Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday unveiled its first ever Mumbai Climate Action Plan {MCAP} with an aim to build a climate-resilient city and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
File photo of rain-induced flood in Mumbai. PTI
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday unveiled its first ever Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) with an aim to build a climate-resilient city and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Speaking on the occasion, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray pitched for sustainable development and said the city’s administrators want to provide amenities to the people, but also wanted to ensure that citizens lead happy and healthy lives.
Let’s examine the BMC’s climate action plan, and why the city needs one:
Mumbai Climate Action Plan
With an aim to provide a comprehensive roadmap underlining specific activities that can be undertaken to reduce emissions and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Mumbai Climate Action Plan has been drafted by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) with technical support from WRI India, engaged as a knowledge partner.
Under the MCAP, the city is aiming to achieve total carbon neutrality or net-zero emission by 2050, two decades ahead of the Centre’s promised deadline of 2070.
This makes it the first city in India and South Asia to set such a timeline and have a climate action plan.
It also plans an increase in and equal access to green spaces in the bid to improve air quality in the city.
MCAP will focus on six thematic action areas, including decentralised waste management, increased green cover of the city, urban flooding and water management, low-carbon electricity and climate-resilient infrastructure, air quality, and zero-emission public transport.
The six action areas further have 24 priority actions along with deadlines, stakeholders involved, financing sources and monitoring indicators.
To increase the proportion of renewable energy in the city’s energy supply to 50 per cent by 2030 and 90 per cent by 2050, the plan aims that 100 per cent of the electricity used by BMC and other municipal agencies is from renewable sources.
As per a report by the Indian Express, the MCAP has also set an eight-year target to integrate past and future climate risks, trends and projections in planning for and ensuring climate-proofing of private and public buildings.
To achieve its net-zero carbon emission target, the MCAP plans to implement a 30 per cent decrease in emissions by 2030, a 44 per cent reduction by 2040, and a net-zero reduction by 2050.
Why Mumbai needs a climate action plan
The financial capital of the country faces the brunt of extreme weather events including excessive rains and flooding on a regular basis.
“Till 2050, the forecast is that 80 per cent of Nariman Point in South Mumbai will be underwater if no concrete action is taken. Therefore, this plan comes at a crucial time,” Thackeray said while unveiling the action plan.
A study conducted by the World Resource Institute (WRI) found that the city has been facing two major climate challenges in recent years as it became warmer and registered a substantial increase in extreme rainfall events, which have led to flooding.
The city has seen a constant rise in temperature after 2007, and a substantial increase in intense rainfall and storm events in the last five years.
Another report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that Mumbai, along with at least 12 Indian coastal cities, will face sea rise of 0.1 metre to 0.3 metre in the next three decades due to climate change.
The climate action plan sets a roadmap for the next 30 years to fight these climate challenges with mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Cabinet Minister for Environment, Tourism and Protocol Aaditya Thackeray said that due to various extreme weather disasters it was important to implement a climate action plan.
“Various recent extreme weather disasters in Maharashtra, such as Cyclone Tauktae, urban floods, and untimely rains, have demonstrated the importance of implementing localised mitigation and resilience techniques. Even today, in March, we are already seeing temperatures nearing 40 degrees C. Mumbai is likely the first city to be making such a detailed climate action plan in the country. The document will likely be the most important in the coming two decades,” Aaditya said.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.