Why climate action plans fall short ByEilia Jafar, Anil Kumar Gupta Feb 01, 2025 07:14 PM IST Share Via Copy Link This article is authored by Eilia Jafar, humanitarian and development professional and Anil Kumar Gupta, professor & CEO (ICARS), IIT Roorkee Gr. Noida campus. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it’s an urgent reality. Yet, despite global efforts to address the crisis, climate action plans often fall short of expectations. From policy gaps to insufficient community involvement, systemic challenges hinder the progress. To effectively counteract climate change, we must critically assess these shortcomings and explore solutions. Climate crisis(Pixabay) Climate projections are limited by assumptions and uncertainties, making long-term scenarios for 2050, 2080, and 2100 challenging to predict. In 2024, India faced 255 days of extreme weather, causing 3,238 deaths, 235,000 homes destroyed, and 3.2 million hectares of crops lost. The rising frequency of such events demands more precise climate models and adaptive strategies to address these uncertainties. While carbon trading, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and adaptation funds offer support, funding remains insufficient. In 2022, climate-related disasters in India caused $4.2 billion in economic losses. Additionally, integrating sectoral and disaster risk reduction (DRR) funds into climate actions remains unclear. Without innovative financial strategies, transitioning and least-developed countries face significant funding gaps. India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC) offer foundational frameworks, but state-level adaptation plans are underdeveloped. Climate concerns are mostly addressed through early warning systems and structural mitigation, overlooking other disaster management stages. At local levels, mechanisms for implementing climate action plans are nearly non-existent. For instance, Maharashtra’s directive for 43 cities to create Climate Action Plans lacks legal binding and integration with local budgets, limiting their effectiveness. Localised models integrating climate change adaptation (CCA) and DRR planning are lacking. Developing region-specific models tailored to climate zones and hazards is vital. In 2024, India faced 255 days of extreme weather, causing over 3,200 deaths and damaging 3.2 million hectares of crops. These figures highlight the need for strategies addressing vulnerabilities in hilly, coastal, and plain areas, at the city, village, and district levels. While regulatory frameworks for environmental safeguards and disaster management exist, there is no dedicated legal framework for climate actions. This gap complicates accountability and clear implementation guidelines. Additionally, attributing losses or damages directly to climate change is challenging due to the influence of non-climate factors in disaster events. Effective climat
