Public Expenditure and Climate Adaptation in India Evaluating Resilience Outcomes and Financing Challenges
Author : Veena Sharma, Jigyasa Singh, Vagh Dan and Vidit V. Nath
Abstract :
Adaptation to climate has been adopted as the foundation of the climate policy in India due to the high susceptibility of the country to the consequences of climate change, despite the relatively low levels of emissions per person. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of India's threefold increase in public spending on climate adaptation from FY16 to FY22 (3.7% to 5.6% of GDP) and assess its effectiveness in enhancing resilience by measuring outcomes such as improved infrastructure resilience and community preparedness. The paper relies on independent research conducted by the Climate Policy Initiative and the Indian Institute for Human Settlement, as well as official government documents and an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of environmental spending, to demonstrate the significant improvement in India's climate adaptation efforts. However, the actual spending represents only 1% of the estimated INR 29 trillion needed for climate adaptation in 2020. The monitored adaptation funding of about INR 370 billion every year falls significantly short of the estimated INR 29 trillion needed in 2020, leading to inadequate preparedness for climate-related challenges. At the state level, evidence shows genuinely realised outcomes in individual cases, e.g., Odisha's irrigation modernisation programme, but such measurement is the exception rather than the rule. In conclusion, it is determined that the primary constraints on the effectiveness of adaptation in India, such as the absence of standardised outcome tracking, insufficient sub-national institutional capacity, and heavy reliance on domestic public budgets for financing, could be addressed through measures like implementing standardised tracking mechanisms, enhancing institutional capacity at sub-national levels, and exploring alternative financing sources.
Keywords :
Public expenditure, adaptation to climate, climate finance, SAPCC, adaptation gap, resilience, India.
