High-level Ministerial Committee constituted to implement the Paris Agreement

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has re-affirmed India’s seriousness to ‘walk the talk’ on climate change by constituting a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA). The AIPA has been constituted under the chairmanship of Secretary of MoEFCC.

Purpose of AIPA

The AIPA has been constituted to generate a coordinated response the on climate change matters ensuring that India is on track to meet obligations under the Paris Agreement including the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

Members of AIPA

• Senior officials from fourteen ministries are the Members to AIPA.
• They will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s NDC.
• They will receive periodic information updates so as to monitor, review and revisit the climate goals.
• The members will ensure that, India fulfils its requirements of the Paris Agreement.

Function of AIPA

• AIPA will operate as a National Authority to regulate the carbon markets.
• The AIPA will regulate the carbon markets of India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
• AIPA will further formulate the guidelines to consider the projects or activities as per Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
• It will issue guidelines on carbon pricing and market mechanism.
• It will make note of the contributions of the private sector and multilateral or bi-lateral agencies of climate change.
• It will also ensure that India maintains its climate leadership in consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Paris Agreement

Paris Agreement was signed in 2016 by 195 signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement seeks to reduce and mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions. It has set a target to cap the rise of global temperature below 2-degree Celsius and to make efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius for the current century.