Spearheading India’s Climate Action Plan
There’s no doubt that world over the momentum towards climate action is at its peak after the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year. In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), under the leadership of Leena Nandan, is enhancing India’s climate action framework to help India meet its climate commitments.
As Secretary, MoEFCC, Nandan has several planned/ongoing initiatives. This includes enhancing forest cover in degraded forest land through community involvement and ownership, developing and mainstreaming biodegradable alternatives to plastic and devising innovative financial instruments for funding climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in critical sectors.
India Leads Renewable Energy Growth
On India’s energy transition drive, Nandan says, “India is leading the way in fulfilling the commitments under the NDC’s which are -- achieving 40 per cent of its cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil-based energy sources by 2030, and reducing emission intensity by 33-35 per cent in 2030 against the levels of the year 2005.” She adds that the country has one of the highest growth rates for renewable energy globally and its renewable energy programmes are poised to attract more investments.
Popularising Self-help Groups
Being part of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Nandan has served in various positions throughout her career. Most notably, as the Director of UP Women Development Corporation in 1995, she focused on mainstreaming the concept of mobilising rural women through self-help groups for self-employment and income generation, which significantly contributed towards the rural self-help movement in Uttar Pradesh in the 90s.
In 2002-03 as Project Director of National Leprosy Elimination Mission for UP, she mobilised school children in the mission for early detection and timely treatment. With the successful involvement of schools in UP, the first stage identification of leprosy patients was brought to rural households in UP villages and was recognised as a pioneering effort.
Nandan states that she has been fortunate to work with many civil servants whose commitments and contributions have been inspirational. “I have tried to imbibe the qualities of honesty and integrity, accessibility, decisiveness and emotional intelligence,” says Nandan.
