CHENNAI: The State government, in a landmark decision, accorded permission to establish the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), to implement three key missions — Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, The Green Tamil Nadu Mission, and the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission.
Coming with an initial capital of `5 crore, the SPV will have the environment secretary as its chairperson and managing director. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and five secretaries of different departments will serve as board members.
A G.O. in this regard was passed by Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu, according to which a specialised Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Limited (TNIFMC) for coordinating and monitoring project activities under the three missions.
“We want to collaborate and strengthen community engagement to build long term commitment for a Net Zero Carbon future for Tamil Nadu. Basically, the idea is to conserve and preserve natural resources and promote their sustainable use. Multi-stakeholder approach will be adopted to fast-track climate change action and create evidence based green models for emulation and adaptation,” Supriya Sahu said.
As the second largest economy in India with 38 districts spread over a total land area of 1,30,058 sq.km, Tamil Nadu is an important coastal State, with a coastline of 1,076 km, which is often affected by the vagaries of nature. The Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau, the mountain ranges, forests, beaches, mangroves, and estuaries dotting the State include a wide range of ‘biomes’ that are prone to risks posed by climate change.
Sahu said taking into account historical data, there is a high probability of increase in climate related natural hazards. The sensitivity and vulnerability of the State calls for State Level Climate Models to be put in place to arrive at sectoral initiatives that are not only climate friendly but would also help the State to effectively plan the growth of the economy by providing an enabling environment.
“The Tamil Nadu government is drafting many solutions to leapfrog the State to a greener, cleaner, and more resilient State. Efforts are being taken by the State to draft plans that are not merely mitigative in nature, but which will also pave the way for the transformation of the economy underpinning ‘Affordability, Sustainability and Scalability’ as the key elements,” the G.O. reads.
Under Wetland Mission, announced in the revised budget 2021-22, it is proposed to prepare an Integrated Management Plan and undertake ecological restoration of wetlands, which would be inventorised through digital technologies.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on Climate Change 2.0 is under preparation and will shortly be forwarded to Union Environment Ministry for approval. Efforts are also on to increase the forest and tree cover in the State from the current 23.8 per cent (as per the India State of Forest Report 2019) to 33 per cent.
“The forest cover of the State as per the ISFR 2019 has sequestrated 216 Million tonnes (Mt) of carbon, which is 3.03 per cent of the total carbon stock of 7,124 Mt stored in India’s forest cover. Therefore, through the Green Tamil Nadu Mission, the State has proposed to enhance carbon sequestration potential on an average of eight Mt every year from the year 2024-2025 to 2030-2031 by increasing the forest and tree cover,” the order says.
Three missions
Company’s objective