Climate change adaptation in industrial areas

Project description

Title: Climate change adaptation in industrial areas
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: India
Lead executing agency: Government of Andhra Pradesh; Government of Telangana
Overall term: 2014 to 2018

Context

The effects of climate change, particularly scarce water resources and flooding, are already presenting challenges for India's industrial development. Although extreme climate events will occur more frequently in the future, industrial planning in India is not equipped to handle the impacts of climate change. This is likely to result in a significant increase in industrial losses and damage. India needs to change course soon if it wants to ensure that industrial development is resistant to climate change and remains viable for the future.

Policy-makers and companies have not yet sufficiently appreciated this problem. India's 26 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are especially vulnerable. Not only do they lack the technical expertise needed to adapt, they also have insufficient financial resources. In addition, many industrial locations are particularly exposed to the anticipated climate risks. Despite the high risks posed to industrial areas, especially storage sites for hazardous goods, only sporadic efforts are made to prepare for climate change-related disasters. Regional and federal institutions and organisations have devoted very little attention to this issue to date. Decision-makers, planners and the developers and administrators of industrial areas do not have the technical capabilities or planning instruments to deal effectively with climate risks in existing and new industrial areas.

Objective

Key decision-makers and planners are able to plan and design more climate-resilient industrial areas.

Approach

Industrial area planners and developers and construction site managers are trained to take climate risks systematically into account in planning and decision-making processes, including at an early stage of site selection and development. This should also be the case for mandatory environmental assessments. The project advises industrial authorities, development agencies for industrial areas and industrial area administrators on how climate risks can be identified and integrated into planning, decision-making and construction projects.

Awareness of this issue must be mainstreamed, especially among stakeholders in the private sector and federal institutions. This will result in industries being situated in locations that are exposed to fewer climate risks, while ensuring that existing industrial areas are retrofitted accordingly. Operators of vulnerable industrial areas will be able to prepare for disasters.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will act at the national Government level to scale up the measures, and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will promote the dissemination of knowledge and sharing of information, in an effort to establish synergies with India’s overall efforts to combat climate change.

Results

  1. In their planning processes and when formulating rules and procedures, two state-level government institutions use the risk analysis tools as well as the methods developed for climate-resilient development and retrofitting of industrial areas.
  2. Two state governments or private sector organisations have integrated the topic of climate adaptation for the industrial sector into their strategies and policies.
  3. One of the selected industrial development agencies has considered climate risks in at least 50 per cent of its planned investments for the financial year 2017 (e.g. land acquisition, development, infrastructure expansion and retrofitting of industrial areas).
  4. Three industrial areas are implementing the climate-resilience measures prioritised in their adaptation and development plans.