has been developed by Centre for Environment, Energy & Climate Change at ADRI.
Climate Change Budget Coding in Odisha report by Forest and Environment Department, Government of Odisha and ACT-CCIP aims to inform planners in the state government of the current climate change relevance and sensitivity of public expenditure in the sectors outlined in Odisha’s State Action Plan on Climate Change through a detailed budget coding exercise.
Key points emerging from this two-day long conclave included the need to stick to commitments, collaborate and take collective action on building a climate resilient India. Scholars came up with many policy recommendations such as cohesive working of departments to make projects climate proof, push CSR funding into climate resilience projects, better plans on water management and more aggressive action.
The conclave has successfully deliberated on ways to build adaptive capacity across the East Indian states and identify potential opportunities for exchange between states on climate change mainstreaming into planning and policy formulation process. EICCC saw participation of over 100 experts, leaders and practitioners from not just the Eastern states of the country but also from across India and other significant global organisations.