The Jharkhand government has formed a task force to study the impact on the state of commitments made by India at last year’s global climate summit.
At the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, India had committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and set a target of building the capacity to generate 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy.
Officials said the task force, comprising officials from 13 different departments, has been formed to assess the magnitude and nature of the effects of the “accelerated phase-out of coal mines and coal-based industries” on Jharkhand’s economy as well as on the communities that are directly or indirectly dependent on these industries.
The task force is expected to deliver an interim report within 12 months.
“With the state endowed with rich coal resources, and a large number of coal-based industries located in the state, it is necessary to study the impact of such commitments on the state and its people and to prepare for a transition towards a green and sustainable model of development. To this effect, a task force is hereby constituted to study the effects of transition from a fossil fuel-based energy eco-system on the communities and workers, particularly those impacted by planned/unplanned closure of mines, among others,” Jharkhand’s Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department said in a notification issued on November 4.
