iFOREST Report: 6-Point Agenda To Fix Financing And Implementation In State Climate Plans

Environmental think tank iFOREST (International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology) has presented a six-point reform agenda to transform state governments' climate action plans into action-oriented and results-based frameworks.

This agenda was presented in a report titled, "Strengthening Climate Action Frameworks: Turning Ambition into Action", which was released during a webinar called, "COP30 Prelude: Strengthening Sub-national Climate Governance to Achieve National Goals."

According to iFOREST CEO Dr Chandra Bhushan, state governments' climate action plans have been successful in raising awareness. However, he noted that "shortcomings in financing and institutional frameworks are hindering implementation." The objective of this new agenda is to convert these plans into effective action at the ground level.

Key Points Of The Six-Point Reform Agenda Proposed By iFOREST

Long-term roadmap: Develop a long-term climate roadmap with science-based targets that are aligned with India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the IPCC.

Implementable plans: Convert roadmaps into implementable plans featuring specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) actions, budget linkages, and sub-district-level assessments.

Departmental integration: Execute the climate action plan through time-bound, sector-specific action plans that are embedded in departmental programmes.

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Mainstreaming into governance: Integrate climate action plans into state governance by aligning them with vision documents, five-year plans, and sectoral strategies.

Institutional capacity: Strengthen institutional capacity and human resources to support climate action at the state, district, and city levels.

Financing and monitoring: Establish robust mechanisms for climate financing and ensure effective monitoring and reporting.

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