Climate Action Plan: Mumbai Becomes 1st City In South Asia To Set 'Net Zero' Goal By 2050

Mumbai’s first Climate Action Plan (MCAP) been unveiled on Sunday, March 13, in order to achieve 'Net Zero' goal for the country.

Mumbai announced detailed plans to zero out carbon emissions by 2050, a target that puts it two decades ahead of India’s national goal. With this, Mumbai becomes the first city in South Asia to set such a timeline.

Launched by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the 240-page MCAP is India’s first climate action plan to set short, medium and long-term climate goals aimed towards a net-zero (zero emission of greenhouse gas) target for 2050, two decades ahead of the Government of India's (GOI) promised deadline set at the Glasgow CO summit in 2021.

The Maharashtra Environment Action Plan (MCAP) report was unveiled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the Sahyadri State Guest House. Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Textiles Minister and Guardian Minister of Mumbai City Aslam Shaikh, Minister of State for Environment Sanjay Bansode, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal were also present on the occasion.

Looking at the base year (2019) emissions, the interim and long-term targets are a 30 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, a 44 percent reduction by 2040 and a net-zero target by 2050. A total of 23.42 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) or 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per person have been measured in the year 2019.

It focuses on six sectors to provide region-wise adaptation to climate change and measures to reduce and control the risk of climate change. It includes -- Energy and Buildings, Sustainable Waste Management, Sustainable Mobility, Urban Green and Biodiversity, Air Quality, Urban Flooding, and Water Resource Management.

MCAP prioritises on decarbonising Mumbai's power grid through use of clean fuels and renewable energy like solar, as well as building energy-efficient and climate-resilient infrastructure; promoting low carbon mobility solutions such as cycling and pedestrianisation for sustainable mobility; a zero landfill waste management plan; increasing vegetation cover with an emphasis on biodiversity; building flood-resilient systems; and improving air quality through better monitoring and decentralised planning.

With this, the plan aims to serve as a 30-year road map for the city to tackle the challenges of climate change by adopting inclusive and robust mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who virtually released the plan said, that the same should not be on paper but be implemented fully.

In addition, BMC Chief Iqbal Singh Chahal shared that the civic body is working towards making Mumbai climate resilient. For which, a whopping amount of over INR 40,000 crores is in process.

Meanwhile, Dr Anjal Prakash, Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business/ Current author of IPCC 6th Assessment Report Working Group II also mentioned the need to build climate-resilient infrastructure.

“It’s important for Maharashtra to focus and allocate money for climate-resilient development pathways which are gender and equity inclusive. It is commendable that the state has recognised this need and have allocated the budget, especially in Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlights the hard adaptation limits which could be taken into account while planning the adaptation in Maharashtra. Also, the focus on awareness building and school curriculum to raise awareness on environment and climate issues is innovative and has been flagged as one of the key solutions in combating climate change in the recent IPCC report.”