The Delhi government has submitted a draft of its new State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) to the Union environment ministry for final approval, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
They added that the new action plan — SAPCC 2.0 — replaces the existing 2019 plan, which uses older datasets and is less relevant for current weather patterns.
“The SAPCC 2.0 has been submitted to the Union environment ministry for approval. Multiple meetings have been held over the last year to revise and finalise the new plan,” said a senior official.
Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said while the 2019 SAPCC served as Delhi’s foundational climate framework in line with the National Action Plan on Climate Change, the SAPCC 2.0 is more comprehensive, action-oriented, and aligned with national and global climate commitments, including India’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS).
“It incorporates updated climate science, recent datasets, and district-level vulnerability assessments, while defining sector-specific mitigation and adaptation actions with measurable targets up to 2030,” Sirsa said.
Another official said the new SAPCC aligns with the Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. “Key priorities include urban afforestation initiatives such as the development of “nagar vans” (urban forests) and plantation drives, alongside sustainable land-use planning. Focus will also be on embedding nature-based solutions into urban planning, water resource management, and climate adaptation strategies,” he added.
Plans to revise Delhi’s SAPCC were first announced in 2024 by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP-led Delhi government. The then Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that Delhi’s existing plan only had data up to 2011, meaning it did not consider recent weather extremes.
“Due to the rapid environmental degradation over the last few years, it was decided to revise the 2019 plan. A committee was formed for this two years ago, comprising experts who have been shaping this draft plan. The same committee is being overseen by the chief secretary too,” Rai had said in 2024.
In September last year, Sirsa held a review meeting, calling for the SAPCC to be revised swiftly. “Officials were directed to expedite the plan, which has now finally been submitted,” Sirsa added.
