Kerala Govt comes up with revised climate action plan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala: The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, on Wednesday, December 7, informed that the Government of Kerala has come up with a revised action plan to deal with climate change. The coastal state of Kerala is highly vulnerable to climate disasters such as cyclones.

The Chief Minister was addressing the India Climate and Development Partners’ meet. In the meet, Vijayan highlighted the need to join hands with all stakeholders to tackle the toughest challenge standing in front of mankind in the form of climate change. Therefore, Kerala has revised its climate action plan.

Chief Minister said that the southern state has been a front-runner amongst the major states in India when it comes to taking lead on achieving carbon neutrality. Kerala has been praised for its efforts by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) in its State Energy and Climate Index (SECI). He also talked about the goal of the state to become a 100 per cent renewable energy-based state by the end of 2024 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.  

The updated Climate Action Plan puts emphasis on adaptation to climate change and building resilience in communities by prioritising interventions against climate disasters. The southern state is highly vulnerable to the aftereffects of climate change. “Therefore, building disaster resilient infrastructure and strengthening institutional mechanisms for better disaster responses and raising incomes to bolster the capabilities of individuals and communities to adapt to local impacts of climate change are important,” said CM Vijayan.

In this regard, the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI) has played a crucial role. Along with addressing the climate change risks and preparing for upcoming disasters, RKI also promotes and monitors the progress of climate resilience projects worth ₹8,196 crore across departments.

Chief Minister also shed light on various initiatives introduced by the government of Kerala, including the Kerala Hydrogen Economic Mission and the implementation of an electric vehicle consortium programme to reduce the carbon emission in the state, thus turning the state into a “green-hydrogen hub”.