ImpactMojo Workshop Series • From Climate Science to Climate Action
90-110 Minutes
Workshop 2: Applying climate knowledge for development practice
Target Audience: Development practitioners, environmental activists, policy makers, researchers, and community organizers working on climate and sustainability issues
Prerequisites: Completion of Climate Change 101 - Workshop 1 (Climate Science Fundamentals) or equivalent knowledge
Materials Needed: Laptops/tablets for data access, vulnerability assessment templates, calculators, notebooks, colored pens for mapping
Learning objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Conduct community-level climate vulnerability assessments using IPCC frameworks
Design context-appropriate adaptation strategies for different socio-economic groups
Evaluate and prioritize mitigation options for Indian development contexts
Apply climate justice principles to assess and improve climate interventions
Develop integrated climate action plans that address multiple development challenges
Part 1: Climate vulnerability assessment - who is most at risk?
20 minutes
Understanding vulnerability
IPCC framing: In AR4 (2007), vulnerability depends on exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Since AR5 (2014), exposure is treated separately. Risk arises from hazard, exposure and vulnerability, and vulnerability means sensitivity plus lack of capacity to cope and adapt
Exposure: Degree to which a system is in contact with climate hazards
Sensitivity: Degree to which a system is affected by climate stimuli
Adaptive Capacity: Ability to adjust to potential damages or cope with consequences
Vulnerability patterns in South Asia
Geographic hotspots
Coastal Areas: Sea level rise, cyclones, salt intrusion
Outdoor and Industrial Workers: Heat stress at work, physical labour, little workplace protection
Case study: Sundarbans vulnerability
Location: Indian Sundarbans, the West Bengal part of the mangrove delta shared with Bangladesh
Population: About 4.4 million people (Census 2011) in 19 blocks, living on 54 islands; the rest of the delta is reserve forest (Department of Sundarban Affairs, West Bengal)
Vulnerability Factor
Current Status
Climate Projections
Implication
Exposure
Rising sea level, erosion and cyclones
Further sea-level rise and more intense cyclones
Island submersion, displacement
Sensitivity
Most households depend on agriculture, aquaculture and forest produce
Climate Exposure: What hazards face this community? How severe?
Economic Sensitivity: How climate-dependent are livelihoods?
Social Sensitivity: Which groups face additional risks?
Adaptive Capacity: What resources exist for coping/adapting?
Sharing (3 minutes): Present vulnerability score and top 2 risk factors
Part 2: Adaptation strategies - building resilience
20 minutes
Adaptation Definition: Adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
Types of adaptation approaches
Ecosystem-based adaptation
Principle: Use biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt
Indian Examples:
Mangrove Restoration: Sundarbans, Gujarat coast for storm protection
Watershed Management: Rajasthan's water harvesting systems
Urban Green Infrastructure: Sponge cities, green roofs in Pune
Institutional Strengthening: Village climate committees, weather-based advisories
Scale: Launched in 2018 with a US$420 million World Bank loan for about 5,000 villages in 15 districts; a second phase was approved in 2025. Read the project's own evaluation reports for results.
Local climate solutions in action
Solution Type
Example Project
Location
Key Benefits
Replication Potential
Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Mangrove restoration
Odisha coast
Storm protection, livelihoods
High (all coastal areas)
Community-based Early Warning
Flood alerts via mobile
Assam
Lives saved, damage reduced
High (flood-prone areas)
Climate-Smart Agriculture
System of Rice Intensification
Tamil Nadu
Water savings, higher yields
High (rice-growing areas)
Urban Heat Reduction
Cool roofs program
Ahmedabad
Temperature reduction, energy savings
High (hot cities)
Renewable Energy
Solar microgrids
Rural Uttar Pradesh
Energy access, reduced emissions
Very high (rural areas)
Part 3: Mitigation options - reducing emissions
20 minutes
Mitigation Definition: Human interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or enhance sinks that remove them from the atmosphere.
