CM Uddhav Thackeray launches Mumbai Climate Action Plan

MCAP comes in the backdrop of Mumbai signing the C40 Cities’ Deadline 2020 commitment aligned with the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Mumbai: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday launched the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP), a blueprint to develop a comprehensive strategy to address climate change concerns by implementing inclusive and strong mitigation and adaptation strategies, with the target year as 2050.

MCAP comes in the backdrop of Mumbai signing the C40 Cities’ Deadline 2020 commitment aligned with the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support the Government of India in achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and become net-zero by 2050.

Interim and long-term targets in MCAP include 30% emissions reduction by 2030, 44% by 2040 and net-zero by 2050 against base year emissions (2019).

In August 2021, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Government of Maharashtra launched the planning process for the first-ever climate action plan for Mumbai city, with technical support from the World Resources Institute India and the C40 Cities network.

Maharashtra minister for environment and climate change Aaditya Thackeray, minister Sanjay Bansode, former Mayor of Mumbai Kishori Pednekar, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal were among those present at the launch event, which took place at Sahyadri Guesthouse in Malabar hill.

“While India is on pace to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions, Maharashtra is committed to leading India’s battle against the impending climate crisis through policy-governance changes and instilling the culture of climate action. The MCAP is designed to fulfil the Paris Agreement’s aim of reducing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Mumbai will become a climate-resilient metropolis as a result of the evidence-based policies that led to the creation of MCAP,” said the chief minister.

MCAP has assessed the risk and vulnerability of the city across five parameters -- urban heat, urban flooding, landslides, coastal risks and air pollution. It has charted the impact across socioeconomic, physical and infrastructure and service aspects. The plan has suggested strategies across six sectors with 24 action tracks.

Speaking at the launch, Aaditya Thackeray said, “With Mumbai being the first, other cities like Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Kolhapur, Solapur will follow its footsteps. 43 cities with a total population of 6.5 crores, about half of Maharashtra’s total population, are in the race to zero (become net-zero).”