Climate Governance and Federalism in India

Aditya Pillai, Navroz K. Dubash

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

India’s federal structure is unsuited to the localized demands of climate governance. It is highly centralized, with a federal government that enjoys fiscal, bureaucratic, and jurisdictional powers greater than in more classical, decentralized federations. Indian states, however, are responsible for several areas crucial to climate action, from water and health to the emissions-intensive electricity sector. This makes elaborate forms of cooperation between the two levels essential. In this chapter, we show that the federal system has organically begun evolving some institutions and practices to keep up with the demands of climate change, including climate-specific financing and capacity flowing from the centre to the states, and instances of bottom-up experimentation and learning. But these developments are uncoordinated and lack strategic direction; policies appear and fade away with regularity, unpegged to long-term goals or a plan to rectify top-heaviness in Indian climate federalism.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationClimate Governance and Federalism
EditorsAlan Fenna, Sébastien Jodoin, Joana Setzer
Pages177-197
ISBN (Electronic)9781009249676
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 May 2023

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