Understanding the two-track approach
Climate mitigation
Goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit future warming
Focus: Addressing causes of climate change
Strategies:
Renewable energy transition
Energy efficiency improvements
Sustainable transport systems
Forest conservation and afforestation
Carbon pricing and markets
Sustainable agriculture practices
Timeframe: Long-term (10-50 years)
Climate adaptation
Goal: Adjust to current and future climate impacts
Focus: Managing consequences of climate change
Strategies:
Climate-resilient infrastructure
Drought-resistant crop varieties
Early warning systems
Ecosystem-based adaptation
Social protection systems
Livelihood diversification
Timeframe: Immediate to medium-term (1-20 years)
India's climate action framework
National climate commitments
Paris Agreement Targets (Updated 2022):
Emissions Intensity: Reduce by 45% by 2030 (from 2005 levels)
Non-fossil Capacity: About 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030 (reached in June 2025)
Disaster Risk Reduction: Early warning, infrastructure hardening
Ecosystem Services: Coastal protection, urban green spaces
India's mitigation efforts
Energy sector transformation
Current Status: 184.6 GW of renewable capacity (excluding large hydro) and 242.8 GW of non-fossil capacity by 30 June 2025, half of installed capacity (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)
Targets: 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 (announced at COP26), Net Zero by 2070
Key Initiatives:
Solar Mission: 100 GW solar target for 2022 (missed then); about 116 GW installed by June 2025
Wind Power: About 52 GW installed by June 2025; offshore wind still at the tender stage
Green Hydrogen: National mission for clean fuel production
Energy Efficiency: LED distribution, building codes, industrial standards
Co-benefits: Energy security, air quality improvement, job creation
Transport & urban planning
Challenge: Transport emissions are growing with vehicle ownership and freight demand
Mitigation Options:
Electric Mobility: FAME scheme, charging infrastructure
Public Transit: Metro expansion, BRT systems, cycling infrastructure
Co-benefits: Air quality, traffic congestion, public health, urban livability
Nature-based solutions
Potential: Natural climate solutions could provide about 37% of the cost-effective CO₂ mitigation needed by 2030 to hold warming below 2°C (Griscom et al., PNAS, 2017)
Indian Approaches:
Afforestation: NDC target of an additional 2.5-3 billion tonnes CO₂e sink through forest and tree cover by 2030
Sustainable Agriculture: Zero budget natural farming, soil carbon sequestration
Coastal Restoration: Blue carbon projects in mangroves, seagrass
Urban Forests: Miyawaki method, vertical forests in cities
Co-benefits: Biodiversity, ecosystem services, rural livelihoods, air quality
Part 4: Climate justice - ensuring equitable action
25 minutes
Climate justice principles
Distributive Justice: Fair distribution of benefits and burdens of climate action
Procedural Justice: Meaningful participation in climate decision-making
Recognition Justice: Acknowledgment of different values, knowledge systems, and rights
Corrective Justice: Accountability for climate harms and appropriate remedies
Climate justice lens
The Paradox: Those who contribute least to climate change suffer the most from its impacts
Group
Contribution to Emissions
Climate Impact Level
Access to Solutions
World's poorest 50%
Very low (7% of cumulative emissions, 1990-2015; Oxfam and SEI, 2020)
Very high
Very limited
World's middle 40%
Medium (41%)
Medium
Moderate
World's richest 10%
Very high (52%)
Low
High
Governance challenges & opportunities
Multi-level climate governance
Global Level: Paris Agreement, climate finance, technology transfer
National Level: NDCs, climate laws, sectoral policies
State Level: Climate action plans, adaptation strategies
Local Level: Urban climate plans, community adaptation
Challenge: Coordination across levels and alignment of incentives
Climate finance and equity
The Numbers:
Global Need: About $2.4 trillion/year by 2030 for emerging and developing economies other than China (Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, 2022)
Developing Country Need: $215-387 billion/year for adaptation this decade (UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2023)
Current Finance: The $100 billion/year goal is being replaced by at least $300 billion/year by 2035 (COP29, 2024), still far below need
India's Requirement: At least $2.5 trillion (2014-15 prices) for 2015-2030 (India's first NDC, 2015)
Equity Concerns:
Developed countries produced 79% of carbon emissions from 1850 to 2011 (Center for Global Development, 2015)
Climate finance often comes as loans, not grants
Adaptation receives less funding than mitigation
Local communities often excluded from decision-making
Justice challenges in Indian climate action
Renewable energy projects
Benefits: Clean energy, reduced emissions
Justice Concerns:
Land acquisition affects farming communities
Benefits accrue to urban consumers
Limited local employment generation
Inadequate consultation processes
Forest conservation
Benefits: Carbon sequestration, biodiversity
Justice Concerns:
Restrictions on traditional forest use
Limited recognition of forest rights
Displacement of indigenous communities
Top-down conservation approaches
Climate justice analysis (10 minutes)
Case Study: Large-scale solar park development in Rajasthan
Project Details: 5,000 hectares of agricultural land acquired for 750 MW solar park
Benefits: Clean energy generation, reduced coal dependence, state revenue
Costs: 2,000 farming families displaced, loss of traditional livelihoods, cultural disruption
Justice Assessment Framework (6 minutes):
Distributive Justice: Who bears the costs vs. who receives the benefits? Is this fair?
