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As Pune joins UN’s “race to zero”, PMC establishes cell to promote electric vehicles
Pune Municipal Corporation’s top priority is to make our city more resilient and plan for low carbon or carbon neutral development. To achieve this, Pune city has taken several initiatives, from policy to implementation, focusing on mitigation and adaptation measures, says official
PUNE The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has established a dedicated cell to promote electric vehicles in the city.
The announcement was made by PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar, as Pune is part of the 43 “Amrut Cities” from Maharashtra, all who have joined the UN’s “Race to Zero” ahead of the ongoing COP event in Glasgow, Scotland.
The current COP26 event is a global United Nations summit about climate change.
Maharashtra has the highest number of cities from any state in India that have joined the Race to Zero.
“Pune Municipal Corporation’s top priority is to make our city more resilient and plan for low carbon or carbon neutral development. To achieve this, Pune city has taken several initiatives, from policy to implementation, focusing on mitigation and adaptation measures. We strongly feel that there is a need for collective efforts and learning from global peers in this endeavour to effectively address the climate change impacts. Pune has established a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) cell to accelerate the adoption of EVs in the city which is first-of-its-kind governance structure for promotion and facilitation of electric vehicle deployment in an Indian city. It will act as a single window clearance system, knowledge hub and grievance addressable mechanism,” said Kumar.
Following the announcement by Aaditya Thackeray, state cabinet minister of environment, tourism & protocol, during Climate Week NYC 2021, all major cities and urban clusters in Maharashtra have pledged to go net-zero by 2050 under the UN’s Race to Zero campaign.
“Cities are the solution to addressing climate change. Cities should, would and could lead the way forward towards a zero net pathway. The movement needs to begin from our homes and every little movement can lead to the creation of a larger impact. With every step we should move towards achieving our climate change goals, and together, each city can create a greater impact throughout the country,” Aaditya Thackeray had said in a recent conversation about the net-zero pathways addressing climate change.
Earlier, speaking at Climate Week NYC 2021, Thackeray underlined the need for green financing to come into a country like India. “As an industrial powerhouse with 1.3 billion people, if we have to move ahead, we need to quickly transition to a green zone,” he had said.
“We need to quickly transition from what we are today into something that is really climate friendly. And if we have to do that, we need to look around the world to bring in the best of ideas, the best of innovation and the best of climate financing to support these ideas,” he said.
Thackeray said that all governments need to learn that this is a climate emergency. “We need to step beyond discussions into action. Because the time to act is now. We need to really reorient ourselves in terms of what we term as development to sustainable development. Every aspect of policy, be it roads or building dams or airports or whatever, needs to pass the climate test. We need development, but we have development there is going to be climate change. If we have sustainable development, then we are going to have climate change impact mitigation and adaptation,” he said.
Addressing Climate Week NYC 2021, the minister added that climate change was going to affect us all across the world unilaterally. “Wherever scales of our economy or development, manufacturing, industrialisation or financial prowess that our countries have, we need to have equitable contribution to climate change action,” he said.
Each of the 43 cities from Maharashtra joining the Race to Zero has a population of 100,000+. Together these cities cover a floating population of almost 65 million. Maharashtra will take its agenda of climate action forward and support the efforts of multiple cities, including Mumbai, in the Race to Zero.
What cities in Race to Zero have committed to:
• Create a more inclusive society
• Create green and healthy streets
• Reduce air pollution and ensure clean air
• Develop zero-carbon buildings
• Move towards resilient and sustainable energy systems
• Advance towards zero waste
• Create sustainable food systems
• Divest in fossil fuels and invest in a sustainable future
• Move towards resilient and sustainable construction systems
