Eminent personalities, including Montek Singh Ahluwalia (Economist) and Nandan M Nilekani (Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys Board), will be part of a high-profile governing council set up by the Tamil Nadu government on climate change. Chief minister MK Stalin will head the council.
The council will provide a policy directive to the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, advise on climate adaptation and mitigation activities, provide guidance to the Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on Climate Change, and guide the implementation strategy on climate action, said a press release.
Other members are Erik Solheim (6th Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme); Ramesh Ramachandran (Founder Director of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management); G Sundarrajan (Co-ordinator of Poovulagin Nanbargal) and Nirmala Raja (Chairperson, RAMCO Community Services).
Various initiatives on climate change
Tamil Nadu is spearheading several initiatives on climate change. It has set up three key missions — Tamil Nadu Green Mission; Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission and the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission. It has also set up a Special Purpose Vehicle — the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company — to steer climate action effectively.
The State Chief Secretary; the Vice Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission and Senior Secretaries of the Department of Industries, Municipal Administration, Finance, Energy, Rural Development, Housing, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries, and Agriculture & Farmers Welfare are members of the Governing Council.
The Environment Secretary will be the Convenor of the Governing Council. The Governing Council shall meet once in three months or as deemed fit. The Council shall decide its own operational modalities to achieve its objectives, the release said.