Procedural Justice: Were affected communities meaningfully consulted? Did they have decision-making power?
Recognition Justice: Were traditional land rights and farming knowledge valued? Cultural impacts considered?
Corrective Justice: What compensation was provided? Are there grievance mechanisms?
Redesign Challenge (4 minutes): How could this project be redesigned to be more just? What alternative approaches exist?
Principles for just climate action
Free, Prior, Informed Consent: Real community participation in all phases
Benefit Sharing: Local communities receive fair share of project benefits
Cultural Sensitivity: Respect for traditional knowledge and practices
Adaptive Management: Flexibility to address emerging concerns
Accountability Mechanisms: Independent monitoring and grievance systems
Integrated exercise: Community climate action planning
10 minutes
Design your climate action plan
Choose a community context:
Small island in Lakshadweep (sea level rise, tourism-dependent)
Farming community in Punjab (groundwater depletion, heat stress)
Urban informal settlement in Mumbai (flooding, heat islands)
Tribal village in Chhattisgarh (forest degradation, changing rainfall)
A Tier-2 city of about 500,000 people (summer days above 45°C, urban flooding in erratic monsoons, traffic and industrial air pollution, summer water shortages, growing informal settlements)
Planning Framework (8 minutes):
Vulnerability Analysis (2 min): Top 3 climate risks for this community
Adaptation Strategy (3 min): Choose 2 adaptation approaches that fit this context
Mitigation Opportunities (2 min): What emission reduction options exist?
Justice Check (1 min): How do you ensure equitable participation and benefits?
Presentations (2 minutes): 1 minute per group to pitch your integrated climate action plan
Summary
Climate action works when it understands who is vulnerable, fits the local context and makes sure interventions reduce inequality.
Resources for continued learning
Vulnerability Assessment Tools:
IPCC Risk Assessment Framework: Guidelines for vulnerability analysis
Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA): UNDP methodology
Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA): National vulnerability studies
Climate Change Vulnerability Index: Maplecroft country rankings
Adaptation Planning Resources:
NAP Global Network: National adaptation planning guidance
Adaptation Committee (UNFCCC): Technical guidelines and tools
Climate Resilience Information System: India-specific adaptation tools
UNEP Adaptation Gap Report: Annual assessment of global progress
Mitigation Assessment:
IPCC Mitigation Assessment: Sectoral mitigation options and costs
India's Long-term Low Emission Development Strategy: National mitigation pathway
Centre for Science and Environment: Indian climate policy analysis
Climate Action Tracker: Country emissions and policy evaluation
Climate Justice Resources:
Climate Justice Alliance: Principles and frameworks for just transitions
Climate Equity Reference Project: Fair shares analysis for countries
Loss and Damage Collaboration: Justice in climate impacts and responses
Rights and Resources Initiative: Land rights and climate action
Next Steps in ImpactMojo:
Environmental Justice 101: Equity frameworks and environmental decision-making in more depth
Community-Led Development 101: Participatory approaches to climate and development planning
Social Safety Nets 101: Climate-responsive social protection systems
Decent Work 101: Just transition strategies and green jobs
This handout is part of the ImpactMojo 101 Knowledge Series Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 • Free to use with attribution • www.impactmojo.in
For the complete Climate Change 101 course with advanced case studies, vulnerability mapping tools, and climate finance analysis, visit the ImpactMojo platform.
