Mumbai Becomes First South Asian City to Set Net Zero Roadmap

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) 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.

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.