Tamil Nadu becomes first state to launch its own Climate Change Mission

Tags: Environment State News

Tamil Nadu has become the first state in India to launch its own Climate Change Mission. Launching the state climate change mission at the Tamil Nadu climate change summit on 9 December 2022, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin said that the state will achieve carbon neutrality much ahead of the national target of 2070.  The Tamil Nadu Climate Summit was held in Chennai from 8 and 9 December 2022.

Carbon neutral refers to the removal of the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by various means as the amount of carbon dioxide which is released in the atmosphere leaving a Zero balance or zero carbon.

Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission 

• The state government announced the launch of the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission in the   2021-2022 budget with an outlay of Rs 500 crore to undertake climate change management and mitigation activities. 
• The state government established Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, a special purpose vehicle to implement three major nature conservation projects namely Green Tamil Nadu Mission, Tamil Nadu Wetlands and Tamil Nadu Climate Change.
•  The Tamil Nadu climate change mission will be implemented at the district level and it will be coordinated and implemented by climate officers appointed at the district level. 
• The Tamil Nadu government has appointed former director of United Nations Environment Programme Erik Solheim as its advisor for the climate change mission.
• During the climate summit a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Resources Institute, Anna University and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management were signed on the occasion, to help the government establish 10 smart villages, 25 green schools and achieve blue flag beaches.