NEW DELHI: A new report analyses parliamentary engagement with climate change issues during the first decade of the Paris Agreement, coinciding with the current government's tenure.
The findings suggest that the government's response to climate change is becoming more selective and lacks parliamentary scrutiny, particularly in light of the country's increasing climate vulnerabilities.
The report, prepared by the Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Financial Accountability, was released by former environment minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. It highlights how the government’s responses often circumvent accountability by providing generic replies that expose gaps in data availability, preparedness and policy coordination in response to questions from the Opposition.
The report reveals clear partisan patterns in parliamentary inquiries. Members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) primarily ask status-oriented questions, allowing the government to showcase its programmes and provide technical updates on initiatives such as PM-KUSUM and Green Hydrogen. In contrast, Opposition members focus their questions on implementation gaps, funding shortfalls and policy effectiveness.
One notable example cited in the report, titled ‘Climate on the Floor’, addresses the government’s claim of lacking conclusive data to establish a direct link between air pollution and specific deaths or diseases. The government attributes this uncertainty to overlapping factors such as diet and lifestyle, which complicate the attribution of health outcomes solely to air pollution.
The report covers the period from December 2015 to December 2025 and analyses a dataset of 8,702 parliamentary questions raised in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Legislative interest is heavily concentrated on Clean Energy and Decarbonization (33.81 per cent), aligning with prominent international targets. In contrast, Climate Finance (0.26 per cent) and Global Climate Governance (1.2 per cent) are significant blind spots.
It also highlights what it describes as the government’s lack of action and interest in addressing climate vulnerabilities. The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC), once a flagship initiative for vulnerable sectors such as agriculture, has been downgraded and reclassified as a “non-scheme” expense starting in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with no new projects set to be initiated under it.
The report appreciates Members of Parliament who recognise that climate change is not merely an environmental issue but is deeply interconnected with developmental and socio-economic concerns such as farmer distress, public health and energy security. However, it points to a significant gap between monitoring and accountability.
Furthermore, the report criticises the government for what it describes as a data blackout being used as a policy shield, pointing out that it does not centrally maintain information on climate-induced migration, heatwave deaths or the exact forest areas destroyed by wildfires.