THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Kerala Climate Change Adaptation Mission (KCCAM), an entity formed by the state government to assess the impact of climate change and monitor mitigation activities, is gearing up to formulate policies and legal frameworks to make the state resilient to climate change. KCCAM aims to make Kerala net carbon-neutral by 2050. The proposed legislative framework and policies are likely to be applied across different sectors such as agriculture, transportation, energy, waste, environment, industry, buildings and more.
The government constituted KCCAM last August with the vision to make Kerala carbon neutral, disaster resilient and a knowledge economy based on green jobs. A senior official of the environment and climate change department said the first-ever high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the chairman of KCCAM, after its constitution will be held on Wednesday to discuss the way forward. “The primary focus of the legislation would be on adaptation and resilience. It’s in the draft stages and will be finalised soon,” the official added. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, promoting cleaner technologies, carrying out developmental activities based on disaster vulnerability and ensuring funds for mitigation measures are some of the responsibilities of KCCAM.
The mission is expected to play a crucial role in the effort of the state government to transform Kerala into a 100% renewable energy-dependent state by 2050 and attain net carbon neutrality by 2050. The state cabinet has created nine posts including the chief resilient officer for the mission. The proposed legislation is expected to bring reformatory changes in the construction, transportation and energy sectors to make Kerala carbon neutral. The existing building rules do not prioritise making the buildings climate resilient. KCCAM is expected to introduce a lot of reforms in diverse areas to attain the target.