First meeting of climate panel, led by PM Narendra Modi, on January 19

GURGAON: The first meeting of a reconstituted high-level climate panel, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be held on January 19 to discuss the challenges of climate change, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said today.

The 'Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change', which was set by the UPA government way back in 2007, was re-constituted by the Modi government by dropping well-known environmentalist Sunita Narain and top industry leader Ratan Tata from the council.

"The first meeting of PM's Council on Climate Change will be held on January 19. We will discuss policy actions to address the crisis of climate change and promote sustainable green practices," Javadekar said after inaugurating the ' Prakriti School' set up by policy research body TERI.

The panel is tasked with evolving a coordinated national action for assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change at the national level.

Besides Javadekar, the 18-member panel comprises External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh and Coal Minister Piyush Goel.

The panel also has climate experts like former bureaucrat J M Mouskar apart from the Cabinet Secretary and secretaries of the External Affairs and Environment ministries. Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, is the member convenor of the panel.

Ajay Mathur, chairperson of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, TERI chairperson R K Pachauri, economist Nitin Desai and retired diplomat Chandrasekhar Dasgupta have been retained as a member of the panel.